AFLPNG has won the 2010 AFL Oceania Youth Cup, proving to the wider football community that PNG’s development program is heading in the right direction.
   
PNG defeated Tonga by 44 points in the final of the competition which was held in Tonga and attended by AFL player Nic Natanui and Rugby converts Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau.

PNG was rarely troubled throughout the competition, running away to early victories against New Zealand and the Solomon Islands by 51 and 68 points respectively. PNG then accounted for Nauru and Fiji by 63 and 51 points before defeating Tonga in the final game of the competition by 42 points.

17 of the 25 boys in the PNG squad are based at the Academy at De La Salle Secondary School in Bomana.

           “They study, live and train together every day hence the well bonded nature of the team. The remaining 8 boys who made up the team filled in their spots nicely and it didn’t take them long to understand the game plan”.

The 25 strong team, plus three officials made the arduous journey from Port Moresby via Sydney and Fiji to Tonga to compete in the championships. The long and exhausting travel times were made worthwhile as the boys put together seven strong performances to take out the championship.
   
Theo Gavuri, a strong bodied midfielder, won best player of the tournament after accumulating a massive amount of clearances and setting up numerous goals for PNG.

          “Our boys played really well. We slept at Sydney Airport, we took 4 flights to get here, so we deserved to play hard and we deserved to win”.

The PNG coaches award was given to Jason Soong. Also a midfielder, Soong’s attitude reflected on those around him. Always one to put his head over the ball and take a hit for the team, he was well deserved of the PNG best player award.