# Prime Minister's XIII

Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose teams were knocked out during the first three weeks of the finals.

## History

The Prime Minister's XIII first played against Papua New Guinea in 2005 at Lloyd Robson Oval in the Papua New Guinean capital, Port Moresby. The team was coached in that match by former Queensland State of Origin coach Mal Meninga, who coached the side until 2012. New South Wales State of Origin coach Laurie Daley then took over from 2013 to 2014 with Ivan Cleary coaching the team in 2015. Meninga, appointed Australian test coach in 2016 also re-took the reins that year.
Originally played in Port Moresby, in recent years the games have been held in various locations around Papua New Guinea, including Lae and Kokopo. Unlike regular international matches, each team is allowed a five-man bench and given unlimited interchanges throughout the match.
Because the selected Australian players are not participating in the NRL finals (and are part of the Australian Test 'train-on' squad), the match is primarily used to keep potential international players match fit ahead of any end-of-season international fixtures. As the match has been played later in September, players who play for a team that has been knocked out in the first two weeks of the finals have been able to be selected for the side.
The match is also used to promote rugby league, as well as humanitarian causes such as HIV and AIDS awareness, among the Papua New Guinean community.
The PM's XIII has never lost a match against Papua New Guinea since the annual fixture commenced, but was held to a 24–24 draw in 2007, after leading 20–0 at half time.
In 2019, the PM's XIII played against the Fiji Prime Minister's XIII for the first time, at the ANZ National Stadium in Suva.
In 2022, after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fixture returned with the PM'x XIII playing the PNG PM's XIII at Suncorp Stadium, the first game to be held in Australia.

## Current squad

The Australian squad for the match on 13 October 2024 was announced on 3 October 2024.

## Results
### 2005

* 18 September 2005
| PNG PM's XIII | 0 – 34 | Australian PM's XIII |
| | Report | Tries 2 Ryan Cross 1 Braith Anasta 1 Brett Finch 1 Kurt Gidley 1 Luke Priddis Goals 1 Clinton Schifcofske 1 Kurt Gidley 1 Luke Ricketson |
* Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Shayne Hayne

### 2006

* 30 September 2006
| PNG PM's XIII | 8 – 28 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries Tom O'Reilly 2 | Report | Tries 2 Jarryd Hayne 1 Nathan Merritt 1 Steve Price 1 Brett Stewart 1 Trent Waterhouse Goals 2 Matt Orford |
* Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby Referee: Ben Cummins

### 2007

* 23 September 2007
| PNG PM's XIII | 24 – 24 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries Nigel Hukula 1 Jessie Joe Nandye 1 Keith Peters 1 Menzie Yere 1 Goals Gimapau Keimelo 4 | Report | Tries 2 Chris Lawrence 2 Joel Monaghan 1 Luke Douglas Goals 2 Kurt Gidley |
* Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Gavin Badger

### 2008

* 28 September 2008
| PNG PM's XIII | 30 – 54 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries Stanley Gene 2 Menzie Yere 2 Nickson Kolo 1 Junior Ropra 1 Goals Tu'u Maori 3 | Report | Tries 2 Jarryd Hayne 2 Chris Lawrence 1 Robbie Farah 1 Nathan Hindmarsh 1 Michael Jennings 1 Josh Morris 1 Joe Picker 1 Carl Webb Goals 6 Scott Prince 1 Terry Campese |
* Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Bernard Sutton

### 2009

* 27 September 2009
| PNG PM's XIII | 18 – 42 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries Tommy Butterfield 1 Seigfried Gande 1 Jessie Joe Nandye 1 Goals Glen Nami 3/3 | Report | Tries 3 Michael Jennings 1 George Rose 1 Matthew Scott 1 David Shillington 1 Glenn Stewart Goals 7/7 Johnathan Thurston |
* Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Brett Suttor

### 2010

* 26 September 2010
| PNG PM's XIII | 18 – 30 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries Nickson Kolo 2 Glen Nami 1 Goals Ryan Tongia 3 | Report | Tries 1 Luke Douglas 1 Chris Sandow 1 Ben Smith 1 Kade Snowden 1 Willie Tonga 1 Akuila Uate Goals 2 Corey Parker 1 James Maloney |
* Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby Attendance: 10,856 Referee: Tony De Las Heras

### 2011

* 25 September 2011
| PNG PM's XIII | 22 – 36 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries Josiah Abavu 1 Dion Aiye 1 Jessie Joe Nandye 1 Ray Thompson 1 Goals Glen Nami 3 | Report | Tries 2 Blake Ferguson 2 Josh Morris 1 Luke Burt 1 Nathan Merritt Goals 3 Luke Burt 1 Matthew Bowen 1 Michael Crocker 1 Nathan Hindmarsh |
* Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium, Lae Attendance: 16,528 Referee: Adam Devcich

### 2012

* 23 September 2012
| PNG PM's XIII | 18 – 24 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries Richard Kambo 1 David Loko 1 Albert Patak 1 Matthew Puke 1 Goals Israel Eliab 1/4 | Report | Tries 1 Michael Jennings 1 Feleti Mateo 1 Beau Ryan 1 Akuila Uate Goals 4/4 Scott Prince |
* Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Phil Haines

### 2013

* 29 September 2013
| PNG PM's XIII | 10 – 50 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries Josiah Abavu 1 Israel Eliab 1 Goals Sebastian Pandia 1 | Report | Tries 2 Jarryd Hayne 1 Kevin Gordon 1 Brett Morris 1 Josh Papalii 1 Aidan Sezer 1 David Shillington 1 James Tamou 1 Brent Tate Goals 6 Aidan Sezer 1 Corey Parker |
* Kalabond Oval, Kokopo Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Gavin Morris

### 2014

* 12 October 2014
| PNG PM's XIII | 16 – 34 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries Thompson Teteh 2 Israel Eliab 1 Goals Noel Zeming 2 | Report | Tries 2 Aaron Woods 1 Will Chambers 1 Josh Mansour 1 Anthony Milford 1 Beau Scott Goals 3 Ben Hunt 2 Matt Moylan |
* Kalabond Oval, Kokopo Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Grant Atkins

### 2015

* 26 September 2015
| PNG PM's XIII | 12 – 40 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries Watson Boas 1 Justin Olam 1 Goals David Missian 2 | Report | Tries 2 David Nofoaluma 1 Euan Aitken 1 Jarrod Croker 1 Alex Johnston 1 Jeremy Latimore 1 Chris McQueen 1 Jack Wighton Goals 2 Jarrod Croker 2 Adam Reynolds |
* Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby Attendance: 18,113 Referee: Gavin Reynolds

### 2016

* 24 September 2016
| PNG PM's XIII | 0 – 58 | Australian PM's XIII |
| | Report | Tries: 3 Mitchell Moses 2 Josh Dugan 2 Blake Ferguson 2 Greg Inglis 1 Moses Mbye 1 Semi Radradra Goals: 4 Matt Moylan 3 Mitchell Moses |
* National Football Stadium, Port Moresby Attendance: 15,011 Referee: David Munro

### 2017

* 23 September 2017
| PNG PM's XIII | 8 – 48 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries: Stanford Talita 1 Goals: Jason Missian 2/2 | Report | Tries: 3 Tom Trbojevic 3 James Tedesco 1 Tyson Frizell 1 James Maloney Goals: 6/6 James Maloney 1/1 Andrew Fifita 1/1 Valentine Holmes |
* National Football Stadium, Port Moresby Attendance: 13,468 Referee: Henry Perenara

### 2018

* 6 October 2018
| PNG PM's XIII | 18 – 34 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries: Kyle Laybutt 1 Rhyse Martin 1 Justin Olam 1 Goals: Rhyse Martin 3/3 | 1st: 6 – 24 2nd: 12 – 10 Report | Tries: 2 Daly Cherry-Evans 1 Corey Allan 1 Nick Cotric 1 Chad Townsend 1 Jake Trbojevic Goals: 5/6 Zac Lomax |
* National Football Stadium, Port Moresby Attendance: 14,007 Referee: Chris Sutton

### 2019

* 11 October 2019 6:30pm
| Fiji PM's XIII | 10 – 52 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries: Ropate Tobe (19') 1 Apimeleki Lutu (53') 1 Goals: Timoci Namotokula 1/1 (54') Maika Tudravu 0/1 | 1st: 4 – 26 2nd: 6 – 26 | Tries: 3 (22', 29', 50') Clint Gutherson 2 (2', 43') Kyle Feldt 1 (6') Payne Haas 1 (10') Campbell Graham 1 (65') Paul Momirovski 1 (69') Reuben Garrick 1 (74') David Fifita 1 (80') Cody Walker Goals: 2/4 Mitchell Moses (7', 23') 2/3 Paul Momirovski (30', 45') 0/1 Reuben Garrick 0/1 Ben Hunt 0/1 Clint Gutherson 0/1 Kyle Feldt |
* ANZ National Stadium, Suva Referee: Chris Butler

### 2022

* 25 September 2022 7:35pm
| Australian PM's XIII | 64 –14 | PNG PM's XIII |
| Tries: Matt Burton (22', 64') 2 Selwyn Cobbo (29', 79') 2 Nat Butcher (2') 1 Josh Addo-Carr (9') 1 Angus Crichton (12') 1 Zac Lomax (14') 1 Jake Averillo (33') 1 Sam Walker (69') 1 Dane Laurie (72') 1 Beau Fermor (74') 1 Goals: Zac Lomax 8/11 (3', 11', 13', 15', 24', 71', 73', 75') Josh Addo-Carr 0/1 | 1st: 38 – 4 2nd: 26 – 10 | Tries: 1 Edene Gebbie (39') 1 Jimmy Ngutlik (44') 1 Brandon Nima (54') Goals: 1/3 Kyle Laybutt (45') |
* Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Referee: Todd Smith

### 2023

* 23 September 2023 16:00 PST
| PNG PM's XIII | 18–30 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries: 3 Macdonald 4' Ten 46' Kapinias 70' Goals: 3 Z. Laybutt 3/3 6', 48', 71' | 1st: 6–12 2nd: 12–18 Report | Tries: 5 Taulagi 15' Young 33' Khan-Pereira 58' McInnes 61' Sloan 79' Goals: 5 Lomax 5/5 17', 35', 58', 63', 80' |
* Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby Referee: Peter Gough

### 2024

* 13 October 2024 15:05 PST
| PNG PM's XIII | 20–42 | Australian PM's XIII |
| Tries: 4 Rumbu 4' Mathias 9' Glare 69' Max 76' Goals: 2 Mavoko 2/4 6', 11' | 1st: 12–16 2nd: 8–26 Report | Tries: 8 Fermor 13' Wishart 27' Liddle 33' Weekes 42', 48' Khan-Pereira 53' Lucas 59' McIntyre 73' Goals: 5 Garrick 4/7 15', 35', 44', 59' Fermor 1/1 74' |
* Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby Referee: Liam Kennedy

## Players
### Captains

* Luke Ricketson (2005)
* Steve Price (2006)
* Mark Gasnier (2007)
* Nathan Hindmarsh (2008, 2011)
* Johnathan Thurston (2009)
* Corey Parker (2010)
* Scott Prince (2012)
* Robbie Farah (2013)
* Greg Bird (2014)
* Trent Merrin (2015)
* Greg Inglis (2016)
* Aaron Woods (2017)
* Daly Cherry-Evans (2018, 2022)
* Wade Graham (2019)
* Cameron Murray (2023)
* Damien Cook (2024)

## Coaches

* Mal Meninga (2005–2012, 2016–23)
* Laurie Daley (2013–2014)
* Ivan Cleary (2015)
* Brad Fittler (2024)

## Records
### Team

* Largest winning margins
** 58 58–0 vs PNG PM's XIII, National Football Stadium – 24 September 2016.
** 50 54–14 vs PNG PM's XIII, Suncorp Stadium – 25 September 2022.
** 42 52–10 v Fiji PM's XIII, ANZ National Stadium – 11 October 2019.
** 40 50–10 vs PNG PM's XIII, Kalabond Oval – 29 September 2013.
** 40 48–8 vs PNG PM's XIII, National Football Stadium – 23 September 2017.

### Individual

* Most games
** 6 Jake Trbojevic (2015–19)
** 5 Robbie Farah (2006, 2008–09, 2013–14)
** 5 Aaron Woods (2012, 2014, 2016–18)
** 5 Ben Hunt (2014, 2018–19, 2022–23)
* Most tries
** 6 Jarryd Hayne
** 5 Michael Jennings
** 4 Blake Ferguson
** 4 Chris Lawrence
* Most points
** 40 Zac Lomax
** 24 Jarryd Hayne
** 24 Mitchell Moses
** 20 Michael Jennings
** 20 Scott Prince
* Most tries in a match
** 3 Michael Jennings (2009)
** 3 Mitchell Moses (2016)
** 3 Tom Trbojevic (2017)
** 3 James Tedesco (2017)
** 3 Clinton Gutherson (2019)
* Most points in a match
** 18 Mitchell Moses (2016)
** 16 Aidan Sezer (2013)
** 16 James Maloney (2017)
** 14 Johnathan Thurston (2007)