Experiences on the Kokoda Track, a meeting with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and, of course, the tax-free dollars all played their part.
But for Connor Watson, it’s a spirit of adventure that ultimately prompted him to commit to the PNG Chiefs on a two year-deal, after a one-season layover at St George Illawarra.
“It’s the whole picture,” Watson, 30, said.
“I was asked about the tax-free [status] at the airport [at Port Moresby] and obviously that makes things interesting, but I can only speak for myself – if I was only going over for the money, I don’t think I’d be very happy over there.
“I was meeting all the people, meeting the PM. Just living in that country as well and exploring it – it gets a bit of a bad rap, but being over there you realise how beautiful it is. The lifestyle will change a bit, I know you’ll get to do things you don’t normally do if you’re living in Bondi.”
On the same day that the Chiefs announced the signing of St Helens forward Matty Lees, widely considered the best prop in England, Watson was explaining his two career-changing decisions. Granted permission to leave the Roosters early, the former Blues representative opted to accept a two-year deal with the Chiefs, after a one-season stint with the Dragons in 2027.
Not since Jonah Pezet – who left Melbourne last year to join Brisbane via Parramatta – has a player arranged so many club changes so far in advance.
“It’s a bit different. I’ve never heard of anyone doing it until Jonah did it last year,” Watson said.
“I ended up in a similar position. It’s going to be exciting, working with different coaches and players, building relationships with people.”
Surgeries and other off-season commitments forced Watson to pull out when previously selected for the traditional Prime Minister’s XIII matches in Port Moresby. Which meant his first experience in PNG was walking Kokoda with his Roosters teammates last December.
“There’s no [phone] service, but the people in the village knew [us], you can see how much they love it,” Watson said.
“It’s the only country in the world where it’s the major sport. Being a part of that is part of the appeal.
“When I went to Kokoda and saw how beautiful the people are, what a lovely place. Even the landscape, you don’t see much of it, but when you’re out in the jungle, it was so amazing.
“Then taking the missus over, we were only there for 24 hours. We got to meet the PM, which is pretty cool. That was very different. Being part of a rugby league team, you don’t think you’d be meeting the PM too often.
“And just seeing what life will be like … getting around town, the reception from everyone to me and my partner was amazing.
“We felt this is a place where we could see ourselves living here for a while.”
Watson is also keen to be part of the change at the Dragons. The former Knight is part of a recruitment blitz that has landed Keaon Koloamatangi, Scott Drinkwater, Phillip Sami and Luke Metcalf.
“The Dragons are a club on the rise, we just saw on the weekend how good some of those young forwards can be,” Watson said. “I’ll go in there and try to add a bit of leadership and experience. It’s a great opportunity to help try to help turn around such a great club, a historic club.”
While Watson is excited about what lies ahead, his full attention is on finishing off strongly at the Roosters.
“I don’t want to live too much in the future, I’ve got an important job with the Roosters over the next six months,” he said.
“We’re in a good position as a squad … all you can do is live in the moment.”
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