PNG Rugby League Foundation

50 man train on squad to be gleaned down to 25 man squad in 2 and a half weeks time

Team Kumul Press Conference held this afternoon at the Holiday Inn. Read tomorrow's papers for full report on the press conference.

Heartbreaking loss for the Kumuls. Final score 9-8 in favor of France.

PNG vs France Preview
By Dominic Broch (NRL.com)

Papua New Guinea v France
Craven Park, Hull
Sunday October 27, 4pm (local time)
Monday October 28, 2.30am (NSW); 1.30am (Qld)

Rugby league is Papua New Guinea's national sport and the Kumuls will be keen to get their World Cup campaign off to the right start against France.

They've been starved of World Cup success of late after being cruelly drawn in a group against powerhouses Australia, New Zealand and England in the 2008 tournament. Their best performance at a Cup came eight years earlier when the Kumuls advanced to the quarter-finals after going through their group undefeated.

A repeat of that feat is unlikely this time around, with the Kiwis and Samoa standing in their way, but the French look to be ripe for the picking after being shocked 22-18 by the USA in their warm-up match last week.

The Kumuls have lost star ho**er James Segeyaro to injury, but have a more than capable replacement in the form of former Panther and Shark Paul Aiton.

Watch Out France: Papua New Guinea's strength is where it matters – through the spine. Their attack will come through the spark of Aiton at ho**er, North Queensland's Ray Thompson in the halves and Gold Coast speedster David Mead at fullback, with captain Neville Costigan anchoring the forward pack at lock. They've also got one of the best brains trusts in the business, with national legend Adrian Lam coaching the side and assisted by record-breaking Maroons mentor Mal Meninga.

Papua New Guinea's physical nature could also prove too much for the French, who were thumped by the stronger Fiji and Samoan sides at the 2008 World Cup.

Watch Out Papua New Guinea: French five-eighth Thomas Bosc is the team's attacking star, while retiring Cowboys utility back Clint Greenshields has bags of experience and will be a constant threat from fullback.

France's best asset is their cohesion – 16 of their 24-man squad are club teammates at the Catalans Dragons, while Greenshields played alongside many of them in his time at the club between 2007 and 2012. That familiarity should be a real strength for the French in a tournament when other teams will still be fine-tuning their combinations in the first round of matches.

Key Match-Up: David Mead v Clint Greenshields. The battle of the fullbacks pits a young natural finisher against an experienced veteran who made his first-grade debut almost a decade ago. Mead has performed miracles on the right wing for the Gold Coast Titans but will have a larger role as the Kumuls' custodian, continuing in the kind of roaming role he played in William Zillman's absence for the late part of the 2013 season for the Titans. Greenshields scored three tries in his six games at fullback for the Cowboys this season when filling in for the injured Matt Bowen, and his running game will be one of France's best weapons in breaching Papua New Guinea's defence.

Televised: Live – 7mate at 2:30am (NSW); 1.30am (Qld)

The Way We See It: France's loss to the USA rings alarm bells for a team that has plenty of home-grown talent but doesn't possess much in the way of NRL-quality players. The Kumuls on the other hand have key players in key positions. Ray Thompson's experience playing alongside arguably the world's best playmaker Johnathan Thurston all season should serve him well at this tournament, and with Lam and Meninga pulling the strings Papua New Guinea should get the points here. The Kumuls to win by 12 points.

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PNG Kumuls match against French Roosters will be televised Live – 7mate at 2:30am (NSW); 1.30am (Qld)

Rugby League World Cup Results - Day 1:
Australia 28 def England 20.
Italy 32 def Wales 16.

Kumul line up to play against the French Roosters. Go Kumuls!!

PNGRFL TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF FOUNDATION

The Minister for Sport Hon Justin Tkatchenko has confirmed today that steps are underway to transfer the ownership of the PNG Rugby League Foundation to the PNGRFL.

“The submission is now before NEC and I expect it will be ratified shortly so that now ALL Rugby League programs will fall under the control of the Governing body of Rugby League – the PNGRFL. There has been a fantastic level of co-operation between Government, the Foundation and the PNGRFL over the past twelve months to get the game back on its feet and the time is now right to streamline everything under the PNGRFL. This has been a priority recommendation from my Ministry, the Foundation and the PNGRFL and with this last step being taken we are even more excited about the future of the game. It is now up to the PNGRFL board to plan, restructure and deliver programs that benefit the nation in regards to Rugby League.”

Deputy Chairman Sandis Tsaka said the transfer had been agreed upon some time ago but the PNGRFL wanted to ensure it had a full board in place and were ready;

“The level of cooperation from Brad and the Foundation Board has been amazing over the past twelve months. They have unselfishly provided financial assistance, their offices, management and staff to assist and work with the PNGRFL in getting to the stage we are now. Despite some idiotic criticisms from people who have their own personal agendas I can tell you that this has been done for the right reasons. Without the help of Brad and the Foundation we could not have possibly delivered anything of what has been done over the past 12 months. I sincerely thank Brad, Chairman Governor Powes Parkop and the Foundation Board for their support. The Foundation has delivered a fantastic Schoolboys program and entry to the QLD Cup and it is now being handed over to the PNGRFL. It is up to the PNGRFL Board now to continue the good work over the past 12 months and we are working very hard on this. I also wanted to make it VERY clear that the PNGRFL has full control over ALL programs under its leadership.”

To all rugby players, coaches and families. Firstly I would like to welcome you all to the UK. I would like to wish you all the best in your games during the games in the rugby tournament. If you have any spare time in the UK during your games, I would like to invite you all and your families to my London SDA church, which is the Lewisham Seventh Day Adventist church. If you do decide to come our services are on Saturdays at 9:30am and the address is 434 Lewisham High St London SE13 6LJ and
telephone number is:020 8690 4443. For more information do feel free to contact me Ruth Scott via facebook or [email protected]. Have a good day and may God bless you all and your families abundantly. Ruth Scot

WE'RE IN!!!