The main topic of discussion surrounding Jarome Luai’s shocking move to the PNG Chiefs has been that he will reportedly make $1.2 million tax-free every season after joining the team after being enticed with a private jet ride to Port Moresby.
Before he signed a deal with many conditions to become the face of the NRL’s most audacious move in decades, the four-time premiership winner was the messiah of the Wests Tigers.
In addition to rewarding the people of the only nation on Earth where rugby league is the national sport, the NRL and the governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea created the PNG Chiefs in an effort to thwart China’s plans to expand its influence in the area.
Thus, tax-free contracts are being offered to players in both Australia and PNG, which many people mocked until Luai signed a contract.
With several players being the focus of rumours that they would follow the money to Port Moresby, the floodgates are probably about to open.
However, you should reconsider if you believe that Luai, Alex Johnston, and the celebrities who join the Chiefs will lead luxurious lives while living safely in a guarded facility.
Due in large part to a tax-free contract that will pay him millions of dollars, Jarome Luai became the first prominent player to join with the PNG Chiefs.
Luai is seen signing the deal that will make him the face of the riskiest and newest NRL team.
Living in a guarded area for their own protection is just one of the many difficulties Luai and his small family will encounter in Port Moresby.
Mick Crawley, an NRL assistant coach who has coached in harsh environments while with the North Queensland Cowboys, has already cautioned about the stark differences that players will encounter during training in PNG.
“The hype is all north right now, but it ignores some of the realities.” “Training in 90% humidity in Port Moresby is a survival test,” he told News Corp.
“It causes issues with maintaining weight, fatigue, and even basic things like infections that can keep a player out of action in that heat.”
However, if NRL players and their families relocate, the weather becomes the least of their problems.
Players must take into account the possibility that they would be confined to their complex for the duration of their time in PNG, as the lack of safety is a real and present concern.
This is not a FIFO gig for players and their families. They have to stay in PNG for the entire season and a large portion of the off-season.
Because going outside of restricted areas can be lethal in a country with the second-worst crime rate in the world, they are essentially kept inside what amounts to a fancy hotel complex.
In addition to the nation’s troubles with witchcraft and sorcery, there are actual and widespread problems with kidnapping, political upheaval, and tribal bloodshed.
In the nation’s capital, danger is present everywhere.
Pictured: Anger-filled rallies in Port Moresby in 2024 saw looters.
Visitors are advised to be cautious because Papua New Guinea has the second-highest crime rate in the world. Following 64 fatalities in conflicts between competing tribes in 2024, police are seen on patrol in the Highlands.
The data emphasises how dangerous the hazards are outside of controlled surroundings, and crime is a defining aspect of everyday life in Port Moresby.
The city is among the most dangerous urban areas in the world, with a crime index of 81.26 and a safety score of only 18.74. Additionally, the capital consistently carries this amount every year.
At 61.8, Townsville—home of the North Queensland Cowboys—has Australia’s worst crime rating, followed by Newcastle at 48.4.
In comparison to Papua New Guinea, which has a relatively high crime rate of 85.70, Australia has a moderate overall crime rate of 49.89, making it one of the safest countries in the world.
In contrast to PNG, where the same concerns often surpass 75, personal safety on Australian streets is reassuringly moderate overall, with fears of being mugged, attacked, or insulted all falling between 40 and 49.
In comparison to PNG, which has a high rating of 71.34 on the same test, Australia has the lowest score of all, at 33.56, indicating a society where most people feel protected regardless of their origin.
Australia has a modest score in both violent and property crime, while PNG has a very high score of 85.04 and 85.85, respectively, indicating some of the biggest discrepancies in the dataset.
The most striking of all is corruption and bribery, where PNG’s extremely high score of 88.67—the highest number in the entire comparison—sits alongside Australia’s low score of 37.64.
For arriving NRL players, it means living in a city where living outside of guarded compounds is influenced by very real and well-known hazards, and where security is not voluntary but rather necessary.
Their expectations of life outside the compound will be drastically different.
The Kumuls (seen in red and yellow), stars of PNG’s national team, are accustomed to their native environment, but pampered NRL players will be shocked.
The guarded, multimillion-dollar, resort-style facility where new NRL players will be living in Papua New Guinea will mimic the amenities of elite professional settings, but the contrast beyond those gates will be striking and hard to ignore.
Although the compound will provide contemporary facilities, clean water, dependable power, and high-quality food, access to these same services is much more restricted across the larger community.
Since only 15% of the nation has access to energy, most homes and businesses do not have steady power.
Outages and disruptions are frequent even in urban areas, impacting everything from retail trading hours to refrigerators.
Large supermarkets, round-the-clock services, air-conditioned retail centers, and a variety of dining options—everyday suburban amenities that many players are accustomed to in Australia—are not nearly as accessible or reliable.
Smaller-scale retail choices may have constrained product offerings and supply chains that are more susceptible to interruption. The range of fresh and packaged goods is frequently smaller than what gamers might anticipate, and imported goods can be costly or challenging to get.
The basic amenities that support contemporary suburban living, like dependable internet, easy cashless transactions, and continuous utility access, can also differ greatly by region.
The divide between a regulated, high-performance environment and the realities of a nation still constructing its essential infrastructure will be highlighted by everyday living outside of the players’ compound, which will mitigate most of this.
Kidnapping is a terrifying and all too frequent occurrence.
In Papua New Guinea, Australian academic Bryce Barker (second from left) was abducted and held for ransom.
In Australia or New Zealand, the average NRL player and their family are not very concerned about kidnapping. It is a violent and everyday aspect of life in PNG.
Football players with large sums of money would be perfect targets for both Highlands raiders and local organised crime groups.
This is neither hyperbole or scare tactics; the estimated number of displaced individuals in the Highlands is 89,000, but records are at best shaky, so that number is probably far higher.
Kidnappings are more likely to happen far from the guarded NRL campus in isolated locations and close to some mining sites. Nonetheless, foreigners in Port Moresby continue to face a significant danger of kidnapping.
A Filipino national was abducted and murdered in the capital in March 2022.
Margaret Gamaru Gabriel, a 23-year-old lady, was abducted, sexually assaulted, and killed on February 15, 2025, in the Watermark Estate in Baruni, close to Port Moresby.
In February 2023, a gang detained three female PNG researchers and an Australian professor named Bryce Barker for more than a week in the Highlands near Mount Bosavi.
Eight persons were abducted by a group in the village of Adumari in 2025, including a male health professional, a teacher, their spouses, and numerous students.
Australia has intervened to assist since the issue has gotten worse.
Scott Houston, a former soldier in the Special Air Service Regiment, formed the West Australian company Executive Risk Solutions, which has helped the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary create its new KUMUL 23 police tactical force to address the issue.
Outside of Port Moresby, life becomes quite difficult.
Tribal conflicts have existed in PNG for 60,000 years (shown, a Huli tribesman at a festival).
Once more, living outside of Port Moresby offers an entirely different world, especially in the rural regions and Highlands where a large portion of the population resides.
The majority of people in Papua New Guinea live in small, traditional communities and rely on subsistence farming rather than an organised, cash-based economy, making it one of the world’s most rural nations.
With few formal stores, constrained supply chains, and restricted access to large-scale retail, these areas frequently have few or no modern suburban amenities.
Instead of using supermarkets, many communities use local marketplaces or trading systems, and access to commodities may be mostly dependent on transportation routes that are frequently unreliable or completely closed off. Roads are few, services are stretched, and whole regions are essentially cut off for extended periods of time due to the lack of infrastructure.
Outside of big cities, access to electricity declines even more, leaving the majority of homes and businesses without reliable power, if any at all.
This affects everything from communication to food storage, as many people do not have access to basic appliances, lighting, or refrigeration on a regular basis. Remote towns may also have inconsistent or nonexistent internet and cellphone connectivity, which further distances them from the systems that players are accustomed to.
In many places, public services and law enforcement are likewise scarce, and authorities are frequently dispersed over large and challenging territories. Long-standing tribal tensions still exist in some sections of the Highlands, and recent years have seen an increase in violence, including fatal skirmishes that have garnered international attention.
For new NRL players, it means entering a nation where the contrast between elite, controlled settings and regular life is not only apparent but stark, especially once you venture outside of the capital and into rural or isolated places.
Sorcery and witchcraft
Witchcraft and sorcery are taken very seriously by PNG tribes, which can result in violent outbursts and conflict.
PNG is a melting pot of diverse religions due to its distinctive traditions.
For NRL fans, the topic of sorcery and witchcraft is probably reserved for children’s books, comic books, and fantasy films. However, many Papua New Guineans, who have taken the occult very seriously for thousands of years, disagree.
Sorcery accusations can grow rapidly and frequently result in acts of violence, torture, or even murder.
These episodes, which are referred to as violence related to sorcery accusations, continue to be a major problem for law and order.
In 2015, the PNG government acknowledged the scope of the issue and unveiled a national action plan to address it.
The Sorcery Act was repealed, and the emphasis was on community education, protection, and prosecution.
But enforcement is still uneven, especially in isolated places with few police officers.
Despite legal reforms, accusations are nevertheless motivated by strong cultural values, fear, and community pressure.
If foreigners are misinterpreted, alone, or entangled in local conflicts or rumours, they may be in danger.
In times of crises or mysterious events, outsiders may likewise be suspicious or held accountable.
In certain situations, foreigners may be in danger just by being present in a contentious community.
The compound isn’t as good as it seems.
It has been said that the long-term housing for players such as star signing Alex Johnston (above) is “still literally a hole in the ground.”
In addition to lodging at the five-star Airways resort in Port Moresby, players and their families will have access to the exclusive Loloata Island Resort.
But according to Channel Nine, the long-term housing for celebrities and their families is “still literally a hole in the ground” and hasn’t been constructed yet.
Before the team’s 2028 season debut, players are expected to begin arriving by November 2027.
Concerns similar to those raised when Warriors players were compelled to reside in a Covid “bubble” during the epidemic have arisen since Nine claims that the new accommodations will be constructed in a tower with players living on top of one another.
Even on their days off, it will be very difficult for the teammates and their families to get away from one another, which raises the possibility of conflict developing within the club.
“The village reflects our commitment to the long-term success and wellbeing of everyone connected to the Chiefs, on and off the pitch,” Chiefs CEO Lorna McPherson told the publication, adding that she had never experienced a security issue in her 17 years in PNG.
But living in close quarters with other celebrities and their families for extended periods of time will be very different from the stars’ free-roaming lifestyle in Australia and New Zealand.
Training in intense heat and torrential rains
Although many NRL players will find it difficult, the PNG Hunters, who play in the Queensland Cup, may be accustomed to the heat.
Players will experience significantly more heat stress during off-season training than most rival teams because PNG’s summers are extremely hot and prone to monsoonal rain and flooding.
Players will find it difficult to cool their bodies during sessions due to high humidity in coastal areas, which will hinder sweat evaporation. Compared to teams in milder climes, core temperatures will increase more quickly in these settings, producing tiredness earlier in training.
As the body reroutes blood to the skin for cooling, heart rates will stay high for longer. Wet-season circumstances and heavy rainfall will also interfere with regular training loads and recuperation schedules.
Up to two litres of fluid may be lost by players every hour, hastening dehydration and lowering performance. There will be a much greater chance of developing exertional heat disorders including heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Soft-tissue injuries are more likely to occur with repeated high-intensity workouts because muscle exhaustion will manifest quicker. Under prolonged heat stress, mental acuity and decision-making will deteriorate more rapidly.
Overall, compared to most other NRL teams, training in these harsh tropical conditions would be more difficult and physically taxing.
The gravy train won’t last forever.
The Papua New Guinea NRL team’s capacity to develop local talent to the highest level will determine its success.
With substantial incentives intended to draw players and employees in the early years, the PNG NRL expansion’s financial plan is substantially front-loaded. The tax-free wage agreement, which is anticipated to be in place for about the first ten years of the club’s existence, is crucial to that.
The tax benefit significantly increases take-home pay throughout that time, making contracts substantially more competitive than comparable agreements in Australia.
That benefit is temporary, though, and the financial environment is anticipated to return to regular taxing rules when the first ten-year window expires.
At that moment, the club won’t have the same inherent financial advantage and will have to function under more traditional circumstances.
Long-term retention is called into question by this, especially for athletes who are balancing diminished financial incentives with lifestyle considerations.
Strong net earnings in the early years may draw talent, but if those advantages fade, maintaining that roster becomes more difficult.
In order to close the deficit, it also puts more emphasis on local revenue sources, sponsorship, and business expansion.
Instead of depending on structural advantages, the team will have to compete on regular NRL economics in the absence of the tax concessions.
It makes a clear distinction between short-term financial gain and long-term earning security for players who sign long-term contracts.
As the Chiefs progress past their first finance phase, the model ultimately proposes a gradual shift from incentive-driven recruitment to a more conventional, self-sustaining club structure.
However, veteran rugby league player Dave Maiden has a message for the early pioneers: don’t be scared.
Since his football career ended ten years ago, he has been visiting PNG on a regular basis, and he claimed to have just once worried for his safety.
The former Cowboys lock stated, “The truth is that wearing a [PNG] Chiefs or QRL shirt is like wearing a suit of armor—nobody touches you.”
They are aware that the entire rugby league program, which features NRL stars they see on TV, is in danger if they touch you or if something bad happens to you.
“If you’re smart about it, there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be incident-free, but you shouldn’t be blasé about it because it’s a third-world country with some desperate people.”
