The Papua New Guinea LNG Kumuls are quietly confident they can make it to the finals of the Pacific Championships Bowl Challenge.
They take nothing away from the Cook Islands and Fiji, but with the home crowd and the recent outing at the PMs 13 PNG are looking good as favorites on home soil.
The Kumuls were spirited during training yesterday in preparation for their match against the Cook Islands on Sunday; the team boasts a good amount of cohesion in the team with only six debutants for the Kumuls.
Old heads in Daniel Russell, Nene Macdonald, Lachlan Lam, Kyle Laybutt and Nixon Putt will once again don the Kumul jumper and lead this dynamic team for their first match of the three game series.
Experienced players in debutant Jack De Belin and dynamic finisher Alex Johnston bring in the NRL experience, to boost a lively Kumuls outfit.
Kumuls Coach Justin Holbrook says they are determined to make it to the finals.
“Obviously we want to win it, we want to qualify for the final and it starts this weekend. The final will be played here on Sunday November 5, so we want to be a part of that and we want to win the Pacific test,” Holbrook said
The team is not at full strength with Justin Olam, Edwin Ipapae and Rhys Martin not on the team sheet for this Sunday. Wellington Albert was not present during training as well.
“So obviously we would love to have Edwin here but he coped a one game suspension from his last game of Super League and, and Justin Olam is the other one who’s still out injured with a knee injury so he’s still doing his rehab down in Melbourne.
“So there’ll be no changes to the side that we’ve named for this game but you know they could possibly come in for the for the Fiji game,” Holbrook said
With Rhys Martin out of the picture for this weekend’s match Kyle Laybutt is the best option for Captain.
“We well have to announce that but I was really impressed with the way Kyle Laybutt was for the PMs 13 the other week and then Fantastic job all weekend training so he’s more than likely be in the running for that,” Holbrook said
Holbrook added that the inclusion of NRL players in the team will benefit the team greatly both on and off the field.
“It’s about how they handle the whole week their professionalism in training the way they do their day to day training and watching the way they operate its just tremendous for our guys, we have a good mix of different levels in this side and the younger guys can really learn.
The inclusion of Jack De Belin into the Kumuls side has caused some controversy, but Holbrook said it was him that called Jack to offer the opportunity to help boost capacity in the team, as an experienced player in the NRL Jack has more to offer especially to the young talent in the team.
“I rang Jack and just explained to him that you know, it was a great opportunity for you to help these guys develop and with your experience in the game, and, you know, that’s why he jumped at the opportunity this week. He’s really loved being here and you can see the passion up here and he can’t wait to play on Sunday either. So just add those guys with that much experience in the game and they can really help develop at a faster rate than if they weren’t here. So I’m really excited that Jack and the other senior boys here this time,” Holbrook said.
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