It’s about passion and putting your body on the line. That pretty much summed up what senior player Nene Macdonald and Prop Forward Valentine Culligan had to say about today’s PM’s XIII match.
Both players are part of an underdog PNG Prime Ministers XIII en route for a showdown with a star studded Australian PM’s XIII side that are favorites to dominate the match.
With overwhelming odds against them they look to the basics in rugby league and the passion they share to represent PNG in the sport of rugby league.
Nene Macdonald first represented PNG in 2013 and this time around, he is one of the senior players that are pushing the debutants to give their all against the Aussies.
A senior player no doubt he will be pivotal in attack and defense. He says the same passion that he had years ago is present in the debutants and knows they can give a good challenge to their opponents.
“I remember putting on the jersey in 2013 and coming out to the crowd. The atmosphere was great seeing everyone in the crowd cheering, a very emotional moment and very proud moment for me and my family,” Macdonald said.
The passion that PNG has is always ambient around the team. Especially in the presence of former Kumul players, most of which, are part of the Coaching staff. Former Kumuls like Paul Aiton and John Wilshere among others, continue to strengthen the next crop of Kumuls to come.
“For us the passion has been our strongest weapon for the fight. I will always be proud of being a Papua New Guinean. It’s been almost five years since I came back to PNG and it’s great to be back.
“Putting past players into the team as staff, they know what it’s like to put that jersey on. I think for us when you put that Kumul Jersey on. It’s a bit different than playing for another country. We work so hard and it’s a big dream for many young Papua New Guineans playing for the national team,” Macdonald added
It will be tough and the PNG boys are up against the might of Australia’s PM’s XIII. It can be intimidating but Prop forward Valentine Culligan is up for the cause. Players like Tino Fa’asuamaleaui pose the biggest threat in the forwards, but Valentine is not shaken, and is ready for the battle.
He added that they have to keep it simple and bring on the aggression. He is ready to go all out in this encounter.
“We will be keeping it simple. We have to run hard and tackle hard and keep the errors to a minimum. It will be tough but like I said, I’ll put my body on the line to try my best and keep giving my best.”
