Kumuls determined to turn tide around

It was a disappointing loss for the PNG LNG Kumuls on Saturday, but the team is looking to turn this around this weekend.

Captain David Mead highlighted that one of the weaknesses in the October 27th match centred around the offloading of the ball.

It was a disappointing result for the PNG LNG Kumuls when they went down 12-16 to the England Knights in the first of a two game series.

Three unconverted tries ensured the visiting team’s victory.

However, captain David Mead says they never finish a game blaming any individual.

Instead, they will be working hard on areas of concern for this Saturday’s second match.

“I think a big lesson for us is respecting the ball,” he said. “If you try to offload it too much, you will come up with a lot of errors. Very similar to the Prime Minister’s (XIII) game, giving a good side the ball too easily and they made the most of the opportunities.”

Apart from offloads, the team will be focusing on completing their sets, which Mead and assistant coach Stanley Tepend agreed that the team did not execute well in Lae.

“Holding onto the ball is the main thing,” stated Mead. “If you drop the ball – first, second tackle – in your own end, it’s going to be very hard defending your goal line.

“And when the team gets a repeat set, it drains your energy so we’re going to try and improve on that.”

Though there are no major injury concerns, assistant coach Tepend said the boys are “really feeling that loss”.

“That loss is probably hurting more than anything else at the moment, so you’ll see a much better performance this Saturday,” he stated.

The November 3rd game will kick off at 3pm at the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.

(PNG LNG Kumuls players during training on Monday, October 29th)

Author: 
Carmella Gware