Brian To'o joins PNG Chiefs' star-studded NRL roster
Days after scoring in Penrith's qualification final win, Brian To'o becomes the sixth signing for expansion club PNG Chiefs, joining an already stacked backline.
Brian To'o's try sealed Penrith's qualification final win over the Sydney Roosters on Sunday, and in Port Moresby it gave rugby league fans almost as much to celebrate as it did in Penrith. The 28-year-old winger is the sixth signing of PNG Chiefs, the NRL expansion club that hopes to have a side capable of contesting a grand final within two years.
When the Port Moresby-based franchise was first proposed, few expected players to want to move there. Chief executive Lorna McPherson says that scepticism has given way to a different problem entirely.
To'o followed Jarome Luai, his close friend and the club's inaugural signing, into the Chiefs' colours. Also on the roster: winger Alex Johnston, the NRL's all-time leading tryscorer and a Kumuls representative, former New South Wales Blues utility Connor Watson, England prop Matty Lees, and Zac Lomax, returning to league from a stint in rugby union while still in his Prime. Joey Manu, the former Rooster now coming back from French rugby, signed three weeks ago as the club's seventh recruit.
Coach Willie Peters and general manager Michael Chammas, a former journalist, have worked alongside McPherson to build the roster. Tax breaks for players based in Papua New Guinea have also played a part in persuading established NRL names to sign.
A club that six months ago struggled to convince anyone it could attract talent now finds itself fielding questions about how it did so. If the Chiefs' backline performs as assembled, the pressure shifts from filling a roster to living up to one.
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