Former Gold Coast Titans mentor, Justin Holbrook has made a first impression in his new tenure as Kumuls Coach after taking the PNG PM’s 13 side to shock an all NRL star-studded Australian side only to go down fighting 18-30 at fulltime.
Only two months into his tenure as the Kumuls head coach, Holbrook was given a 20-men squad to work with. While majority of the group had little or non-capped players, playing at the PM’s 13 level was an unreal experience.
It was a whole new experience for coach Justin Holbrook who appeared over the moon after Saturday’s impressive performance by PNG against the big NRL stars, two of whom he mentored at the Titans in the likes of Tino Fa’asuamaleaui,and Alofiana Khan-Pereira.
After his boys gutsy performance on Saturday it was a nervous experience for Holbrook having to soak in a lot of all the post-match happenings after fans invaded the field. But he spoke proudly of the boys performance.
Coach Holbrook is excited about the upcoming Pacific Championships where PNG will be up against Pacific rivals Cook Islands and Fiji here at the Santos National Football stadium.
PM’s 13 Captain Kyle Laybutt was a real menace for the Australians especially his no-nonsense defence and spiral kicks which got the opposition back paddling. Kyle was equally happy with the effort of the young boys while praising the experience of Nene Mcdonald, Robert Derby and kid brother Zac Laybutt making his debut for the Kumuls and can’t wait for the Pacific Challenge. Laybutt said the future looks good for the Kumuls
Another major announcement of the PNG Kumuls and PNG Orchids teams will be made soon for next months’ Pacific Championships.