All the talk about Jarome Luai’s bombshell switch to the PNG Chiefs has centred around the fact he’ll earn a reported $1.2million tax-free per season after signing on when he was courted with a private jet ride to Port Moresby.
The three-time premiership winner was Wests Tigers’ messiah until he signed a caveat-loaded contract to become the face of the NRL’s boldest move in decades.
The PNG Chiefs are the brainchild of the NRL and the Australian and Papua New Guinea governments, who want to reward the citizens of the only country on Earth where rugby league is the national sport – and put a dent in China’s ambitions to increase its influence in the region.
So players are being offered tax-free contracts, in both Australia and PNG, which was scoffed at by many until Luai put pen to paper.
The floodgates are likely to open now, with plenty of players the subject of speculation that they could follow the money to Port Moresby.
But if you think Luai, Alex Johnston and the stars who join them with the Chiefs are bound for a life of luxury while they live securely in a guarded compound, think again.
Jarome Luai became the first marquee player to sign for the PNG Chiefs, thanks in no small part to a tax-free deal that will earn him millions
Luai is pictured signing the contract that will make him the face of the NRL’s newest – and riskiest – franchise
Luai and his young family will face plenty of challenges in Port Moresby, including living in a secure compound for their own safety
NRL assistant coach Mick Crawley has coached in extreme conditions during his time at the North Queensland Cowboys, and he has already warned about the dramatic difference players will experience at training in PNG.
‘The hype is all north right now, but it ignores some of the realities. In Port Moresby, you’re training in 90 per cent humidity – that’s a survival test,’ he told News Corp.
‘It creates problems around maintaining weight, exhaustion, and even simple things like infections that can sideline a player in that heat.’
But the weather shapes as the least of the challenges NRL players and their families face if they relocate.
The lack of safety is a real and present danger, and players must consider the fact they may be locked in their compound for the majority of their stay in PNG.
Players and their families cannot treat this as a FIFO gig. They must remain in PNG for the duration of the season and much of the off-season.
That means they are effectively locked inside what amounts to a glorified hotel complex because in a nation that boasts the world’s second-worst rate of crime, wandering outside protected spaces can prove fatal.
Kidnapping, political unrest and tribal violence are real and prevalent issues – then you have the country’s problems with witchcraft and sorcery.
There is danger around every turn in the nation’s capital
Pictured: Looters are pictured during angry protests in Port Moresby in 2024
Papua New Guinea has the second-highest crime rate in the world and visitors are told to exercise caution. Police are pictured on patrol in the Highlands after 64 people died in battles between rival tribes in 2024
Crime is a defining feature of daily life in Port Moresby, and the data highlights just how serious the risks are outside controlled environments.
The city carries a crime index of 81.26 and a safety index of just 18.74, placing it among the highest-risk urban centres globally. And it is a figure the capital carries regularly, year on year.
Townsville, home of the North Queensland Cowboys, has the worst crime index in Australia at 61.8, followed by Newcastle at 48.4.
On a national scale, Australia is one of the safest countries in the world, with an overall crime level rated moderate at 49.89, compared to Papua New Guinea’s very high 85.70.
Personal safety on Australian streets is reassuringly moderate across the board, with fears of being mugged, attacked, or insulted all sitting between 40 and 49, whereas the same concerns in PNG consistently exceed 75.
Australia’s lowest score of all is just 33.56 for fear of bias-motivated attacks, reflecting a society where most people feel protected regardless of their background, compared to PNG’s high rating of 71.34 on the same measure.
Violent and property crime show some of the largest gaps in the dataset, with Australia sitting moderate in both while PNG scores a very high 85.04 and 85.85 respectively.
Most telling of all is corruption and bribery, where Australia’s low score of 37.64 sits alongside PNG’s very high 88.67, the single highest figure in the entire comparison
For incoming NRL players, it means living in a city where security is not optional but essential, and where life outside guarded compounds is shaped by very real and widely acknowledged risks.
Life outside the compound will be very different to what they expect
Stars from PNG’s national team, the Kumuls (in red and yellow) are used to the conditions in their homeland – but pampered NRL stars will be in for a huge shock
New NRL players arriving in Papua New Guinea will be based in a secure, multi-million-dollar, resort-style compound designed to replicate the comforts of elite professional environments, but the contrast beyond those walls will be immediate and difficult to ignore.
While the compound will offer reliable power, clean water, premium food and modern facilities, access to those same amenities across the broader community is far more limited.
Only about 15 per cent of the country is connected to electricity, meaning consistent power is not a given for most households or businesses.
Even in urban centres, outages and interruptions are common, affecting everything from refrigeration to retail trading hours.
The everyday suburban conveniences many players are used to in Australia, such as large supermarkets, 24-hour services, air-conditioned shopping centres and a wide range of dining options, are nowhere near as readily available or consistent.
Retail options can be smaller in scale, with limited product ranges and supply chains that are more vulnerable to disruption. Imported goods can be expensive or difficult to source, and the variety of fresh and packaged items is often narrower than what players would expect.
Simple services that underpin modern suburban life, such as reliable internet, seamless cashless payments and constant access to utilities, can also vary significantly depending on location.
While the players’ compound will buffer much of this, daily life outside that environment will highlight the gap between a controlled, high-performance setting and the realities of a country still developing its core infrastructure.
Kidnapping is a scary and all-too-common occurrence
Australian professor Bryce Barker (second from left) was a victim of kidnapping and ransom in Papua New Guinea
Kidnapping is not really a threat the everyday NRL player and their family has to worry about in Australia or New Zealand. In PNG, it is a violent and common part of daily life.
Cashed-up footy players would make ideal targets for local organised crime gangs and raiders from the Highlands alike.
This is not hyperbole or scaremongering: it’s estimated there are 89,000 displaced people in the Highlands, although that figure is likely much higher as records are scratchy at best.
Kidnappings are most likely to occur in remote areas and near some mining sites, far away from the gated NRL compound. However, the kidnapping risk remains high for foreigners in Port Moresby.
In March 2022, a Filipino national was kidnapped and killed in the capital.
On February 15, 2025, a 23-year-old woman named Margaret Gamaru Gabriel was kidnapped, brutally raped, and murdered at the Watermark Estate in Baruni, near Port Moresby.
An Australian professor, Bryce Barker, and three female PNG researchers were held for over a week in the Highlands near Mt Bosavi by a gang in February 2023.
A male health worker, a teacher, their wives, and several students were among eight people kidnapped by a gang in the village of Adumari in 2025.
The problem has escalated to the point that Australia has stepped in to help.
West Australian firm Executive Risk Solutions, founded by former Special Air Service Regiment soldier Scott Houston, has assisted the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary in establishing its new KUMUL 23 police tactical group to tackle the problem.
Life gets very harsh outside of Port Moresby
PNG has a 60,000-year history of tribal confrontations (pictured, a Huli tribesman at a festival)
Life outside Port Moresby presents a completely different reality again, particularly in the Highlands and remote provinces, where much of the population lives.
Papua New Guinea remains one of the most rural countries in the world, with the majority of people living in small, traditional communities and relying on subsistence farming rather than a structured, cash-based economy.
In these regions, modern suburban conveniences are often minimal or non-existent, with few formal shops, limited supply chains and little access to large-scale retail.
Many communities operate through local markets or trade systems rather than supermarkets, and access to goods can depend heavily on transport routes that are often unreliable or cut off entirely. Infrastructure is sparse, with roads limited, services stretched, and entire areas effectively isolated for long periods.
Electricity access drops even further outside major centres, meaning most households and businesses operate without consistent power, if any at all.
That impacts everything from food storage to communication, with refrigeration, lighting and basic appliances not part of daily life for large portions of the population. Internet and mobile connectivity can also be patchy or absent altogether, further separating remote communities from the systems players are used to.
Law enforcement and public services are also limited in many areas, with authorities often stretched across vast and difficult terrain. In parts of the Highlands, long-standing tribal conflicts remain a reality, and violence has escalated in recent years, including deadly clashes that have drawn international attention.
For incoming NRL players, it means stepping into a country where the gap between elite, controlled environments and everyday life is not just noticeable, but extreme, particularly once you move beyond the capital and into regional or remote areas.
Witchcraft and sorcery
Tribes in PNG treat witchcraft and sorcery very seriously, which can lead to violent outbursts and unrest
The unique traditions that define PNG also make the country a melting pot of different beliefs
The mention of sorcery and witchcraft is probably the stuff of kids’ books, comics and fantasy movies for NRL fans – but that’s not the view of many Papua New Guineans, who have taken the occult very seriously for thousands of years.
Accusations of sorcery can escalate quickly and often lead to violence, torture, or even killings.
These incidents are known as sorcery accusation-related violence and remain a serious law-and-order issue.
The PNG government recognised the scale of the problem in 2015 and introduced a national action plan to combat it.
It included repealing the Sorcery Act and focusing on prosecution, protection, and community education.
However, enforcement remains inconsistent, particularly in remote areas with limited police presence.
Strong cultural beliefs, fear, and community pressure continue to drive accusations despite legal reforms.
Foreigners can be at risk if they are misunderstood, isolated, or caught up in local disputes or rumours.
Outsiders may also be viewed with suspicion or blamed during times of crisis or unexplained events.
In some cases, simply being present in a tense community situation can put foreigners in danger.
The compound isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
The long-term accommodation for players like star signing Alex Johnston (pictured) has been described as ‘still literally a hole in the ground’
Players and their families will be put up at the five-star Airways resort in Port Moresby, plus they’ll also have access to the private Loloata Island Resort.
However, the long-term accommodation for the stars and their loved ones hasn’t been built yet and is ‘still literally a hole in the ground’, according to Channel Nine.
It is scheduled to be ready by November 2027, when players start arriving ahead of the team’s debut in the 2028 season.
According to Nine, the brand-new digs will be built in a tower, with players living stacked on top of each other, leading to concerns along the lines of what surfaced when Warriors players were forced to live in a Covid ‘bubble’ during the pandemic.
It means the teammates and their families will find it extremely difficult to get space away from each other, even on their days off, leading to concerns about friction building up within the club.
Chiefs CEO Lorna McPherson told the publication she has never had a problem with security in her 17 years in PNG, and has previously said, ‘The village reflects our commitment to the long‑term success and wellbeing of everyone connected to the Chiefs, on and off the field.’
However, the experience of spending so much time living in close quarters with other stars and their families will be a world away from the free-roaming world the stars experience in Australia and New Zealand.
Training in extreme heat and monsoonal wet
The PNG Hunters, who compete in the Queensland Cup, may be used to the hot conditions, but plenty of NRL players will struggle
Summer in PNG is brutally hot and subject to monsoonal rain and flooding, so off-season training will place players under far greater heat stress than most rival teams.
High humidity across coastal regions will limit sweat evaporation, meaning players struggle to cool their bodies during sessions. Core temperatures will rise faster in these conditions, increasing fatigue earlier in training compared to teams in milder climates.
Heart rates will remain elevated for longer periods as the body diverts blood to the skin for cooling. Heavy rainfall and wet-season conditions will also disrupt consistent training loads and recovery routines.
Players may lose up to two litres of fluid per hour, accelerating dehydration and reducing performance output. The risk of exertional heat illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke will be significantly higher.
Muscle fatigue will set in earlier, increasing the likelihood of soft-tissue injuries during repeated high-intensity efforts. Mental sharpness and decision-making will decline more quickly under sustained heat stress.
Overall, training in these extreme tropical conditions will be tougher and more physically demanding than what most other NRL teams face.
The gravy train will not be around forever
The success of the Papua New Guinea NRL side will hang on its ability to bring home-grown talent up to first-grade standard
The financial model underpinning the PNG NRL expansion is heavily front-loaded, with significant incentives designed to attract players and staff in the early years. Central to that is the tax-free wage arrangement, which is expected to apply for roughly the first decade of the club’s existence.
During that period, the tax advantage creates a substantial boost to take-home pay, making contracts far more competitive than equivalent deals in Australia.
However, that advantage is not permanent, and once the initial 10-year window closes, the financial landscape is expected to shift back to standard taxation arrangements.
At that point, the club will need to operate under more conventional conditions, without the same built-in financial edge.
This raises questions about long-term retention, particularly for players weighing lifestyle factors against reduced financial incentives.
The early years may attract talent through strong net earnings, but sustaining that roster becomes more complex once those benefits disappear.
It also places greater pressure on commercial growth, sponsorship and local revenue streams to bridge the gap.
Without the tax concessions, the club will need to compete on standard NRL economics rather than relying on structural advantages.
For players signing long-term deals, it creates a clear split between short-term financial gain and long-term earning stability.
Ultimately, the model suggests a gradual transition from incentive-driven recruitment to a more traditional, self-sustaining club structure as the Chiefs move beyond their initial funding phase.
For the pioneers in the early years, though, former rugby league player Dave Maiden has a message: don’t be afraid.
He has been travelling to PNG regularly for a decade since his footy career wound up and said he has only feared for his safety on a single occasion.
‘The reality is that with a [PNG] Chiefs shirt or a QRL shirt, it’s like a suit of armour – nobody touches you,’ the former Cowboys lock said.
‘They know if they touch you, if there’s anything that happens to you, you jeopardise the whole rugby league program that brings NRL stars they see on TV.
‘You shouldn’t be blasé about it because it is a third-world country and there are some desperate people there, but if you’re smart about it, there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be incident-free.’
