Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose teams were knocked out during the first three weeks of the finals.
History
The Prime Minister's XIII first played against Papua New Guinea in 2005 at Lloyd Robson Oval in the Papua New Guinean capital, Port Moresby. The team was coached in that match by former Queensland State of Origin coach Mal Meninga, who coached the side until 2012. New South Wales State of Origin coach Laurie Daley then took over from 2013 to 2014 with Ivan Cleary coaching the team in 2015. Meninga, appointed Australian test coach in 2016 also re-took the reins that year.
Originally played in Port Moresby, in recent years the games have been held in various locations around Papua New Guinea, including Lae and Kokopo. Unlike regular international matches, each team is allowed a five-man bench and given unlimited interchanges throughout the match.
Because the selected Australian players are not participating in the NRL finals (and are part of the Australian Test 'train-on' squad), the match is primarily used to keep potential international players match fit ahead of any end-of-season international fixtures. As the match has been played later in September, players who play for a team that has been knocked out in the first two weeks of the finals have been able to be selected for the side.
The match is also used to promote rugby league, as well as humanitarian causes such as HIV and AIDS awareness, among the Papua New Guinean community.
The PM's XIII has never lost a match against Papua New Guinea since the annual fixture commenced, but was held to a 24–24 draw in 2007, after leading 20–0 at half time.
In 2019, the PM's XIII played against the Fiji Prime Minister's XIII for the first time, at the ANZ National Stadium in Suva.
In 2022, after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fixture returned with the PM'x XIII playing the PNG PM's XIII at Suncorp Stadium, the first game to be held in Australia.
Results
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2022
2023
Players
Captains
Luke Ricketson (2005) Steve Price (2006) Mark Gasnier (2007) Nathan Hindmarsh (2008, 2011) Johnathan Thurston (2009) Corey Parker (2010) Scott Prince (2012) Robbie Farah (2013) Greg Bird (2014) Trent Merrin (2015) Greg Inglis (2016) Aaron Woods (2017) Daly Cherry-Evans (2018, 2022) Wade Graham (2019) Cameron Murray (2023)
Coaches
Mal Meninga (2005–2012, 2016–present) Laurie Daley (2013–2014) Ivan Cleary (2015)
Records
Team
Largest winning margins
58 58–0 vs PNG PM's XIII, National Football Stadium – 24 September 2016. 50 54–14 vs PNG PM's XIII, Suncorp Stadium – 25 September 2022. 42 52–10 v Fiji PM's XIII, ANZ National Stadium – 11 October 2019. 40 50–10 vs PNG PM's XIII, Kalabond Oval – 29 September 2013. 40 48–8 vs PNG PM's XIII, National Football Stadium – 23 September 2017.
Individual
Most games
6 Jake Trbojevic (2015–19) 5 Robbie Farah (2006, 2008–09, 2013–14) 5 Aaron Woods (2012, 2014, 2016–18) 5 Ben Hunt (2014, 2018-19, 2022-23) Most tries 6 Jarryd Hayne 5 Michael Jennings 4 Blake Ferguson 4 Chris Lawrence Most points 40 Zac Lomax 24 Jarryd Hayne 24 Mitchell Moses 20 Michael Jennings 20 Scott Prince Most tries in a match 3 Michael Jennings (2009) 3 Mitchell Moses (2016) 3 Tom Trbojevic (2017) 3 James Tedesco (2017) 3 Clinton Gutherson (2019) Most points in a match 18 Mitchell Moses (2016) 16 Aidan Sezer (2013) 16 James Maloney (2017) 14 Johnathan Thurston (2007)