PNG Chiefs launch logo and jersey as New Zealand naming case continues

The PNG Chiefs unveiled their official logo and supporter jersey in Port Moresby on Wednesday as preparations continue for their entry into the NRL in 2028. According to the club's media release published by NRL.com, representatives of the Papua New Guinea and Australian governments joined club and league officials at the launch.

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Papua New Guinean graphic artists created the logo, while local artist TABU supplied the cultural artwork used on the jersey. The chief at the centre of the emblem incorporates references to the Highlands, Islands, Momase and Southern regions. Its features include a feather headpiece, a cassowary bone, a face and kina shells, each carrying a cultural meaning outlined by the club.

Kumuls players Gairo Voro, Morea Morea and Finley Glare, who are also PNG Chiefs development players for 2028, modelled the jersey. The club said supporters in Papua New Guinea would be able to buy it through licensed outlets nationwide, with online ordering and selected stores serving fans in Australia and elsewhere.

The unveiling comes while the right to use the Chiefs name in New Zealand remains contested. In an October 16 statement, Chiefs Rugby Club confirmed that the High Court of New Zealand had declined New Zealand Rugby's request for an interim injunction. That application sought to stop the use of PNG Chiefs, Chiefs or similar names within New Zealand.

The rugby union club said the decision followed commitments by the NRL not to promote the name in New Zealand. It stressed that the ruling concerned interim relief only and did not determine the merits of the wider case. An application for a final injunction remains before the court, with a hearing considered likely in early 2027.

New Zealand Rugby maintains that two similarly named teams in related sports and overlapping commercial markets could confuse supporters. Its position, set out in the Chiefs statement, is that use of the name in New Zealand would infringe existing protections. Those remain its claims, not findings established by the interim decision.