The PNG Kumuls will play their first game this Saturday at Port Moresby when they take on a Wales side desperate to cause an upset in the opening weekend of the Rugby League World Cup.
Kumuls (and PNG Hunters) coach Michael Marum and his national skipper David Mead attended Sunday’s Rugby League World Cup media launch in Brisbane and spoke about their expectations for the tournament.
Mead spoke about how much it means to the people of PNG to be able to watch their team play on home soil.
The Kumuls are part of Pool B and will also face Ireland and later the United States (cross-pool match) in their opening rounds.
Marum said the team would like to play quarter-finals and hopefully then progress to the semi-final stages.
He and Mead also said the success of the PNG Hunters this year brought great confidence to the group, with the majority of the team made up by the Intrust Super Cup players who claimed this year’s premiership title.
Hear all of what Marum and Mead had to say in the video above.
Read the Media Release: Nations unite for RLWC 2017 launch
See the teams for the opening RLWC weekend games --> Team Lists
(homepage photo by NRL Photos)
More from the Rugby League World Cup media launch