Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

team, comprising Australian players from

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

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 PNG Football Stadium (known as ''Lloyd Robson Oval'' until 2015) is a sporting ground in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It hosted three games for the 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup. It has been the home ground for the Papua New Guinea nat ...

in the Papua New Guinean capital,

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

. The team was coached in that match by former

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

coach

Mal Meninga Malcolm Norman Meninga (; born 8 July 1960) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Australian national team and a former professional rugby league footballer. Meninga is widely regarded as one of the fin ...

, who coached the side until 2012.

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

coach

Laurie Daley Laurie William Daley AM (born 20 October 1969), also known by the nicknames of "Lozza" and "Loz", is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former player who played as a and in the 1980s and 1990s. He represented Au ...

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 COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the fixture returned with the PM'x XIII playing the PNG PM's XIII at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

, 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

Players

Captains

* Luke Ricketson (2005) * Steve Price (2006) *

Mark Gasnier Mark Gasnier (born 19 July 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A rugby league New South Wales State of Origin and international representative , he played eleven seasons in the N ...

(2007) *

Nathan Hindmarsh Nathan William Hindmarsh (born 7 September 1979) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who captained the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative second- ...

(2008, 2011) *

Johnathan Thurston Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...

(2009) * Corey Parker (2010) *

Scott Prince Scott Prince (born 27 February 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played club footba ...

(2012) *

Robbie Farah Robert Peter Farah ( ar, روبي فرح) (born 23 January 1984) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international, Lebanese international and captain of New South Wales Blues t ...

(2013) * Greg Bird (2014) *

Trent Merrin Trent Merrin (born 7 October 1989) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who played as a and forward for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL and Australia at international level. He also played for the Dragons, ...

(2015) *

Greg Inglis Gregory Paul Inglis (born 15 January 1987), also known by the nickname of "G.I.", is a retired Australian professional rugby league footballer. His regular playing positions were Centre, Fullback, Five-eighth and Wing. From 2011 to 2019 he pl ...

(2016) *

Aaron Woods Aaron Woods (born 13 March 1991) is an Australian rugby league forward who plays for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL. He previously captained Wests Tigers and played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Cronulla-Sutherland Sha ...

(2017) *

Daly Cherry-Evans Daly Cherry-Evans (born 20 February 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level. He captains Manly and won the 2011 NRL Grand ...

(2018, 2022) *

Wade Graham Wade Graham (born 25 October 1990) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for and captains the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL. He has played for at international level. Graham previously played for the Penrith Pan ...

(2019)

Coaches

(2005–2012, 2016–present) *

(2013–2014) * Ivan Cleary (2015)

Records

Team

* Largest winning margins ** 58 58–0 vs PNG PM's XIII, National Football Stadium – 24 September 2016. ** 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. ** 34 34–0 vs PNG PM's XIII,

– 18 September 2005.

Individual

* Most games ** 5

(2006, 2008–09, 2013–14) ** 5

Jake Trbojevic Jake Trbojevic (born 18 February 1994) also known as “Jurbo” is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level. Trbojevic has playe ...

(2015–19) ** 5

(2012, 2014, 2016–18) ** 4 Greg Bird (2007, 2011, 2013–14) ** 4

Tyson Frizell Tyson Lomano David Frizell (born 9 October 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who usually plays as a er for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He has played for Wales in the 2011 Four Nations and 2013 Rugby League World Cup and Aust ...

(2016–19) ** 4 Michael Jennings (2008–09, 2011–12) ** 4

David Shillington David Shillington (born 24 June 1983 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian in ...

(2007, 2009, 2011, 2013) * Most tries ** 6

Jarryd Hayne Jarryd Lee Hayne (born 15 February 1988) is a former professional rugby league footballer who also briefly played American football and rugby union sevens. Hayne began his career in 2006 as a er for the Parramatta Eels, winning the NRL's Dal ...

** 5 Michael Jennings ** 4 Blake Ferguson ** 4 Chris Lawrence * Most points ** 24

** 22

Mitchell Moses Mitchell Moses (Arabic: ميتشل موسى; born 16 September 1994) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He also plays for the Lebanon national team. He previously played for the Wests ...

** 20 Michael Jennings ** 20

** 18 James Maloney * Most tries in a match ** 3 Michael Jennings (2009) ** 3

(2016) ** 3

Tom Trbojevic Thomas Peter Trbojevic (born 2 October 1996), also nicknamed "Tommy Turbo", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a as well as a wing and centre for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and plays for Austra ...

(2017) ** 3

James Tedesco James Tedesco (born 8 January 1993), nicknamed "Teddy", is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and captains the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, New South Wales rugby league team and Australia. He previously played for the Wests ...