Elias Paiyo is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league player who represented Papua New Guinea in the 1995 and 2000 Rugby League World Cups.
17 Facts About Elias Paiyo
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Elias Paiyo began playing for local Wabag rugby league team, Tarakum, at the age of 14.
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Elias Paiyo was quickly selected for the Enga Mioks representative team at the age of 15 after a single season of playing rugby league.
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Elias Paiyo was chosen for the Highlands Zone that same year but was ruled out of representative selection for being too young.
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Elias Paiyo went on to play for Tarangau as the five-eight from 1991 to 1995 while he was training to become a Prison Officer with PNG Correctional Services in Port Moresby.
6.
Elias Paiyo featured in the Vipers 1992 Premiership win and in 1993 the team finished as Runners-Up.
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Elias Paiyo completed the match after suffering severe concussion mid-way through the first half.
8.
Elias Paiyo was named in the two-match test series against New Zealand in 1994 but was unable to take part as he was on a six-month national emergency deployment with 15 of his fellow Correctional Services officers and other police and defence force personnel, due to the eruption of two volcanos on the island of Rabaul.
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Elias Paiyo set a record number of points by a PNG player in World Cup match during that game.
10.
In 1996, Elias Paiyo captained the PNG team in the Super League World Nines held at Suva in Fiji.
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Elias Paiyo was not selected for the Kumuls in 2001 due to a selection policy excluding players from the New South Wales competition.
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In 2003 and 2004 Elias Paiyo played for the Sydney Bulls in the Jim Beam Cup.
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Elias Paiyo retired from playing competitive Rugby League in 2007 and now resides in the Gold Coast of Australia.
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Elias Paiyo has been the Head Coach and Committee Member, of QLD PNG Rugby League since 2013.
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Elias Paiyo married his wife, Karen, on 1 November 1998 in Sydney, and had a traditional Papua New-Guinean wedding in his village on 9 January 2000.
16.
Elias Paiyo was part of the U16s Championship winning QLD PNG Kokomos side in 2017.
17.
Elias Paiyo moved from Sydney in 2005 and now lives on the Gold Coast.