You only have to see the reception at the airport, the selfies that roll into one another, the media contingent that follows him and the locals who race the streets of Port Moresby in dilapidated cars just to get a glimpse of Segeyaro on the team bus, to understand how loved he really is.

Segeyaro's decision to pursue an international career with Australia, rather than for his birthplace of PNG, was due to the lack of respect shown to his father Ifiso when he passed away a year ago.

Ifiso Segeyaro once lined up against Mal Meninga in a Test match for the Kumuls in 1982 and is said by locals to have been the brains behind schoolboy rugby league in PNG. Despite this, Segeyaro walked away from his father's funeral knowing he could never play for a country that disrespected his father so much.

In a one-on-one interview with a local television network on Friday, Segeyaro was grilled about why he left PNG.

There is still an underlying feeling among those who flock to him, and especially from an unforgiving press, that he has deserted a country whose national sport is rugby league.

Segeyaro said the incessant questions about his decision did not bother him.

"It's their job. Everyone's allowed their own opinion," Segeyaro said away from the main press conference. "I understand everyone saying what they were saying. It's all fine. At the end of the day, if the shoe was on the other foot, I'd probably do the same thing to tell you the truth, but it's not.

"I respect everyone's decision [to make judgment] and their comments."

Earlier, Segeyaro burst the bubble of the PNG media, saying there was no chance of a return to the Kumuls.

"I've played for the country before, I'm not going to play for them again," he said. "It's just a personal decision seeing how they treated my late dad, so I think it would be disrespectful to my old man."

Segeyaro and the Prime Minister's XIII squad ran coaching clinics for hundreds of young, budding footballers on an unforgiving training oval in Port Moresby.

Many in Segeyaro's group struggled to stick to the tasks at hand, being distracted by his presence.

At Port Moresby airport, there were cheers and kind claps for the Australians as they walked through the carousel, but when Segeyaro emerged, the cheers turned into a mad rush to get a small piece of the man they call Chicko.

"I was pretty surprised [by the turnout]. I just thought all my family and friends [would be at the airport]," Segeyaro said. "I didn't know how many people were going to be there, but it's a pretty warm welcome. I'm pretty happy to be here."

Australian players have spent time in PNG trying to change community attitudes to violence against women, promoting the message "Strong Men Respect Women".

Segeyaro, on his own accord, walked over to hundreds of young children and spoke to them about the issues of domestic violence, education and the importance of sport.

"Being a professional rugby league player, I think they listen to us a bit more than everyone else," Segeyaro said.

Asked whether there was a chance he would not tour to PNG, given the friction that has ensued, the Penrith hooker said he always wanted to return and give back to this rugby league-mad nation.

"It's the country I was born in, there's no chance no one's going to stop me from coming here," Segeyaro said. "I'm coming here, being positive and I don't think me coming here is a negative."