Four Super League players were on show as Papua New Guinea hammered Fiji to claim victory in the Pacific Bowl – with Edwin Ipape and Rhyse Martin among the stars.
The Kumuls knew victory against Fiji would claim top spot in the Bowl and ensure promotion to the next Pacific Championships in 2027. They did so in style in front of a bumper crowd in Port Moresby to run out 50-18 winners.
The contest was as good as over by half-time, with Papua New Guinea leading 30-6 by the interval thanks to a sublime display, with Leigh hooker Ipape at the heart of everything they did well.
They opened the scoring after ten minutes as one-time Super League linked fullback Morea Morea crossed for the game’s opening try. Ipape followed suit four minutes later, before two more Super League stars crossed the whitewash as Nene Macdonald and Hull KR star Rhyse Martin put the hosts in complete control.
Cooper Bai’s try enhanced the lead further and while Fiji responded with two tries from Kitione Kautoga either side of half-time, it was always the Kumuls that were in control.
Former Castleford man Nixon Putt, Dudley Dotoi and Robert Mathias scored in the final half-hour, with Martin kicking nine goals on the day to ensure a comfortable victory and underline PNG’s reputation as a growing force in the world of international rugby league.
Leigh star Lachlan Lam was on the bench as Jason Demetriou opted to rotate his side with Finley Glare taking on the role of scrum-half.
However, Demtriou was thrilled with the response from his side after a stuttering display against the Cook Islands last weekend.
He said: “We knew we needed to be better than last week and the boys were great. It’s been a good squad effort, every one of the boys was going to play over the last two games.”
