PNG Kumuls v Australian Prime Minister's XIII

[Granty]

http://www.qrl.com.au/display.php?pg_id=4235

Australian Stars Train In Cairns



THE Australian Rugby League Prime Minister’s XIII will train in Cairns this Thursday (September 25).

The side, which includes Queensland Maroons star Scott Prince (pictured), will hold an open training session from 4pm at Jones Park (Cairns District Junior Rugby League grounds - located at Mann Street, Westcourt).

This training run will be open to the public and will be followed by an autograph session. Both sessions will be FREE.

The Prime Minister’s XIII plays Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby on Sunday, September 28.

The match at Lloyd Robson Oval will be preceded by the team conducting community work with AusAID.

League great Mal Meninga is the Prime Minister’s XIII coach.


ARL Prime Minister's XIII

Jarryd Hayne
Maurice Blair
Michael Jennings
Joel Monaghan
Josh Morris
Terry Campese
Scott Prince
Carl Webb
Robbie Farah
Ben Cross
Nathan Hindmarsh (c)
Luke O’Donnell
Alan Tongue

Interchange

Craig Wing
Chris Heighington
Cory Paterson
Joe Picker

[Granty]

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/200...port-news.html

PM's men chase Cup spots

Andrew Piva
Friday, September 26, 2008
© The Cairns Post


Forward muscle: Australian forward Carl Webb and
Prime Minister’s XIII teammate Ben Cross return to
the rugby league training paddock in Cairns yesterday

PARRAMATTA second-rower and Prime Minister's XIII captain Nathan Hindmarsh will use Sunday's match against the Kumuls in Papua New Guinea to remind World Cup selectors of his talents.

Hindmarsh and his teammates touched down in Cairns yesterday for their first training run before leaving for Port Moresby later today.

For Hindmarsh, whose international career looked over when he missed selection for the initial 46-man World Cup squad, the hunger for representative football remains as ravenous as ever.

Australia will not finalise its World Cup roster until October 6 and Hindmarsh said he would do everything in his power to keep himself in selection contention.

"I’ll be trying to play my best footy on Sunday to try and make this squad," he said.

"(I’ll) make sure the whole team does the same. We’ve come up here to win a game and try and get spots in that World Cup squad at the end of the year."We’re not taking this lightly at all.

"They (the Kumuls) are a hard side to beat. I told the boys already we’re going in no holds barred and to get stuck into them straight away because that’s what they’ll try and do to us."

Representative newcomer Terry Campese expects Hindmarsh’s prediction to come true and is readying himself for a tough initiation into international football.

The Raiders five-eighth was rewarded with a Prime Minister’s XIII jernsey after guiding the wooden-spoon favourites to a finals berth with an eye-catching burst of late-season form.

Campese, nephew of Wallabies great David, said the past three months had made him reassess his career.

"If you asked me at the start of the year I never thought I’d be here," he said.

"This is the first time I get to play with big names like Scotty Prince and Robbie Farah and I can’t wait to play with them guys."

[Granty]

http://www.nrl.com/News/Latest/tabid....aspx?id=53038

Kumuls to go one step better than a draw

By Ilya Gridneff, Papua New Guinea Correspondent
AAP

Papua New Guinea are determined to go one step better in Sunday's clash than last year's 24-24 draw with the Prime Minister's XIII.

The fourth annual Prime Minister's challenge will be held in Port Moresby and is a preliminary run as players chase selection for next month's World Cup.

While Australia dominates world rugby league, league-mad PNG are thinking long-term not just about Sunday's big clash.

PNG rugby league boss Danny Holmes said the Kumuls have improved dramatically in skill, discipline and physically are stronger than ever.

"There's a real confidence these days with the team," he told AAP.

"It's what we've been working on and preparing for so the players know that not only as they improve with experience and skill but mentally they are focused for winning against tough competition like the Australians," he said.

Holmes said the Australian Rugby League's continued support with coaching and refereeing programs have raised standards and strengthened PNG's goal to see a club side one day entering the NRL.

"A draw last year was brilliant and really boosted their confidence, this year everyone is hoping to go one step better," he said.

But Prime Minister's XIII coach Mal Meninga said at an official reception on Friday night that his side was ready to disappoint all those loyal PNG supporters.

"The boys are ready to go and are really going to take it to them," he said.

Kick off on Sunday is scheduled for 3pm (AEST).

[Granty]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...?section=sport

Police action mars PM's XIII win

Posted Sun Sep 28, 2008 7:41pm AEST

Heavy-handedness by Papua New Guinea police has marred the end of Sunday's rugby league clash between the Australian Prime Minister's XIII and Papua New Guinea.

Led by captain Nathan Hindmarsh, the Australians scored 10 tries to six to triumph 54-30 in an entertaining clash in Port Moresby, which was the last chance for players to push for selection in the Australian World Cup squad to be named on October 7.

Eels winger Jarryd Hayne and Tigers young gun Chris Lawrence both notched doubles in the match, which ended amid gunshots from police.

The trouble started after the final whistle when hundreds of fans leapt the barbed wire fence onto the playing field.

In an attempt to keep them away from the players, police fired warning shots in the air and hit young fans with sticks and metal bars.

The Australian players took photos and signed autographs in the middle of the field, protected by a ring of police as the chaos unfolded.

The Australian team had been promoting HIV and domestic violence awareness prior to the game.

Earlier in the the day, 200 school children carrying red balloons formed a ribbon on the field to symbolise hope in the fight against HIV in PNG.

[Granty]

http://www.nrl.com/News/Latest/tabid....aspx?id=53045

Aussie stars shine in 54-30 win over PNG

PORT MORESBY
AAP

There were a few police gun shots, plenty of tries and an Australian team putting their names forward for World Cup selection as the Prime Minister's XIII completed a 54-30 rout of Papua New Guinea.

Led by skipper Nathan Hindmarsh, the Australian team scored 10 tries to six in an entertaining and fiery encounter at Lloyd Robson Oval that saw more than 5000 pack the tiny stadium.

Parramatta winger Jarryd Hayne and Wests Tigers youngster Chris Lawrence both bagged doubles while Hindmarsh, Robbie Farah, Michael Jennings, Joe Picker, Carl Webb and Josh Morris also scored.

Hayne bagged his double in the second half within the space of a minute.

PNG's co-captain Stanley Gene also scored twice, his second coming on the final hooter. Gene was the pick of the Kumuls in the hot, dry and windy conditions.

Australia were held to a respectable 22-16 halftime lead before a dominant final second stanza saw them run away with the contest.

The result was in stark contrast to last year's game when the Australians surrendered a halftime lead in the 24-all draw.

After the match Nathan Hindmarsh, while giving one lucky local his footy boots, said it was the brutal encounter he expected.

"It was tough, especially the first half, we couldn't seem to hold the ball," he said.

"We let them score a few tries and the crowd got really behind them and really lifted them."

The game was the last chance for several Australian World Cup hopefuls to press for selection before the 24-man squad is announced on October 7.

Australia's coach Mal Meninga said while happy with the win conditions made it a difficult to chart players' performances for World Cup selection.

"The field's rock hard, it's hot as buggery, you are playing against a pretty committed Kumuls side," he said.

"They (PNG) were really good today, very aggressive in the way they played but our boys just hung in there pretty well.

"Charlie (Carl) Webb was pretty good, Benny Cross, Nathan Hindmarsh, Luke O'Donnell was good, Robbie Farah - they all deserve an opportunity to be earmarked for a spot in the World Cup.

"They put their best foot forward today so we see what happens.

"This Kumul side improved - they'll pick a pretty good side too."

PNG coach Adrian Lam said he will select a World Cup side after another internal match.

"We've improved but we've got an origin-style match before we make a final decision," he said.

Locals packed the stadium with hundreds more outside and others taking vantage spots in the nearby trees.

Police crowd control required several warning shots to be fired, especially in post-match jubilance that saw hundreds swarm both the Australian and PNG side.

[Granty]

http://blogs.abc.net.au/grandstand/2...by_league#more

Footy playing its part in PNG

There are few tougher places to play rugby league than Papua New Guinea, but for former Kangaroo Luke O'Donnell he wouldn't have it any other way.

The North Queensland Cowboys and New South Wales origin lock says he loves visiting PNG and witnessing the enthusiasm of locals for rugby league, and in particular the positive role his Kangaroo team mates (including Scott Prince and Joel Monaghan pictured below) have on the community in pushing awareness of HIV and Aids.



"They love to come out and touch their favourite players and NRL is their national sport in New Guinea so they are just mad for it," O'Donnell said.

Listen to Luke O'Donnell's interview with Grandstand's Zane Bojack below:
http://blogs.abc.net.au/grandstand/f...onnell_png.mp3

"Before we went, AusAid and the government were running a nationwide competition and we met all the winners and shot a couple of ads that they will use throughout the year as part of their campaign for HIV awareness."

O'Donnell was a stand out performer for the Australian Prime Minister's 13 in their 54-30 win over the Kumals in Port Moresby on Sunday.

He says playing in the game was a great chance to prove fitness and form for a possible World Cup spot, but it was not without its share of controversy including police gun shots following the full-time siren.

"It was a great experience, I had the opportunity to play up there in 2006, so I was pretty prepared for what goes on," O'Donnell said.

"They have a few problems with the crowd control over there so a bit of that goes on with the police trying to keep the crowd back.

"That's they way they do things over there so it was a bit of an eye-opener."

O'Donnell said Cowboys team mate Carl Webb and Queensland half-back Scott Prince put their hands up for Kangaroo selection with outstanding games under pressure.

"Princey did a pretty good job and Carl was man of the match so he was pretty involved and did a bit of damage so it would be great to play alongside Webby in the World Cup that's for sure," O'Donnell said.

"The conditions up there are probably the hardest you will ever play rugby league under in regards to the field and temperature and things like that."

With the Australian World Cup team to be named on October 7, O'Donnell has his fingers crossed that he has done enough to prove he deserves a spot in the side.

But he is aware that Kangaroo selectors have a tried and tested formula of utilising players who have proven themselves during the finals series with this weekend's decider between Manly and Melbourne likely to make up the bulk of World Cup spots.

"Usually World Cup squads and Tri-Nations squads have a few representatives from grand final sides and there are plenty of players from the Storm that have been there before so I would have to say the Storm will have a few in there," O'Donnell said.