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Live sport on SN this weekendHow prop with the NRL's most Italian name got PNG call
George Clarke, AAP •  October 15th, 2026 2:08 pm
Luca Moretti will make a surprise appearance at the Rugby League World Cup - for Papua New Guinea | Photo: Jason O'Brien/AAP
Until earlier this week, Parramatta prop Luca Moretti had never set foot on Papua New Guinean soil.
On Saturday, the 26-year-old will make his debut for the Kumuls in their World Cup opener against Lebanon in Port Moresby.
Moretti, who has been named to start in the front row by PNG coach Jason Demetriou, played at the last World Cup for Italy, qualifying for the Azzurri through his father's ancestry.
"It's not the most Papua New Guinean name, is it? You see the name Luca Moretti and you think he's Italian," Moretti said.
But while his Italian links were obvious, few knew that the Eels prop's mother, Julia, and her sisters were born in PNG.
Luca Moretti says his former PNG-based grandfather was in tears over his selection | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Moretti's maternal grandfather Kevin Broadley worked as a government lawyer in PNG in the lead-up to the country gaining independence from Australia in 1975.
"He (my grandad) was in tears when I told him I was selected," Moretti told AAP.
"He has got a lot of love for Papua New Guinea and when he was there it was quite rough.
"He did a lot of work for the locals, being a public lawyer, and he was more excited than anybody else when I told him the news.
"He played rugby union over there and spent 10 years or so there in his 20s. He would tell me stories of playing over there and how special it is to him."
Moretti has been on Demetriou's radar for the past few years and even if he has yet to experience the adulation of PNG's supporters, he has been told of their fanatical support by Eels teammate Jack de Belin.
Luca Moretti (r) is keen to experience the 'religion' of rugby league in New Guinea | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
Kumuls legend Adrian Lam was also one of Moretti's junior coaches.
"He (de Belin) was another big reason why I wanted to go over. He's got some stories and said how it's a religion for the people," Moretti said.
"I felt like I would have been doing myself a disservice if I didn't go over and check it out myself and then represent them."
Moretti and de Belin will be the only two PNG forwards playing against the Cedars to have played in the NRL this year.
Lebanon boast their Eels teammate Jordan Samrani in the centres and Moretti is already approaching the encounter with an attitude that is likely to delight the locals.
"He's not got a target on his back, he's got a target on his head," Moretti said.
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