New Leigh Leopards recruit shares Papua New Guinean pride as ‘massive privilege’ detailed

New Leigh Leopards signing Jacob Alick-Wiencke has shared his pride at representing Papua New Guinea, and backed the Kumuls to fulfil a ‘massive privilege’ by delivering a strong World Cup showing.

Versatile forward Alick-Wiencke was born in Brisbane, but is among an ever-growing number of players opting to represent PNG on the international stage via their heritage.

His links to the Pacific nation stem from his late grandmother, who was born in Daru, the capital of the Western Province.

Having made his bow back in June 2022 against Fiji, the 26-year-old has gone on to amass a total of 12 Test caps to date.

And with a World Cup coming up this autumn which will see a handful of games take place on home soil for the Kumuls, Alick-Wiencke believes something special is brewing.

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‘You’ll see in the World Cup that we’ll have a really strong squad… Our football has come on leaps and bounds’

Having played 19 NRL games for the Gold Coast Titans, Alick-Wiencke has made the move to the UK ahead of 2026, penning a three-year deal with Leigh.

Speaking to LoveRugbyLeague during the Leopards’ pre-season media day, he said: “You can see in Super League at the moment, there’s a litter of PNG players and they’re all throughout the competition.

“London have brought over probably eight-to-ten (PNG) players as well in the Championship, and I think our team gets better every year.

“There are a couple of young boys over in Australia that are coming through as well in the NRL systems, and I think you’ll see in the World Cup that we’ll have a really strong squad.

“Our football has come on leaps and bounds. Since I’ve been involved from 2022, we’ve gone to another level, and it’s been really cool to see.”

‘As soon as the rugby league comes on, the whole nation stops and everyone huddles around a ten-inch TV just to watch’

PNG’s love for the game is well-documented, and soon, the nation will have an NRL team to cheer on in the shape of the PNG Chiefs. They will enter the competition Down Under in 2028, but before that, there’s a World Cup to enjoy.

Leopards star Alick-Wiencke insists the locals will do just that, as he opened up on how privileged he and his Kumuls team-mates feel that they are able to represent such a passionate nation.

Under the watchful eye of Jason Demetriou, the Kumuls have won back-to-back Pacific Bowls, that on the back of a run to the quarter-finals of the delayed 2021 Rugby League World Cup, where it was host nation England that ended their tournament

Alick-Wiencke detailed: “There’s wars and politics going on over there, but as soon as the rugby league comes on, the whole nation stops and everyone huddles around a ten-inch TV just to watch.

“When you’re over there playing, you can feel the atmosphere, they’re loud as anything.

“You get off the flight and there are a thousand people waiting to greet you at the airport!

“It’s a massive privilege because there’s obviously poverty in the country, and that’s really sad to think of when you’re getting to stay in five-star hotels and things like that.

“There are two sides of the coin there, but it’s a huge privilege every time we get to go over and play.”