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Opinion
In this series, I’ll name what I think are the greatest teams of all time from some of our Pacific rim neighbours.
Today, the focus is on Papua New Guinea, and the only criterion for selection is that the selected player must have appeared in at least one Test for the Kumuls.
Here’s the team. Appearances for PNG are in brackets.
1. John Wilshere (18)
Equally at home at either fullback or wing, Willshere is PNG’s all-time top scorer with 114 points, and he captained the team in the 2008 World Cup. He played nearly 100 first-grade games in Australia and England and retired in 2009.
2. Marcus Bai (12)
A power-running winger and crowd favourite, Bai played both wing and centre for the Kumuls after beginning his career with the Port Moresby Vipers. He played over 250 games at the top level and crossed for 127 tries.
3. Justin Olam (9)
He is a fearsome attacking weapon who has crossed for six tries for PNG and 30 for Melbourne, for whom he has now played 63 games. He began his career while at PNG University of Technology and has a Bachelor of Applied Physics.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
4. David Mead (15)
He is the Kumuls’ top try scorer with ten tries, and also a former captain. Mead was a noted speedster in his day and is still playing at the top level with the Brisbane Broncos. He has played 230 first-grade games.
5. Alex Johnston (2)
He is a South Sydney try-scoring machine who has played two games at fullback for the Kumuls, including their famous 28-10 victory over Great Britain in 2019.
6. Stanley Gene (16)
He was a utility player who represented his country with distinction over a 15-year period, and also played over 300 games in the Super League, scoring 184 tries along the way. He coached PNG on five occasions.
7. Adrian Lam – captain (11)
He was an outstanding halfback who has both captained and coached the Kumuls and is the one of two players in this side who also played Origin for Queensland. Lam played 265 first-grade games both in Australia and England.
8. Luke Page (11)
He is a tearaway front rower who leaves nothing on the paddock. He has played only one first-grade game, but has had a long career in the NRL lower grades and the Queensland Cup.
(Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
9. James Segeyaro (6)
Segeyaro was born in PNG but raised in Cairns, and has played 164 first-grade games across five clubs, before being suspended for 20 months after testing positive to banned drugs.
10. David Westley (5)
He was a big front rower who played 163 games in his ten-year first-grade career. He won a premiership with Canberra in 1994, and was named in the 1995 World Cup Team of the Tournament.
11. Neville Costigan (7)
He was a tough, hard-working and versatile forward who could play every position in the pack. Costigan played over 190 first-grade games in a 12-year career and also played six Origins for Queensland.
12. Bruce Mamando (10)
He was a powerful forward who played in two World Cup campaigns for the Kumuls and also played 32 first-grade games in a stop-start eight-year career.
13. Rhyse Martin (11)
He is a talented back rower and current PNG captain who currently sits in second place on their all-time point-scoring list. He began his first-grade career with the Bulldogs, currently plays for Leeds in the Super League, and was part of their 2020 Challenge Cup victory.
14. Paul Aiton (15)
He was a versatile forward who captained the Kumuls in the 2010 Four Nations tournament, played 253 games at the top level, and was part of Leeds’ 2014 Challenge Cup-winning team.
15. Ray Thompson (4)
Equally at home either in the halves or at hooker, Thompson was a one-club stalwart with the Cowboys, playing 111 games for the club in nine years.
16. Max Tiri (16)
A strong forward who holds the record for the most Test matches for the Kumuls, he was a stalwart of the team throughout the 1990s.
17. Jason Chan (8)
He played in either the back row or up front and represented PNG in both the 2008 and 2013 World Cups. He also played 144 games in the UK in a six-year career.
That’s a handy side with plenty of strike power out wide, but a lot will depend on the creativity of Adrian Lam and the ability of the pack to hold their own.
So what do you think? Are there any players unlucky not to make the team? How would this team go?
Next, the Fiji Bati.
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