Last year’s inaugural Pacific Bowl Championship Winners, the PNG Kumuls have been crowned the Champions once again following their convincing 42-20 victory over the visiting Cook Islands Aitu in their week three clash of the Pacific Championships on Sunday, November 3rd, 2024, at Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.
The Kumuls defeated the Fiji Bati in the Bowl opener at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva on October 19th and a week later, they thumped the Cook Islands on their home turf in Port Moresby to book a date with New Zealand in the promotion-relegation match on November 10th at CommBank Stadium, Sydney.
PNG went on a fiery start and registered the first 4-pointer through winger Elijah Roltinga in the 6th minute. After that try, the possession shifted to the Cook Islanders, who returned the favor in the 10th minute through prop Davvy Moale, followed by winger Steven Marsters in the 28th minute, taking a 14-4 lead.
The Kumuls were back-paddling and scratching their heads to play catch up footy, until fullback Nene McDonald injected himself into the game and showed brute strength to score the second try in the 33rd minute and right on the stroke of half time, rookie skipper Lachlan Lam produced an individual brilliant try to give the hosts a 16-14 lead over the visitors.
With the momentum on their side in the second stanza, the Kumuls revved their engine and played at full throttle, wasting no time and crossing over the line in the 45th minute through winger Robert Derby. Two minutes later, prop Sylvester Namo barged through five defenders to score, backed by Roltinga in the 51st minute and followed by McDonald in the 59th minute.
The Kukis were down on their haunches and grasping at air to contain the Kumuls’ onslaught. However, with a little bit of possession, the visitors bagged their consolation try through fullback Esom Ioka in the 71st minute, and the home side responded in the shadows of full time through 18th man Morea Morea Jr (who replaced concussed Koso Bandi) and iced the game with a 42-20 win.
Eventual player of the match, Nene McDonald was very busy at the back, amassing 161 running meters, scoring 2 tries, making 11 tackle breaks, and assisting a try. Skipper Lachlan Lam also had an outstanding game, followed by winger Elijah Roltinga. Overall, the Kumuls had a strong showing in the second spell.
Veteran campaigner and back-to-back man of the match, Nene McDonald revealed that the team’s clunky first half performance was due to the scorching heat, but they polished their game in the second half to seal the deal.
“It was a tough game because it was 30 degrees plus, but we just have to learn where to put ourselves at times and get involved. We started slow but came away strong. We showed our true PNG colors and came on top of the Kukis and smashed them at the end,” McDonald said.
Captain Lachlan Lam echoed similar sentiments shared by McDonald and touched on addressing ball security, set completion, and work hard on their defence as they look to face New Zealand in the promotion-relegation match on Sunday, November 10th, at CommBank Stadium in Sydney.
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