SP Hunters coach Michael Marum

Following the tragic passing of Timothy Lepa on Monday morning, Marum said: “Tim was assistant coach when the Kumuls played Fiji in the Pacific Test last year in Sydney and his tireless contributions to the team were invaluable.

“We have been in touch regularly since then and we will all miss his great character in camp and on tour.”

PNGNRLC Manager, Stanley Hondina, said Lepa was a character in the game. Last season, he guided the Enga Mioks to the minor premiership but went down to Goroka Lahanis in the grand final.

While Marum was pleased with yesterday’s narrow 18-16 win, he said the team still struggled through patches of the game.

“We knew it was going to be a really tough one playing against the premiers from last year.

“The Jets really played well all throughout the game. The Jets play a different style of football and we were prepared for that.

“But there were some stages in the game where we just made too many errors that allowed them back in the game. But I’m still happy with the result we had,” said Marum.