Demetriou confident with Kumuls as they set sight on potential Pacific Cup campaign

PNG Kumuls is composed to earn their place in the relegation-promotion play-off with head coach Jason Demetriou expressing confidence in his side for Sunday’s match against Cook Islands Aitu.

A win over Aitus would see Kumuls finish on top and play the Pacific Bowl finals, whilst earning an opportunity for promotion against New Zealand or Tonga on November 10.

The Kumuls head into week 3 of Championship with assurance after their win over Fiji a fortnight ago, and Demetriou said the team had a solid preparation this week after a 7-day break.

“I think there are just some areas with our defence that we can sharpen up a little bit,” the Kumul mentor said.

“I thought over the course of the game we were pretty good but there were areas where we still got a bit lax in and around that rock.

“We want to be a bit more consistent with that but also naturally spending more time together we're going to get sharper with the ball as well.

“A bit more connection and understanding of what we're trying to do but there's some really good signs after training today.”

The Kumuls will be without skipper Rhyse Martin after the veteran ruled himself out, paving way for Leigh Leopards playmaker Lachlan Lam for the captaincy role.

After being named Kumuls 18th man against Fiji in round 1, Warrington Wolves bound Dan Russell will start at second row in absence of Martin.

“We lose a bit of experience there, but D-Russ (Dan Russell) comes back into the side,” Demetriou said.
“So, it was really hard to leave him (Dan) out in the first game and it gives us a chance to rotate the squad a little bit.

“Make sure we've got as many players fit and available if and when we get through the following week.
“But he'll (Martin) be back in Sydney if we get through so that's good news.”

Demetriou said the Pacific Championships was a great opportunity to improve PNG’s international ranking, which is currently in 7th place.

He said PNG has the potential to beat top-tier nations and securing a place in the promotion play-off is the first step towards becoming one of the top 4 nations.

“My honest opinion is that's too low for the Kumuls,” he said of PNG’s current standing.

“I think the Kumuls should be chasing the top 4 in the world. I think with the talent that we have, we're more than capable of reaching the top 4 in the world.

“Unless we're aspiring to that then we shouldn't be putting the jersey on. The boys were quite shocked to hear that we were ranked 7th, and they wanted to improve that.

“That's where we're going. But we can only do that if we get a chance to play against the top-tier countries.”

The Kumuls host Aitus at Santos National Football Stadium with 26-year-old halfback Lam set for a historic game on his first captaincy at home soil.

PNG has a comfortable winning record over Cook Islands with the recent being 42-10 victory in last year’s pacific bowl campaign in Port Moresby.

But the newly appointed skipper said the Kumuls must ensure a solid performance as they embark on a potential Pacific Cup in 2025.

“We've got a lot of good players in this team and a lot of experience. We understand we're in a good position with that win over Fiji in the first game, but we can't take the cooks lightly.

“We need to put in a good performance. I think a win guarantees us to go through, so we can't be going in hesitant or anything like that because they're a holy side.”