PNG Kumuls determined to bounce back against England Knights

PNG Kumuls team at training : PNG Kumuls Photo

KUMULS captain David Mead says his side are determined to square the series against the England Knights on Saturday.
The fullback, who turns 30 on Sunday, told the media at a training session at the National Football Stadium that the team were disappointed with their 16-12 loss in Lae last Saturday.
“We wanted to go out there and perform and win the game for PNG but that didn’t happen on the weekend,” Mead said of the loss.
“We’re hurting a little bit but we’re moving on and looking forward to the weekend.
“Big lesson for us is to respect the ball. We tried to push passes too much and came up with a lot of errors and we were up against a really good side like the PM’s game. We have to make the most of our chances and turn things around.
“I’m definitely confident with this team.
“When it comes to these kinds of games you have to take the chances and we’ll look to do that this weekend,” Mead said.
Mead said the team had pulled up well from the weekend and were doing light sessions to get ready for the second game of the series.
“We’ve watched the video and we need to focus on completing our sets which was something we didn’t do very well last week.”
Mead said the team had let in some soft tries on the edges and needed to address that deficiency.
The Catalans Dragons No.1 said the Kumuls would improve on their last performance and also welcomed the challenge the Knights had brought.
“The Knights ran hard and played smart moving the ball well so it’s on us to defend that.
Mead, who knows what it is like to miss a crucial kick at goal, refused to place any blame on halfback Watson Boas, who missed three conversions.
“There’s a lot of things that we could have done better in the game but we never blame an individual for losing the game.”
Mead said the Kumuls debutants had done well.
“I thought our debutants played well. They all have a lot of potential and just have to concentrate on working to improve their games and give their best every time they wear the jersey.”
“We’re all looking forward to the weekend.
“You never want to lose especially at home so we’re going to go out there and put on a good performance.”
Kyle Laybutt joins the squad today while James Segeyaro is yet to confirm his return to the team.
The final team will be announced on Thursday afternoon. The National/ONE PNG