The Australian Schoolboys and Schoolgirls teams both claimed wins in their matches against their junior PNG counterparts in tough games played at Santos National Football Stadium on Sunday.
The Schoolboys were able to steal a late win in a bruising and seesawing encounter which saw the lead change several times before Jaxon Edgar crossed with just over three minutes remaining to put the visiting side in front.
There were strong performers in both teams, with the forwards made to work hard. The crowd were firmly behind the home side with fullback Ragarive Wavik, who recently claimed the Hastings Deering Colts premiership with Townsville Blackhawks and hooker Finlay Glare standouts.
The junior skipper, Glare was a handful at dummy half, sparking much of their attacking play, but the Australian side were able to do just enough to stay in the game and get in front when it mattered, despite making a few errors in challenging and windy conditions.
Australian Schoolboys 20 defeated PNG Junior Kumuls 16 side and the Schoolgirls Australian proved too strong for the PNG Junior Orchids, posting a 26-0 win with Mercedez Taulelei-Siala, Caley Tallon-Henniker and Ebony Raftstrand-Smith all crossing for doubles.
The match was a close encounter early, with the visitors only ahead 8-0 at the halftime break, before they were able to run away with the match later in the game with most tries coming via their outer edges.
This was the first time the PNG Junior Orchids played and they gave a strong account of themselves, while it was the second time an Australian Schoolgirls side had toured overseas, following a visit to Fiji last year.