PNG retains bowl title, set up tough clash with New Zealand

A player-of-the-match performance by Nene Macdonald and some brilliant touches from skipper Lachlan Lam ensured PNG Kumuls retained the Pacific Bowl Championship after a courageous 42-20 victory over Cook Islands Aitu.

The win booked Kumuls a flight to Sydney where they will face New Zealand Kiwis in the promotion-relegation playoff at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.

Kumuls coach Jason Demetriou said the Pacific Bowl triumph over Fiji and Cook Islands has provided a valuable platform for PNG to step up against top-tier countries.

"It feels awesome, obviously coming in it's a tough competition because you need to win both games otherwise, you're out the back door and this year everybody knew what was up for grabs if we get through," Demetriou said of winning the bowl for second consecutive year and earning a possible promotion.

"To improve as a nation we need to have opportunities to play against the top-tier teams and we get an opportunity to do that next week so yeah I'm really happy."

The Kumuls seemed overconfident heading into the match and were shocked by Aitus in the opening 20 minutes.

Winger Elijah Roltinga claimed the first try from a Nene Macdonald cutout pass as Kyle Laybutt failed to convert the goal, leaving the scores at 4-0.

The Karmichael Hunt-coached side immediately responded with a try to South Sydney Rabbitohs forward Davvy Moale with Essan Masters putting the visitors in front 6-4 from a successful conversion.

Aitus further extended their lead to 14-6 when Kumuls forward Sylvester Namo was binned for a high shot on Rua Ngatikaura.

Despite, being one man short, the home team found their way back into the contest in the final quarter of the first stanza with back-to-back tries to skipper the skipper and Red Devils star Macdonald, for a 16-14 lead at halftime.

"I felt like the back end of the first half we started to get real control of it and scored two tries with 12 men," Demetriou said.

"But I just didn't feel like we met the physicality early and once we started to meet the physicality the way we know we can we started to control the game."

PNG dominated the second-half contest after a refreshing break which saw Macdonald and Roltinga complete their doubles in the 8-try haul.

Leigh Leopards star Lam played a starring role in the halfback position, providing three try assists and directing Kumul's traffic.

"It's not something we take lightly, as a nation we just want to keep winning and doing our best every time we get an opportunity because test matches don't come around too often," Lam said of winning the title under his first captaincy role.

"And now that this Pacific Bowl and Championship have come in, it's given us a chance to represent our country and our nation from NRL, Super League, and Queensland Cup with the Hunters and it gets special moments like the win."

PNG will prepare for a tough contest against the 2023 Pacific Championship winner in Kiwis on Sunday for a potential promotion into the Cup group next year.

The Kiwis will be fighting to retain their place in the cup category after back-to-back losses to Australia and Tonga.