An eight-try haul by Australia was enough to shut down PNG with a 42-20 margin during the Prime Minister’s XIII high-scoring affair in front of the packed Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby on Sunday, October 13th, 2024.
Since the annual Prime Minister’s XIII fixture was introduced in 2005, Australia had won every game. PNG has yet to defeat the Australians in this friendly game, extending their losing streak to more than two decades.
The energetic PNG side took Australia off guard and kept them under the pump in the opening ten minutes of the game. Rookie captain Judah Rimbu showed his craftsmanship around the ruck and scored the first try, followed by center Robert Mathias, just under 10 minutes of play.
PNG took things under control but their silly errors and ill-discipline saw the Australians swing the momentum in their favor. Australia capitalised on PNG’s mistakes and scored three tries through Beau Fermor, Tyran Wishart and Jacob Liddle, taking a 16-10 lead over the hosts at half time.
The young star-studded Australian outfit took a breather and went firing on all cylinders in the second spell, scoring five unanswered tries to exert their dominance. PNG scored two late consolation tries to end the game with a 42-20 scoreline.
Coach Brad Fittler said he knew the fans would get at the back of the PNG players and tried to inspire them, but he was confident of his boys to handle the pressure and play their natural footy.
“Papua New Guineans cheer very loudly and we can hear all the yelling, but I wasn’t nervous because we just didn’t have the ball,” Fittler commented when PNG scored two tries under 10 minutes.
“I just knew that once we had the ball, we were going to be okay. We have experienced players like Damien Cook and Jamal Fogarty, who led us in the right direction.”
Captain Damien Cook admitted that they anticipated the PNG side would come hard and test the youthful Australian team. He also mentioned that he liked the way in which rugby league is gaining traction in PNG.
“It was definitely a tough start. We knew they were going to come out firing, with the crowd behind them. They put up a lot of fight and I love the direction PNG rugby league is going,” Cook said.
There were some positives to take out of this match. A few of the players in the likes of Judah Rimbu, Ila Alu, Sanny Wabo, among others will travel with PNG Kumuls contingent to take part in the Pacific Bowl Championships slated on October 19th against Fiji in Suva.
Meanwhile, the ruthless Australian girls piled up a half-a-century points (50) on the hapless PNG side in the curtain-raiser of the men’s Prime Minister’s XIII match.
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