Both areas were discussed at a Pacific Games evaluation workshop in Port Moresby analysing Papua New Guinea's performance at Samoa 2019 this year.

Officials had aimed for their best-ever performance at an overseas Pacific Games and this was achieved with 131 medals - enough to finish second behind New Caledonia on the medals table.

Papua New Guinea are targeting reaching top spot at an overseas Games, with their next opportunity in the Solomon Islands in 2023.

The workshop heard the country is aiming to "take back" the Pacific Games.

Wesley Raminai, the country's Vice-Minister for Sport, highlighted effective communication as an important aspect.

A report from the National Sports Institute also showed that athletes and teams that regularly used their existing facilities had a higher success rate.

"I was proud of Team PNG's performance in Samoa but there is always a need to improve and evaluation is key to improvement," Raminai said.

"Part of Prime Minister Marape's call to take back PNG is for everyone to reflect on how we can do better in everything we do and I want to challenge us all to take back the Pacific Games."

Samoa hosted the Games with a shorter than normal time to prepare after the withdrawal of Tonga due to financial concerns.

"I know the circumstances with preparing for these Games were difficult and so created an added burden to your roles as sports administrators, coaches and athletes," said PNGOC President Sir John Dawanincura.

"But these are the realities we face and by working together we can overcome them.

"I believe we did do PNG proud.  

"We had our best ever overall medal result at an overseas Pacific Games and finished second on the medal table.

"But there is always room for improvement. 

"There is always a need for self-reflection and evaluation. 

"There are always things that we can do better."