Go get 'em Kumuls!

[nadera78]

article taken from www.postcourier.com.pg

Aizue wants shot at Kiwis
FEARLESS Papua New Guinea hitman Makali Aizue has declared the reputation of New Zealand’s big name forward pack will count for nothing when the Gold Coast gets its first taste of the Rugby League World Cup on Saturday night.
In the first of two games to be held at Skilled Park, the Kumuls will collide with the Kiwis in what is shaping as an explosive showdown.
Considered unlucky to lose to England in Townsville at the weekend, the Kumuls arrived on the Coast on Sunday and held their first training run of the week yesterday at Pizzey Park.
Throughout the intense two-hour session, the Kumuls could be heard shouting “let’s get respect” and “bodies on the line NZ”, leaving little doubt of their intentions ahead of the Kiwi clash.
“Definitely, I would like to take the game to them,” said hulking prop Aizue, who turned on a bruising performance during the 32-22 loss to the English.
“I would definitely love to lead the forwards from the front against New Zealand, they are a big side.
“Reputation doesn’t mean anything to me. It is all about putting my body on the line for my country.
“That is what I am looking forward to doing.”
Aizue, who plays for Hull KR in the Super League, backed his side for a powerful performance against the Kiwis, who are considered favourites to make the World Cup final against Australia. While the Kumuls know they face an extremely tough task, there is an underlying feeling in the camp that they are more than capable of launching a massive upset.
“This team now is all about passion,” said 30-year-old Aizue.
“We play for each other.
“Everyone said we would get beaten easy but we gave it to the English and now everybody is saying we have got a chance. It is great for the whole country.”
PNG coach Adrian Lam said Aizue spoke for the whole side when he said New Zealand’s fearsome reputation would count for little.
“Makali’s words there would probably echo through a lot of the other players,” he said.
“This is more about us than who we are playing against.
“The hardest part about coaching this side was bringing a group of 24 players together and finding a bond there. They are from all over the world and some of them don’t speak English or have never been out of Papua New Guinea before.
“But as you see today we have already done that and we have done it pretty good.”
Lam is set to name an unchanged line-up to take on the Kiwis after centre Jessie Joe was yesterday cleared of a fractured eye socket.
“He has got a typical PNG head and bones so he is going to be all right probably,” said Lam.

 

[miguel de cervantes]

Jessie Joe cleared! That's fantastic news!

My high school chemistry teacher told us about how he once worked in PNG and one of the Papuan workers had a headache so he stuck an aspirin pill to his head with a bandaid. Hopefully the PNG doctor is better informed than that bloke.

 

[ozbash]

should be a good game, make or break for the kiwis.

 

[NK Arsenal]

Jessie Joe cleared! That's fantastic news!

My high school chemistry teacher told us about how he once worked in PNG and one of the Papuan workers had a headache so he stuck an aspirin pill to his head with a bandaid. Hopefully the PNG doctor is better informed than that bloke.

:lol:

Anyways hopefully PNG beat the Kiwis and the Kangaroos the week after..

 

[kiwileaguefan]

Jessie Joe cleared! That's fantastic news!

My high school chemistry teacher told us about how he once worked in PNG and one of the Papuan workers had a headache so he stuck an aspirin pill to his head with a bandaid. Hopefully the PNG doctor is better informed than that bloke.

In the NZ Herald it said he is out after getting deep cut to the face?

I really cant see them winning, they have already said they had been planning the England match for months...i really think they thought they would win it and make the Semis...

Anyways lets hope for a close game with a crowd over 10,000 at least!

 

[***MH***]

If PNG have improved from last week and NZ play the same boring football like they did against Australia, PNG should win by 13+

 

[roopy]

PNG will give it a red hot go.
They are certainly the side that has best prepared for the WC with many of the players obviously going through months of preparation for this tournament and two very good leadup games with the presidents xiii and PNG origin games - not to mention having a near NRL level coach spending months working with them.

These guys will have been elevated to the status of near gods in PNG after nearly knocking off England. They are definately the highest achieving sportsmen in their nations history, and a win against NZ would give them immortal status.

It's a huge ask still, because the PNG guys haven't got the experience to do the business at this level, but they will give it their best shot, and back up for a final 'death or glory' effort against Aus.

 

[cb4]

png wont get within 30 points of australia

 

[butchmcdick]

We all love a fairytale cinderella story where the little guy overcomes huge odds to win but really I can't see it happening.

I will be at the game cheering for Kumuls but if I had to bet my life on it I would go NZ to win everytime.

 

[cb4]

i want png to smack the kiwis but as u said it wont happen
but what if....

 

[brendothejet]

Well folks stranger stuff has happened. Australia lost a one dayer to bangladesh. the All Blacks lost to Fiji. England has lost in soccer to pretty much every minor european nation youve never heard of.

when you think about it, what was Rugby leagues biggest upset? We haven't really had an international upset like this would be, not for some time. Probably not since australia broke england 50 year hold on the ashes in England, or perhaps France defeating Australia, or PNGs wins in PNG over France and England but it has been a while/

We are probably over due for it. If the Kiwis dont improve 1000 percent they are gone. The Kumuls will through absolutely everything at them. I'd say the intencity will be even higher than the England game. We all know that the Kiwis can have shocking nights at the office and i dont see why this one couldnt happen.

Of course the NZders have the superior players on paper, the track record and such but its a World Cup and if ever something special was going to happen it will be Saturday night.

 

[butchmcdick]

Are we expecting too much from the kumuls ?

I take your point about strange things happening in sport and if the kumuls even come close to a victory I think it will be a fantastic result for them. It will be interesting to see if the game in townsville was a one off or not.

On a side issue the local paper had some of the kumuls enjoying themselves at wet and wild ( it is a water park not a strip club ). Did those guys look like they were having a ball. As one of them said, there is nothing like this in PNG.

 

[ozbash]

Of course the NZders have the superior players on paper, the track record and such but its a World Cup and if ever something special was going to happen it will be Saturday night.

You could be dead right Brendo. Depends which kiwi team turns up to play..

 

[cb4]

with granny in the team it wont be a good one

 

[Glen from the Mount]

PNG have beaten the Kiwis before, at least a couple of times, and I believe there has been at least one draw. However, I can't see it happening again on Saturday, especially after PNG coming off such a hard game against England.

All that said, it's great to see the amount of support the Kumuls are getting and they're doing their part to make this a great WC. They along with Ireland have been the 2 surprise teams so far in the WC.

 

[shinobi]

when you think about it, what was Rugby leagues biggest upset? We haven't really had an international upset like this would be, not for some time. Probably not since australia broke england 50 year hold on the ashes in England, or perhaps France defeating Australia, or PNGs wins in PNG over France and England but it has been a while/

How about NZ beating Australia 24-0 in the TriNations final 2005?

 

[God-King Dean]

Jessie Joe cleared! That's fantastic news!

My high school chemistry teacher told us about how he once worked in PNG and one of the Papuan workers had a headache so he stuck an aspirin pill to his head with a bandaid. Hopefully the PNG doctor is better informed than that bloke.

:lol:

 

[Godz Illa]

I love Makali Azuie!

MAKALI Aizue is a man of many stories. But this is undoubtedly the best of them.
It takes place four, maybe five days after the hulking Papua New Guinean prop first arrived in England to play Super League with Hull KR.
New to the city. New to the country. The first time this easygoing Islander had lived anywhere but his birthplace in the township of Goroka.
And so Aizue quickly invited fellow Kumul and new Rovers teammate Stanley Gene over for dinner. Which is where our story really begins.
Because according to legend, Aizue led his longtime friend not into his kitchen but to the bathroom - where a goose carcass lay prone in the tub.
Proudly walking in among the blood, feathers and general chaos - indeed, everything but a white chalk outline - while explaining how he intended to cook the bird.
And so Gene forced a sheepish grin, nervously asking his good mate where he'd bought the goose that was about to be dinner.
"Oh, Stanley it's great," Aizue replied pointing out a window. "That park you can see over the back fence . . . it's full of them".
Exactly who is going to stand up and become the undisputed cult figure of the 2008 World Cup?
A footballer for whom life ain't taken one game at a time. Nor games played wherever the coach wants them.
Because as our own Kangaroos becomes increasingly untouchable, unbackable and unseen, the task of selling seats has moved to the guys in second hand Nikes.
To blokes like Aizue. And Gene. The ageing Papuan skipper who either fudges his 1974 birthdate or has worked down a coalmine from age five.
These are the rascals who can override the results. Footballers who need to steal the limelight from an Australian team now $1.16 favourites and firming for Cup supremacy.
Which isn't to say this columnist believes cult figures like Aizue suddenly give an international league tournament credibility.
Because Samuel L Jackson is an intriguing yarn too but that hardly justifies Snakes On A Plane .
But the Centenary World Cup is on and several hundred warriors are here to win you over. And at least picking a winner here provides value.
Makali Aizue ($3.50): So hunting, killing and eating birdlife from a suburban children's playground isn't enough to be favourite? Well, consider that despite his nickname Rhino, Kumuls officials insist this Pacific Islands rim Adonis has never lifted a weight in his life.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,24573605-5016307,00.html