Australia will count the cost of the 50-0 win over its PNG rivals in the women’s Prime Minister’s XIII match, with Lauren Brown suffering an injury only days out from the Pacific Championships.
In the men’s Prime Minister’s XIII fixture, Papua New Guinea showcased its potential in a 42-20 loss to Australia, as the NRL prepares to grant the Pacific nation a licence to join the competition.
Gold Coast Titans utility Brown went down clutching her left hamstring after dropping the kick-off following Jaime Chapman’s second try in Port Moresby.
She came from the field and watched from the sidelines as Australia stormed to a match-defining 44-0 half-time lead.
Brown finished the NRLW season as joint runner-up for the Dally M Medal and looked assured of a spot in the Jillaroos’ 17-player squad for the Pacific Championships opener against PNG on Friday.
Instead, Jillaroos coach Brad Donald will be left deliberating whether to promote a playmaker into the squad to join Ali Brigginshaw and Tarryn Aiken.
Jesse Southwell showed she would be up to the task after tearing the shell-shocked Orchids apart on the edges before half-time.
The Newcastle playmaker threw the last pass for three of Australia’s eight first-half tries, including when she put newly fit captain Kezie Apps into a hole.
Australia needed only 17 tackles inside the Orchids’ half to storm to their 44-0 lead, with Chapman’s try from the kick-off a particular highlight after the first drinks break.
The Orchids brought renewed defensive intensity to the second half but remained error-prone with the ball and could not exert pressure with their kicking game.
But restricting Australia to six points in the second half will be a source of confidence in PNG, where a semi-professional women’s league played its first season this year.
Left winger Keele Browne crossed through a gaping hole to seal her hat-trick in Australia’s only four-pointer of the second half.
Aussies get home over PNG
Rarely has the annual men’s Prime Minister’s XIII match held as much intrigue as it did on Sunday, given a year of developments to bring rugby league stronghold PNG into the NRL from 2028.
The ability to effectively harness local talent and field a competitive team from the outset have been among concerns over the Australian government-backed bid.
The PNG team had lost three of the past four PM’s XIII fixtures by 42 points or more.
But watching from the sidelines, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo would have been encouraged that a local team comprised mostly of players from the Queensland Cup’s PNG Hunters could compete with NRL talent, albeit in patches.
Australia’s Alofiana Khan-Pereira is tackled by the PNG defence. (AAP/NRL Photos )
On the back of an error from Australia prop Alex Seyfarth, PNG hooker Judah Rimbu burrowed over from dummy-half for the first points after four minutes.
PNG was keeping pace with the clock when — following a Fletcher Sharpe knock-on — the hosts shifted left for Robert Mathias to beat fellow centre Reuben Garrick on his way to the tryline.
The class of the Australian playmakers began to shine through as Luke Brooks and Tyran Wishart came on from the bench.
Brooks caught PNG without a marker and darted down the left edge before passing inside to ex-Wests Tigers teammate Jacob Liddle, who gave Australia the lead late in the first half.
Canberra’s Kaeo Weekes replaced Sharpe at fullback after the break and had two tries in six minutes to extend the advantage.
In the most memorable of those, Australia rolled down-field where Tallis Duncan flicked an offload away just in time for Weekes to glide over.
An Australian victory felt inevitable at that point, but there were more PNG highlights to come.
A try-saving cover tackle from Rimbu denied Beau Fermor a second try, before PNG contributed the highlight moment of the afternoon.
Left winger Dudley Dotoi, who had earlier bombed a try, broke through on the left edge and put in a chip kick over Weekes.
Five-eighth Finley Glare grabbed a tough bounce to crash over and send the crowd into raptures, before PNG centre Alex Max score the final try of the match.
AAP
