Jason Demetriou is doing something you rarely see in professional sport: actively campaigning for his Papua New Guinea stars on the London Broncos to pursue signing with the NRL's 19th team, the PNG Chiefs.
Not only is Demetriou a former Rabbitoh and the current London Broncos coach, but he is also the PNG Kumuls head coach, and he isn't hiding his excitement to see his PNG stars join the NRL side in 2028.
When PNG Chiefs General Manager of Football, Michael Chammas, touches down in London in the coming weeks, Demetriou plans to fling the doors wide open, sit him down, and point him straight toward two men who just tore the RFL Championship competition apart.
On Sunday, five-eighth Gairo Varo and fullback Morea Morea were nothing short of electric.
With a sizeable chunk of PNG teammates sidelined by injury, the pair shouldered the burden.
Voro blazed across for four tries while Morea added a hat-trick, combining for seven of London's tries in the 64-0 victory over the Midlands.
It was also the Broncos' 11th consecutive victory, continuing their undefeated streak and creating a new club record.
Demetriou could barely contain his excitement about what he witnessed from Voro.
"It's great to see Gairo getting his running game on - I thought that was probably the best he's played this year, which is exciting," he told NRL.com.
When asked if Voro and Morea would be in Chammas' sights, Demetriou answered confidently: "They should be."
The story of PNG players coming to London was never about making their way into the Super League.
It was about the players getting a chance to prove themselves ahead of one of the most significant moments in rugby league history.
"I know Michael Chammas is coming over here in the next few weeks, and he'll want to sit down with some of our boys," Demetriou said.
"He'll talk to me. Part of bringing the boys over here was so that they could showcase their talent to go in the shop window, so they can play for the Chiefs.
“The beauty of that is we get to keep them for another year, so if they do go to the Chiefs, they're still a London player for another year.
“But as it stands, only Finley (Glare) and Morea are contracted for 2027. And Jerry (Jeremiah Simbiken) is contracted. The rest of the boys are off contract.”
For Demetriou, he understands what playing in the inaugural NRL season for Papua New Guinea would mean, not just to the players, but to their families and the communities that raised them.
"These boys' opportunity to play with the Chiefs … that opportunity will be like nothing any NRL player has experienced," he said.
"To be able to play in the inaugural season for your home country's NRL side - there's no way you can even describe it for them! I'm trying to, but I'm not in their shoes.
"It would be a huge honour - not just for them but for their families and their whole village.
"So of course, as their coach - their London coach and their Kumuls coach - I'll do everything I can to support them getting an opportunity."
The London Broncos contingent of Morea, Voro, Jeremiah Simbiken, Finley Glare, Epel Kapinias and centres Alex Max and Robert Mathias are part of a broader wave of Kumuls talent making their mark in England.
They are also on the London Broncos' books this season.
Many of PNG's stars are also playing in the UK, with veteran captain Rhyse Martin currently at Hull KR, hooker Edwin Ipape, playmaker Lachlan Lam, and forwards Liam Horne and Jacob Alick-Wiencke playing for the Leigh Leopards, and Nene Macdonald playing for St Helens.
With the PNG talent expected to play in the World Cup this October, the Chiefs will be watching closely.
"NRL squads are made up of 34 or 36 players," said Demetriou.
"There's no doubt the players that are here could comfortably fit in that 36.
"At the moment, it sounds like there's a lot of NRL quality players who want to go.
"They've got to get this right, they've got to compete straight away."
The Rugby League World Cup starts on the 15th of October, and the PNG Kumuls will play their first match on the 17th of October against Lebanon.
