# Papua New Guinea National Rugby League

The Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition (or the PNGNRL for short, for sponsorship reasons the PNGNRL Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup) is a semi-professional rugby league competition held annually in Papua New Guinea. Changes in sponsorship have meant it was Formerly known as the SP Inter-City Cup or SP Cup (1990–2008) and later the Bemobile Cup (2009–2010). The current competition is sponsored by pacific telecommunications giant Digicel and new co-naming rights sponsor ExxonMobil (one of the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas companies) which joined in 2023 and so it is currently called the Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup.

## History

Previous to 2005 the PNG NRL was called the SP Inter-City Cup. The national competition was known as the SP Cup, and has been held since 1990. No competition was held in 2004 due to financial problems and province violence in certain provinces. But the competition returned for 2005 season as the new-look PNGNRL.
The 2005 season had eight teams in total from all around Papua New Guinea. In 2006, one team got relegated (Monier Broncos) to make way for two new teams, Central Raiders and Pagini Warriors. The inaugural winner of the competition was the Agmark Gurias who beat the Brian Bell Bulldogs in Port Moresby.
In 2009, local mobile telecommunication Company, Bemobile, took over from SP Brewery as the competitions major sponsor. Currently 9 teams compete in the competition.
On February 9, 2011, telecommucations company Digicel who has taken over the industry in PNG since its operation started in 2007, announced that it will be sponsoring PNG's premier sporting event for the next five years.

### Sponsorship Names

* SP Inter-City Cup – (1990–2008)
* Bemobile Cup – (2009–10)
* Digicel Cup – (2011–2022)
* Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup -- (2023 -- present)

## Teams

2023 Digicel Cup Teams :
| Team | Stadium | City/Area |
| Central Dabaris | Oil Search National Football Stadium | Port Moresby, National Capital District |
| Enga Mioks | Johnson Siki Aipus | Wabag, Enga Province |
| Goroka Lahanis | National Sports Institute | Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province |
| Gulf Isou | Oil Search National Football Stadium | Kerema, Gulf Province |
| Hela Wigmen | Oil Search National Football Stadium | Tari Hela Province |
| Kimbe Cutters | Muthuvel Stadium | Kimbe, West New Britain Province |
| Lae Snax Tigers | Lae League Oval | Lae, Morobe Province |
| Mendi Muruks | Joseph Keviame Oval | Mendi, Southern Highlands Province |
| Mt. Hagen Eagles | Rebiamul Oval | Mt. Hagen, Western Highlands Province |
| Port Moresby Vipers | Oil Search National Football Stadium | Port Moresby, National Capital District |
| Rabaul Gurias | Kalabond Oval | Kokopo, East New Britain Province |
| Sepik Pride | Pora Oval | Wewak, East Sepik Province |

## History of Premiers

| Year | Premiers | Runners Up | Score | Attendance |
| 1990 | Port Moresby Vipers | Mt Hagen Eagles | 22–14 | 9,230 |
| 1991 | Port Moresby Vipers | Mt Hagen Eagles | 18–18 | 8,900 |
| 1992 | Port Moresby Vipers | Mt Hagen Eagles | 36–0 | 12,112 |
| 1993 | Goroka Lahanis | Port Moresby Vipers | 22–10 | 8,291 |
| 1994 | Port Moresby Vipers | Goroka Lahanis | 36–30 | 8,011 |
| 1995 | Lae Bombers | Mendi Muruks | 28–18 | 10,232 |
| 1996 | Mendi Muruks | Kundiawa Warriors | 11–10 | 12,312 |
| 1997 | Mt Hagen Eagles | Lae Bombers | 19–16 | 10,271 |
| 1998 | Mt Hagen Eagles | Mendi Muruks | 14–6 | 9,278 |
| 1999 | Goroka Lahanis | Rabaul Gurias | 24–0 | 10,812 |
| 2000 | Enga Mioks | Rabaul Gurias | 36–20 | 14,123 |
| 2001 | Rabaul Gurias | Goroka Lahanis | 18–2 | 10,912 |
| 2002 | Lae Bombers | Rabaul Gurias | 14–12 | 12,321 |
| 2003 | Rabaul Gurias | Lae Bombers | 17–16 | 12,381 |
| 2004 | Mendi Menjals | Popondetta Butterflies | 22–0 | 12,322 |
| 2005 | Rabaul Gurias | Port Moresby Bulldogs | 14–13 | 10,249 |
| 2006 | Mendi Muruks | Goroka Lahanis | 19–14 | 12,021 |
| 2007 | Mendi Muruks | Rabaul Gurias | 42–6 | 11,000+ |
| 2008 | Mendi Muruks | Mt Hagen Eagles | 14–4 | 12,000+ |
| 2009 | Rabaul Gurias | Enga Mioks | 24–14 | 15,000+ |
| 2010 | Goroka Lahanis | Mendi Muruks | 21–10 | 20,000+ |
| 2011 | Goroka Lahanis | Rabaul Gurias | 20–10 | 20,000+ |
| 2012 | Rabaul Gurias | Mendi Muruks | 14–10 | 20,000+ |
| 2013 | Port Moresby Vipers | Goroka Lahanis | 36–14 | 20,000+ |
| 2014 | Hela Wigmen | Agmark Gurias | 34–8 | |
| 2015 | Rabaul Gurias | TNA Simbu Lions | 26–18 | 20,000+ |
| 2016 | Lae Snax Tigers | Rabaul Gurias | 14–8 | 20,000+ |
| 2017 | Lae Snax Tigers | Rabaul Gurias | 11–10 | 20,000+ |
| 2018 | Goroka Lahanis | Enga Mioks | 10–6 | 20,000+ |
| 2019 | Lae Snax Tigers | Hela Wigmen | 15–4 | 20,000+ |
| 2020 | Hela Wigmen | Lae Snax Tigers | 16–14 | |
| 2021 | Lae Snax Tigers | Waghi Tumbe | 16–10 | |
| 2022 | Hela Wigmen | Rabaul Gurias | 8-6 | |
| 2023 | Enga Mioks | Goroka Lahanis | 26-6 | |

## Performance by team

| Team | Win | Runners Up | Winning years | Runners Up years |
| Rabaul Gurias | 6 | 8 | 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015 | 1999, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2022 |
| Goroka Lahanis | 5 | 5 | 1993, 1999, 2010, 2011, 2018 | 1994, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2023 |
| Port Moresby Vipers | 5 | 2 | 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2013 | 1993, 2005 (as Port Moresby Bulldogs) |
| Mendi Muruks | 4 | 4 | 1996, 2006, 2007, 2008 | 1995, 1998, 2010, 2012 |
| Lae Snax Tigers | 4 | 1 | 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 | 2020 |
| Hela Wigmen | 3 | 1 | 2014, 2020, 2022 | 2019 |
| Mt Hagen Eagles | 2 | 4 | 1997, 1998 | 1990, 1991, 1992, 2008 |
| Lae Bombers | 2 | 2 | 1995, 2002 | 1997, 2003 |
| Enga Mioks | 2 | 2 | 2000, 2023 | 2009, 2018 |
| Mendi Menjals | 1 | 0 | 2004 | |
| Waghi Tumbe | 0 | 1 | | 2021 |
| Popondetta Butterflies | 0 | 1 | | 2004 |
| TNA Simbu Lions | 0 | 1 | | 2015 |
| Simbu Warriors | 0 | 1 | | 1996 |