The action will continue five days later at Western Weekender Stadium in St Mary, on Wednesday, 4th October, where the teams will swap opponents as they battle to qualify for Rugby League main event in 2008.

The final match will be played between Fiji and Cook Islands on Saturday, 7th October at CUA Stadium, while Tonga and Samoa will transfer to the United Kingdom to finish their qualifying matches against England and France in late October and early November.

International Development Officer for the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF), Mr Tas Baitieri, said the tournament would showcase Pacific Island rugby league at its best.

&ldquoThis is the first time ever we&rsquove had a qualification process of this magnitude in the country, Mr Baitieri said.

&ldquoIt shows that Rugby League is splitting its boundaries to new countries.

&ldquoThe World Cup campaign has already begun in Europe and there are only five spots left that are up for grabs, so the games are sure to be keenly contested.

Tickets are priced at $10 for adults. Children 16 and under are permitted free of charge.

A three-venue ticket, available only at the opening game at Campbelltown Stadium, is priced at $20.

The action starts at 12.40pm when the Penrith Panthers face off against the Bulldogs in the first preliminary final.

The second preliminary final between Jersey Flegg frontrunners the Newcastle Knights and the St George-Illawarra Dragons follows immediately, at 2.30pm.

Sunday 24 September, 2006 Leichhardt Oval
Jersey Flegg Panthers(5) v Bulldogs(6) 12.40pm
Jersey Flegg Knights(1) v Dragons(3) 2.30pm

Tickets are available at the front gates of Leichhardt Oval, priced at $5 for adults and free for children under the age of 16.

The Leichhardt Oval press area will be available to media representatives wishing to base their operations at the venue for the day.

Gates open at 12pm

1. Brett Stewart (Eagles)
2. Jarryd Hayne (Eels)
3. Amos Roberts (Roosters)
4. Kurt Gidley (Knights)
5. Nathan Merritt (Rabbitohs)
6. Craig Gower (Panthers)
7. Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys)
8. Steve Price (Warriors)
9. Robbie Farah (Tigers)
10. Brent Kite (Eagles)
11. Luke O&rsquoDonnell (Cowboys)
12. Paul Gallen (Sharks)
13. Trent Waterhouse (Panthers)

14. Jarrod Mullen (Knights)
15. Anthony Tupou (Roosters)
16. Craig Stapleton (Panthers)
17. Adam Woolnough (Knights)

The team will assemble in Cairns on Tuesday, 26 September, and transfer to Port Moresby on Thursday 28 September, 2006.

&ldquoI&rsquom very proud to coach such a quality side for the second time, and the players are honoured to play under the Prime Minister name coach Mal Meninga said today.PNG has the highest reported incidence of HIV and AIDS in the Pacific, and the teams visit will be used to promote messages which encourage Papua New Guineans to practice safe sex by using condoms, to look after those with HIV, and to stop the violence against women.

&ldquoHIV and AIDS needs to be tackled in Papua New Guinea and the message needs to reach every village that sexual violence against women is not acceptable and only increases the spread of the disease, Mr Meninga said.

The match is supported by the Australian Government through its international aid agency, AusAID.

The NRL requests the assistance of all media to encourage fans who have booked tickets for this weekend matches to collect those tickets from Ticketek outlets before arriving at the games.

As previously advised Ticketek has not had time to mail out tickets because of the shorter selling period and ticket windows will have difficulty coping with the increased numbers expecting to collect tickets on the night.

For those still intending on pre purchasing we stress that ezyTicket is the best option, allowing you to print your ticket at home.

For those that have already bought a ticket and who are yet to collect from Ticketek, please do so as soon as possible so we don&rsquot end up with queues on the night.

Learn More
Don't forget about - 'ezyTicket ' - u can print it @ home

Players will undergo medical assessments before being put through a fitness workout and will be available to media during the day.

The Chairman of the Australian Rugby League, Mr Colin Love, has announced that the following players have been added to the train-on squad for the 2006 Gillette Tri Nations:

The squad, with the exception of Parramatta players, will assemble for training on Wednesday, 13 September 2006, details on venue will be advised as soon as possible.

SOURCE : ARL MEDIA RELEASE

Former International Referee of the Year, Russell Smith has announced his retirement after fifteen years as a first grade referee, the final two seasons of which have been spent in the Telstra Premiership.

The Englishman 39 matches in the Telstra Premiership saw him become the longest serving international referee on Australian soil.Since reaching first grade in 1991 Russell has refereed around 500 first grade games, 28 internationals, 5 Challenge Cup Finals, 3 Super League Grand Finals, 2 Tri Nations Finals and a World Club Challenge match.

&ldquoRussell provided some valuable experience to the squad at a time when we were encouraging some young blokes coming through, Referees Coach Robert Finch said today.

&ldquoHe has been an important contributor and has been a thorough professional.

Smith said today he was looking forward to staying in Australia.

&ldquoI&rsquove loved the challenge of refereeing in the NRL and I&rsquove loved being in Australia, he said.

&ldquoIt would be great if I could continue to have some involvement in the game going forward but certainly I&rsquove reached a stage where it time to retire from the on field duties.

&ldquoI&rsquove been lucky enough to have had a long and rewarding career and I would always encourage young people to give it a go because it really is a satisfying challenge.

SOURCE : NRL MEDIA RELEASE

Australia biggest name in rock INXS will join the Hoodoo Gurus in headlining a spectacular entertainment program for the 2006 Telstra Premiership Grand Final on Sunday October 1st.

With a career spanning more than 25 years and over 35 million records sold, INXS are unquestionably one of the world great bands.

Back in Australia for their Switched On tour, INXS have been revitalized with lead singer J.D Fortune earning rave reviews during the band successful tour of North America.

The Switch Album is approaching double platinum status and with sold out concerts across the country, INXS are certain to be one of the most anticipated artists to ever play at the Grand Final.

INXS are without doubt one of Australia leading musical acts, NRL Director of Marketing and Commercial Mr Paul Kind said.

&ldquoFew bands in the world can claim to have the influence INXS have had on the music industry over such a long period of time and we are absolutely thrilled to have them perform at the Grand Final.

The Hoodoo Gurus will open the Grand Final show, performing their classic track &ldquoWipe out to officially welcome the Gold Coast Titans into the 2007 Telstra Premiership. The Gurus will be joined on the ground by more than twenty of the Gold Titans inaugural team including Scott Prince, Preston Campbell and Anthony Laffranchi.

&lsquoWe thought it was important to recognise the Titans and celebrate their entry into the 2007 competition. We felt the best way to welcome them was by asking the Hoodoo Gurus, who have created the games anthem, to perform while they are introduced to the crowd. Mr Kind said.

The 2006 Grand Final entertainment program continues the high standard rugby league has set in recent years.

The line up of Australian and international stars who have performed at NRL Grand Finals includes Chris Isaak, Pete Murray, Grinspoon, Rogue Traders, Kelly Clarkson, The Veronicas and Hugh Jackman.
SOURCE : NRL MEDIA RELEASE

TRAIN ON SQUAD PROCESS CONFIRMED

NZRL coaching staff and selectors have confirmed that players will be added to the expanded train-on squad for the Kiwis and NZ&rsquoA&rsquo as clubs are eliminated from the NRL and UK Super League competitions.

These squad additions will be released at 1pm Wednesday afternoon each week to allow time for various housekeeping tasks such as injury status confirmation, internal and club communication.

Kiwis coach Brian McClennan has the added challenge of monitoring players and communicating with selectors/advisors across three countries with the timing becoming particularly important once UK SuperLeague play-offs commence.

McClennan expects a tight Gillette Tri-Nations Battle suggesting the 2006 series will be one of the toughest.

And that not just because the Kiwis will go into the tournament as the defending champions.

McClennan men will get the chance to play in front of their home town fans across the country during this year series.

And the significance of this is something the coach will impress on his team as soon as they come into camp.

&ldquoJust to be in front of a home crowd is very important especially given the fact that we very rarely play at home these days, McClennan said.

&ldquoIf you sat down with any Kiwi who had played more than 10 tests and asked them how many they had played at home they&rsquod probably answer less than 20 percent.

&ldquoThat just the way the world of rugby league is and we accept that.

&ldquoThis time &ndash the first since 1989 &ndash we get to play three at home.

&ldquoHow exciting is that.

&ldquoI&rsquoll be talking to the boys about the importance of playing well in front of your home crowd because it doesn&rsquot happen very often.

With the start of the Gillette Tri-Nations tournament just around the corner the excitement is building for what is set to be one of the closest competitions in international league history.

The Australians will be strong as usual, McClennan said.

And the Great Britain team is going to be really exciting.

They&rsquore used to playing in summer conditions now.

Normally when the Great Britain team came down to New Zealand to play there used to be white legs and red faces.

They were used to playing in the winter, so I think they&rsquoll be the dark horses.

Its going to be an exciting series. We are excited about it and we looking for it.

The committee received written submissions from Mr Mimis as well as oral submissions made by his legal representative Mark Petrucco.

Mr Petrucco has asked for, and been granted, a further opportunity to address an issue raised by the committee and has been given until the close of business on Monday, September 4 to do so.

The Committee has emphasized upon Mr Petrucco the need to comply with that timetable in order that the matter can be resolved as soon as possible.

It is proposed to convene a further meeting of the committee as soon as possible after September 4 in order to finalise the matter.

The committee also further discussed issues under investigation which relate to player manager Mr James Banaghan.

The chairman of the Committee, Mr Geoff Bellew, will be writing to Mr Banaghan lawyers in relation to those matters.