Manu's talks with PNG PM helped lock in Chiefs deal

Joey Manu, a two-time premiership winner in rugby league, recently announced his decision to join the expansion Chiefs in the NRL in 2028. The PNG outfit will officially be able to enter the open market in November, with the team's availability of star players Nathan Cleary and Sam Walker being closely watched. Manu's choice to join the Chiefs was influenced by a conversation with Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape, who expressed his passion for making the team not just a PNG team, but a Pacific team, aiming to garner support from Pacific nations behind the club.

Manu, who currently plays rugby union in France, will be 31 when the two-year deal starts and can play fullback, centre, or even five-eighth. He expressed pride in being a Cook Island and Māori man and the impact he hopes to make on young Pacific Island rugby players. His signing brings him onto a list of other notable Chiefs signings, including Jarome Luai, Alex Johnston, Connor Watson, Brian To'o, Zac Lomax, and English prop Matty Lees.