Nightingale questions PM’s XIII selection
ENB Agmark Gurias owner Steven Nightingale says he is very disappointed that only two Gurias players were selected for the PNG Prime Minister's XIII.
In a Facebook post, Nightingale said he does not usually comment on the selections, but felt he had to speak out after only two Gurias players made the 20-man PM's XIII squad.
The Gurias finished the season as Premiers, emerging as the form team of the competition through the finals.
"Over the past month, when the pressure was at its highest, the Gurias were the form team of the competition. Our players performed through the finals series and ultimately delivered when a Premiership was on the line. Yet from a 20-man PM's XIII squad, we have only two players selected: Chris Benjamin [Left Winger] and Emmanuel Alfred [Hooker]. That is difficult for me to understand," Nightingale said.
Nightingale said that it is a double blow for the club after no Gurias players were named in the Team of the Year at the end-of-season awards.
"So the team that ultimately won the Premiership has no players in the Team of the Year and only two players selected in the PM's XIII squad”, he said.
He said winning the Premiership does not automatically guarantee representative honors, but believes form should have counted for more.
"I don't believe winning the Premiership automatically gives our players a right to representative selection. Selection has to be earned. But I genuinely believe another two, possibly three Gurias players had done enough on form and performance to earn selection, giving us four or five representatives”.
Nightingale, who once served as Assistant Coach of the PNG Prime Minister's XIII in 2017, said he understands what the fixture demands against Australian NRL talent.
"This year's team will be playing against Australian NRL talent. If there is ever a game where current form, confidence and the ability to perform under pressure should carry significant weight, surely this is it," he said.
He also questioned the benching of one of the two selected Gurias players [Emmanuel Alfred], despite being named Man of the Match in the Grand Final and among the Gurias' best throughout the finals.
Nightingale said he is proud of Chris Benjamin and Emmanuel Alfred, who he said thoroughly deserve their selections, but his disappointment is for the other players who missed out.
"What more did some of these players need to do? They performed consistently.
"They performed in finals football. They performed under pressure. And they became Premiership winners," he said.
"I respect that selectors have a difficult job and there will always be different opinions around representative selections.
"But when the Premiership-winning team has no players in the Team of the Year and only two players in the PM's XIII, I believe it is reasonable to question the selection criteria and how much weight is being given to current form."
"As Chairman and Franchise Owner, I am disappointed. More importantly, I am disappointed for our players. Form should matter. Finals form should matter even more," a disappointed Nightingale said.