Aquila Emil

Aquila Emil

Personal information
Born	c. 1967 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Died	4 February 2011 (aged 44) Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Playing information
Position	Five-eighth, Halfback
Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1992–94 Papua New Guinea 5 2 1 0 10
Source: [1]

Aquila Emil (died 4 February 2011[2]) was a Papua New Guinean rugby league player who represented Papua New Guinea .

Playing career

Emil played for Port Moresby's Brothers rugby league club during the 1980s.[2] He was selected for the Papua New Guinea Kumuls and represented the side in two World Cup matches in 1992. He captained Papua New Guinea at the 1994 World Sevens.[2]

Emil joined the North Queensland Cowboys on a two-year contract in 1994 but, after playing in 1995 pre-season trials, asked for a release.[3] Emil was in the original Port Moresby Vipers squad to play in the Inter-City competition.[2]

Following the end of his playing career, Emil worked at the schools rugby league level.[2] Later, Emil became involved in the PNG NRL Bid's schools rollout program.[2]

Death

Emil died in a shooting in Port Moresby in the early morning of 4 February 2011.[2] Theo Yasause, a 44-year-old former chief of staff to Papua New Guinea prime minister Michael Somare, was charged with Emil's murder. Yasause pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.[4][5][6][7]

References

1. Aquila Emil rugbyleagueproject.org
2. Todagia, Kelola; Kaniniba, Alfred (7 February 2011). "Former Kumul gunned down". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
3. Former Cowboy Emil gunned down Townsville Bulletin, 9 February 2011
4. Fox, Liam (8 February 2011). "Ex-PM staffer charged over footy murder". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 10 February 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
5. Aquila Emil’s murder case trial resumes postcourier.com.pg, 19 July 2012
6. Former PNG bureaucrat Dr Theo Yasause charged with murder of rugby league legend Aquila Emil The Australia, 8 February 2011
7. "Yasause gets 30 years jail – The National". www.thenational.com.pg. Retrieved 18 September 2023.