Alex Johnston, the greatest tryscorer in Australian premiership history, heads a long list of Papua New Guinea players in the sights of the Chiefs, with Kumuls stars set to be targeted after the World Cup.

After signing Samoa playmaker Jarome Luai, the Chiefs are expected to finalise a deal with Johnston, who earlier this season broke Ken Irvine’s 54-year record of 212 tries and has now taken his tally to 221 tries for South Sydney.

Johnston would be the first PNG player signed by the new NRL franchise but Chiefs GM of football Michael Chammas said there would be many more before the club enters the NRL in 2028.

“That process has already started,” Chammas said. “We've identified the Papua New Guinean players that we'd love to have in there and there's obviously 18 months before they get together, so there's no doubt that this team is going to have a strong contingent of Papua New Guinean players.”

The Chiefs last week announced Luai, a four-times premiership winner with the Panthers and co-captain of Wests Tigers, as their inaugural signing but Chammas said the majority of the team would eventually be Papua New Guinea players.

Luai had a clause in his contract enabling him to consider offers from rival clubs while he considered whether to take up an option with Wests Tigers by April 30, while Johnston has a clause allowing him to negotiate with the Chiefs only.

However, the NRL's 19th franchise can’t speak to other players coming off contract in 2027 until November 1 - the day after PNG's final World Cup pool match against England at WIN Stadium.

The Kumuls play their opening two World Cup games at Santos National Stadium in Port Moresby against Lebanon on October 17 and Samoa on October 24.

It is expected that many of PNG's World Cup squad are on the Chiefs' recruitment list, including prop Cooper Bai, centre Zac Laybutt, hooker Edwin Ipape, fullback Morea Morea and young playmakers Finlay Glare and Gairo Voro.

Photo: Cooper Bai (headgear) and Morea Morea (No.1) are expected to be targets for PNG Chiefs. @NRL Photos

Broncos rookie Phillip Coates and brother Basil, who are siblings of PNG-born Storm superstar Xavier Coates, are also likely to be on a list of emerging talent being closely monitored by the Chiefs.

Phillip Coates has represented the Junior Kumuls and is closing in on an NRL debut with Brisbane.

“This team will be sustainable through the development programs that we build, and we have been building through Joey Grima and others in PNG around the young kids,” Chammas said.

“What we want is for guys like Jarome to teach the young Papua New Guinean boys what it is to be successful, what it is to be a professional, to be disciplined and the sacrifices you have to make.

“That's what Jarome will instill in others and that's what other players that we bring have to instill into the young PNG boys, who might not understand right now what it takes to be successful, what it takes to be an NRL player.

“They will instill that in them and those young guys will then go back and they will teach the next generation. Over the next 10 years, you'll see the number of PNG players will grow year on year.”

Chammas said that Luai would also have an impact off the field and a visit to an international school in Port Moresby had given him an insight into how he could make a difference to people's lives in Papua New Guinea.

"He walked past the classroom, and these little girls just sort of looked and when they realised who it was they just started screaming," Chammas said.

“The happiness that he will bring to people and the joy he will bring to their lives, he felt that first hand.

“I'm sure that players get recognised everywhere they go but here it’s different. I liken it to what the Indian cricketers must go through back in India.

"Everyone talks about the security issues but for me it's not about their safety, it's probably about their privacy because your life changes forever.

"You walk down the street, and you'll be swarmed. You go for a drive, and you will be swarmed. Not because you should be worried, but because they love you. And I think Jarome felt the love."

Photo: Jarome Luai with Chiefs GM of football Michael Chammas and CEO Lorna McPherson after signing to become player #001. @PNG Chiefs

Luai flew to Port Moresby and attended a Digicel ExxonMobil Cup game as a guest of PNG Prime Minister James Marape after a barbecue at Chammas's house in western Sydney.

In attendance was Luai and his family, his agent Warwick Wright, Chammas and his family, Chiefs CEO Lorna McPherson, Chair Catherine Harris, recruitment manger Liam Ayoub and PNGRFL head of elite pathways Joey Grima, and their partners.

“We wanted them to see that this club was about family, more than any other club, because we'll be living together and we'll be with each other all of the time," Chammas said.

"I think that listening to some of our views on what it would be like, especially Lorna’s insight into Papua New Guinea - having been there 16 years - it got him thinking that this could be something special and he hopped on the plane the next day.

“From the moment he stepped foot in Papua New Guinea, he saw how much he was loved.

"It was a real special moment when he was invited by the Prime Minister to watch a domestic Digicel ExxonMobil Cup game, and the crowd noticed that he was in the back of the grandstand.

"One by one, they started to turn around, and you heard the hush around the ground. They started the chant, 'Luai, Luai, Luai'. I had goosebumps just sitting there listening to it, and I know he did.

"That was a little preview into what life was going to be like, and what he would mean to the people of PNG.

"There's 850 languages and 1000 tribes in PNG but one thing unites them all, which is rugby league. For Jarome to be the face of that, I could see it in his eyes and I could see it in his family … like, what an opportunity to be a part of that."

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