Junior Kumuls create history   

The Papua New Guinea Junior Kumuls have etched their names into the history books following first win 18-10 at the Santos National Football Stadium.

Coach Joe Grima was positive throughout the week that the team was going to deliver which paid off today in the Nations Capital.

This marks the junior team their first of many to come as the Prime Minister XIIIs clashes continue this afternoon.

It was a slow start in the first 10 minutes of the match however, the Junior National team cruised past the Australian School Boys scoring their first try. It was their centre Jason Daniel who drew first blood for the home team.

The try was assisted by Co-captain Elijah Birve who also converted it at the far end of the field to take the lead.

Before half time, Junior Kumuls added double points to the board when Otto Thomas found his way through a tough defense. This helped the Junior Kumuls secure 10-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half it took a few minutes to settle before the Australian School Boys scored their first try. PNG extended through Daniel moments after to extend their lead.

The Australian School Boys added another however fell short. To secure a historic win, Birve converted a penalty goal to extend just three minutes before full time.

“We’ve been trying for about three or four years and there was something special about today and it’s hard to put it into words,” Grima said.

He said having a couple of elite junior players from the NRL pathway added the level of eliteness to this side while results of their academy program had a positive outcome from this historic win.

“We didn’t make the errors that we usually do, today we didn’t have to make the boys, because they knew what they were going to do out there and they delivered.”

Meanwhile Grima is positive that the next five years looks promising for the Junior Kumuls with the pathway now set for PNG.

FT: PNG 18 AUS 10