The PNG Chiefs are proud to announce the signing of Connor Watson, who becomes signing #003 for the club ahead of its entry into the NRL in 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Watson has agreed to join the PNG Chiefs on a two-year deal for the 2028 and 2029 NRL seasons, marking another major step forward as the club continues building its inaugural roster and momentum towards 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the NRL\u2019s most respected and versatile players, Watson will arrive at the PNG Chiefs with extensive top-level experience across multiple positions, including hooker, lock and the halves.<\/p>\n
His professionalism, leadership and team-first mentality have made him one of the game\u2019s most valued players throughout his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Watson has built his career within some of the NRL\u2019s strongest football systems, spending time with both the Newcastle Knights and Sydney Roosters, while also representing New South Wales on five occasions in State of Origin football.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Signing #003, Watson joins the growing list of elite players committing to the PNG Chiefs project, reinforcing the club\u2019s vision of building a world-class organisation grounded in culture, professionalism and long-term success.\u00a0<\/p>\n
PNG Chiefs General Manager Football Michael Chammas said Watson\u2019s character and professionalism stood out throughout the recruitment process.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor has made it clear from the outset that he wanted to be part of the PNG Chiefs and this incredible journey we are building,” Chammas said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe and his partner Kiana recently spent time in Port Moresby and genuinely fell in love with the country, the people and the opportunity to be part of something much bigger than football.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Connor Watson Try<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor is the type of player every club wants. He is selfless, tough, professional and incredibly respected across the game. His versatility and experience will be invaluable for us as we continue building our squad towards 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery signing matters for a new club, but there is something exciting about seeing the roster continue to build piece by piece. Connor becoming Signing #003 is another important moment in the journey of the PNG Chiefs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also want to thank the Sydney Roosters for their professionalism, patience and understanding throughout this process.”<\/p>\n
PNG Chiefs CEO Lorna McPherson said Watson represented exactly the type of person and player the club wanted helping shape the future of the organisation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat impressed us most, beyond Connor\u2019s football ability, was his sense of purpose and the way he treats people,” McPherson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe leads with kindness, he listens, and he brings a calm strength into every environment he enters. We wanted people who would genuinely feel at home in Papua New Guinea, and people Papua New Guinea would feel proud to welcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor immediately connected with the country and our vision for what this club can become. We know he will have a significant impact both on and off the field as we build towards 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can feel the excitement continuing to build around the club now. With every signing, the vision becomes more real for our fans, our partners and for Papua New Guinea.”<\/p>\n
Watson becomes the latest major signing for the PNG Chiefs as the club continues assembling a high-performance roster ahead of the club\u2019s inaugural NRL season in 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The PNG Chiefs are proud to announce the signing of Connor Watson, who becomes signing #003 for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-457417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}