Watson on his unique NRL journey
Experiences at the Kokoda Circuit, a meeting with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and, of course, tax-free dollars all played their part.
But for Connor Watson, it was the spirit of adventure that led him to sign a two-year contract with PNG Chiefs after a season-long break at St George Illawarra.
“That’s the whole picture,” Watson, 30, said.
“I was asked about tax-free practice [status] at the airport [at Port Moresby] and frankly that makes things interesting, but I can only speak for myself; If I was just going there for the money, I don’t think I’d be very happy there.
“I was meeting all the people, I was meeting the Prime Minister. It’s also a bit of a bad reputation living in that country and exploring it, but being there you realize how nice it is. The lifestyle is going to change a bit, I know if you live in Bondi you can do things you wouldn’t normally do.”
On the day Chiefs announced the signing of St Helens striker Matty Lees, widely regarded as England’s best player, Watson was announcing two career-changing decisions. Having been given permission to leave the Roosters early, the former Blues representative has opted to accept a two-year deal with the Chiefs after a season-long stint with the Dragons in 2027.
No player has arranged so many club moves in advance since Jonah Pezet, who left Melbourne last year to join Brisbane via Parramatta.
“It’s a little different. I hadn’t heard of anyone doing it until Jonah did it last year,” Watson said.
“I’m in a similar position. It will be exciting to work with different coaches and players and build relationships with people.”
Surgeries and other off-season commitments forced Watson to withdraw after he had previously been selected for the traditional Prime Minister’s XIII matches in Port Moresby. That meant his first experience in PNG was walking in Kokoda with his Roosters team-mates last December.
“No [phone] service but people in the village knew [us]you can see how much they love it,” Watson said.
“This is the only country in the world with the biggest sport. Being a part of that is part of the appeal.”
“When I went to Kokoda, I saw how nice the people were, what a beautiful place it was. You can’t even see much of the scenery, but when you were in the forest, it was so gorgeous.”
“Then we took over the inn and were only there for 24 hours. We met the Prime Minister, which was lovely. That was very different. “Being part of a rugby league team you don’t think you’ll be meeting the Prime Minister very often.
“And seeing what life would be like… walking around the city, the welcome everyone showed me and my partner was amazing.
“We felt like this was a place where we could see ourselves living here for a while.”
Watson is also keen to be part of change at the Dragons. The former Knight is part of a recruitment blitz that also includes Keaon Koloamatangi, Scott Drinkwater, Phillip Sami and Luke Metcalf.
“The Dragons are a club on the rise, we saw over the weekend how good some of the young forwards can be,” Watson said. “I’ll go there and try to add some leadership and experience. It’s a great opportunity to help transform such a great club, such a historic club.”
While Watson is excited about what lies ahead, his attention is focused on finishing strongly at the Roosters.
“I don’t want to live too far into the future, I’ve got an important job at the Roosters in the next six months,” he said.
“We are in a good position as a team… all you can do is live in the moment.”
