Requests for an interview with Gairo Voro, the PNG Kumuls playmaker described as a Jarome Luai clone, were politely declined.
Given the language barrier, as the man who discovered him attests, it’s one of those occasions where it’s better if Voro’s football does the talking. Voro hails from a remote fishing village in the Abau District in PNG’s Central Province, a one-and-a-half-hour drive from the capital.
It’s a trip that paid off for Joey Grima, the PNG Chiefs player development manager who is tasked with unearthing local talent. There are 1000 tribes across the Pacific nation, and 800 languages spoken. Neither English or Tok Pisin - one of PNG’s national languages - is spoken in Voro’s village.
Luckily, Voro’s actions speak louder than words.
“It was 2023, and there was a tournament in Sogeri,” Grima recalled.
“I didn’t go up there with any plans; I didn’t have anything to look at or anyone giving me any tips, but when I saw this player, I thought, ‘Wow, he looks like Jarome Luai.’
“And I realised that when he was playing, he played on the right edge, and his defence was quite sound - quite aggressive for a really thin, small, skinny guy with long hair.
“So I travelled back the following week to watch him play, and I was greatly impressed with not only his defence, but the way that he orchestrated the game. So after the game, I ignorantly walked up to him and tried to ask him a few questions to introduce myself as the Junior Kumuls head coach. And he looked at me like I was from another planet. I tried to talk to him in broken Tok Pisin because I knew a few words of the language here, and he still didn’t understand.”
With the help of translators, Grima was able to convey his message. That this kid is special. Grima couldn’t have known it at the time, but Voro would go on to earn himself a London Broncos contract, be one of the Chiefs’ first homegrown development signings ahead of their NRL debut in 2028, and represent the Kumuls at the World Cup.
If he didn’t already announce himself to the league world with a club-record seven-try, 44-point haul for the Broncos in a match against Hunslet, then he did so last weekend. Voro starred for the Kumuls against Lebanon, scoring a runaway try and earning man-of-the-match honours.
Wearing the No.6 jersey, long hair protruding from his headgear and a natural flair with the football, the comparisons to Luai are inevitable. That makes Saturday’s match between the Kumuls and Samoa in Port Moresby - where Voro and Luai will clash - intriguing.
“I haven’t gotten to meet him or play against him … but I’ve seen a lot of footage of him and how exciting he is as a player,” Luai said. I know he’s compared to me a lot, but in his own right, he’s his own great player. So, it’ll be a good personal challenge.”
Chiefs coach Willie Peters met Voro for the first time this week, but has already been impressed.
“There are a lot of similarities there to Jarome,” Peters said. “I’m looking forward to seeing him do it again this weekend. It’s a step up against the Samoans, but if he can shine again, that’s a huge step forward to showing he can play NRL.”
Voro is 23 years old, while Luai is 29. If a local junior was to eventually take over from the Chiefs’ #001 signing, it would be one of the club’s greatest success stories. Perhaps they could even play together in the halves in their inaugural season?
“Never say never,” Peters said. “There’s an opportunity for whoever is in our squad to get themselves best prepared for 2028 and hit the ground running in that pre-season.
“They play very similarly, so we need to look at how we want to play, but both play with freedom. I want them to play with freedom. Gaira is a player whose eyes are up, taking opportunities when they’re there rather than being a structured player, and Jarome plays his best when he’s freed up.”
Adrian Proszenko travelled to Port Moresby as a guest of the PNG Chiefs