The nickname of the new Papua New Guinea NRL team will be put to a vote in the Pacific nation, say the men behind its bid for entry into the league.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his PNG counterpart James Marape met in Sydney on Thursday to officially announce the team would join the NRL in 2028.
The expansion deal, propped up by hundreds of millions in funding from both Governments, is the culmination of two years' negotiations with the NRL.
It has been heralded a landmark day for Australia's relations in the hotly contested Pacific, for the rugby-league mad nation of PNG and for sport's growth in general.
But questions remain unanswered surrounding the project's bipartisan support in Canberra, the team's foundation roster and coach as well as its ability to immediately compete with existing NRL teams.
Also unknown are the franchise's nickname and colours.
The expansion bid's chairman Wapu Sonk, a titan of PNG's petrol industry, says that will be left in the hands of the people.
"It's all conceptual at the moment but we will run a process of getting the country involved in picking a name," he said.
"The whole country will be involved in making sure that we bring everybody together in our approach to naming the team, getting the design of the jerseys done."
Sonk said that would "pretty much" involve organising a national vote for the country's population, estimated at around 12 million people in 2021.
"The Hunters", the moniker used by PNG's Queensland Cup team, is a possibility.
Sonk pointed out long-time the Dolphins adopted the nickname of their long-time Queensland Cup team on entering the NRL in 2023.
"Hunters is an option but we'll run a process," Sonk said.
"If Hunters becomes like the Dolphins, you have an NRL team as Hunters and you have a QRL team as Hunters. Why not? But it'll be the outcome of a process that we will start very, very soon."
While most NRL teams are known by their home city or suburb - such as Melbourne or Penrith - the Port Moresby-based side looks likelier to be referred to as "PNG".
The NRL's Auckland franchise have taken the same approach, known since 2001 as the New Zealand Warriors.
"This is the people's team of PNG. It's not just Port Moresby, it'll be for everyone," said bid chief executive officer Andrew Hill.
"So we're looking at primary schools, secondary schools, to really build connections with the footy team.
"We certainly want to engage the community (on the name)."
At the forefront of the PNG expansion, Australian Rugby League chair Peter V'landys said he was "not sure" on the timeline for announcing the name.
"I think V'landys has got a good ring to it," he joked.
