Leigh Leopards star receives ultimate international honor, follows in father’s footsteps

Leigh Leopards star Lachlan Lam will captain Papua New Guinea for the first time against the Cook Islands this weekend, following in the footsteps of dad – and Leopard's boss – Adrian.

Now in charge of Leigh, Adrian – born in Rabaul – featured 16 times for the Kumuls during his playing days, scoring eight tries in the process, and has gone on to enjoy two separate stints as their head coach.

The 54-year-old captained his nation on numerous occasions, with the most recent coming in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Wales.

24 years on, son Lachlan – who was born in Sydney but represents PNG via his heritage – will get the honor of leading the Kumuls out for the first time.

Lam junior linked up with his dad at Leigh midway through the 2022 campaign, and has now made 71 appearances for the Leopards, named in the 2023 Super League Dream Team.

26-year-old Lachlan, who just like his dad is a half-back, made his international debut back in 2017 and already has 11 caps for the Kumuls on his CV.

His 12th will come in Port Moresby on Sunday as Jason Demetriou’s side host the Kukis at Santos National Football Stadium.

A win would see PNG top the Pacific Bowl group for the second year running, and more importantly, earn a shot at promotion in a one-off game against the nation that ends bottom of this year’s Pacific Cup group.

The playmaker gets the honor of captaining the Kumuls this weekend with fellow Super League star Rhyse Martin not involved in the game.

Martin, who will join Hull KR in 2025 having spent the last five-and-a-half seasons with Leeds Rhinos, is set to be replaced in Demetriou’s squad by Dan Russell.

Back-rower Russell will also feature in Super League come 2025 having agreed on a two-year deal with Warrington, making the move to join the Wolves following his departure from NRL outfit St George Illawarra Dragons.