It wasn’t all just work at the Bar Practice Course for the PNG prosecutor

Bar Practice Course 59 had the privilege of having in its number, James Morog from the Papua New Guinea Office of the Public Prosecutor. A quiet and bright young guy ready to be pushed to the limit in a course that involves sleep deprivation, where being on time meant you had to be 10 minutes early and of course ‘preparation, preparation, preparation.’¹

This was to be no six week holiday in Brisbane for James or so we thought. What else starts with ‘B’ in Brisbane; none other than the Brisbane Broncos. James is like many from that island at the tip of Australia that stops all the good surf getting to Darwin; he is a mad keen rugby league follower and the best/worst² kind — a Brisbane Broncos fan!

Off James went in the first few weeks of the course to Suncorp Stadium to see the Broncos play live. The sleep deprivation had not yet taken its toll on him. A picture with the ‘King’s’ statute (Wally Lewis), James was in rugby league heaven. We think he was emailing back weekly to his superiors in PNG how all he had time for was the bar practice course and this was no holiday.

Word spread of James’s Broncos adoration, so it was quietly organised by his bar practice cohort to attend a Broncos’ training session on the last Thursday of the course.³ The James Morog Broncos fan day (well a few children were there too). James was able to watch the entire training session up close, get individual photos with all of his favourite players and autographs. The ‘King’ was there in the flesh so James was able to complete the ‘set’ and have a photo and a chat with ‘King’.

A good morning was had. James left the training session muttering something about a Broncos video and slide briefing for all the staff at the Office of the Public Prosecutors on the Tuesday after he returns to PNG.

Tony Anderson

Footnotes

1. My apologies to The Honorable Justice Fryberg for using his ‘catch-phrase.’
2. Please delete as appropriate depending on your personal choice of favourite rugby league team.
3. Post the final assessment, being the Supreme Court mock hearing on Wednesday evening. No more ‘preparation’ for us that week.