Papua New Guinea have dedicated their shock win over Fiji to late teammate Kai Ottio, beating their more-fancied opponents 26-14 in the Pacific rugby league Test in Sydney.
Ottio, who played six games for the Kumuls from 2015-17, died after collapsing while training with his PNG Hunters teammates in January in Port Moresby.
Wearing armbands in his honour on Saturday at Campbelltown Stadium, nine of the Hunters’ Queensland Cup players and their Kumuls teammates helped beat the fifth-ranked Fiji.
“We dedicate the game to our late member Kato Ottio and we paid tribute to him,” coach Michael Marum said.
“This morning, we saw some video about what he did for us. It’s a great team effort today.
“We really missed Kato in camp with us and also out on the field. That gave us a bit more motivation to go out there and do well for the country and also the family for Kato.”
Despite giving up more than 500 games of NRL experience to their rivals, the Kumuls flew to a 26-4 halftime lead and held on as Fiji enjoyed the weight of possession.
PNG fullback Justin Olam scored one try and set up another before succumbing to a leg injury, while captain James Segeyaro was man of the match out of dummy-half.
Manly’s NRL injury crisis took another hit, with Fijian winger Akuila Uate limping from the field with an apparent ankle injury late in the first half and leaving the ground on crutches and in a moon boot.
“He’s not great,” rookie coach Matt Adamson said.
“He’s more worried about that the guys have lost. He’s a very passionate man about his country.
“He’s put his country first – he’s not even worried about his ankle.”
Coming off their third-successive World Cup semi-final, the Bati had plenty of ball early in both halves but struggled to take their chances.
Jarryd Hayne – playing in the halves – laid on two tries and Suliasi Vunivalu scored one on the wing in the second half, but the Bati always looked as if they had too much to make up.
In comparison, the 10th-ranked Kumuls looked every bit the team who were used to playing together each week for the Hunters under Marum.
They completed at 81 per cent in the first half and broke the line four times, including one length-of-the-field effort on the set after a kickoff to put the game beyond doubt before the break.
