Our No.9s played well: Marum

Sports

KUMUL coach Michael Marum, pictured, says the Tri-Nations rugby league fixtures on Saturday gave his side a chance to work on their combinations and he “basically” has worked out his 17 for opening match of the World Cup.
The PNG LNG Kumuls take on Wales at the Oil Search National Football Stadium on Oct 28 and take on the other Pool C side Ireland on Nov 5 before closing out the pool stage at home with a cross-over fixture against Pool D’s USA on Nov 12.
Marum said was not paying too much attention to the scores from the weekend but rather the combinations and dynamics of his side.
“Our guys put in a big effort against Fiji and then Australia and I was pleased with that,” Marum said on arrival from Suva on Monday.
“I wasn’t too worried about the scores. We tried a lot of combinations and mixed players around from role to role. We had centres playing in the back-row and at fullback and hookers playing at first receiver and so on. The Tri-Nations was really good for us.
“Fiji and Australia had the bigger players and especially for Fiji, I think maybe they underestimated us a little bit.”
Marum said hooker James Segeyaro was a last-minute scratching after the Kumuls management received advice from the Cronulla Sharks medical team that their star recruit should not be used until the World Cup.
Segeyaro fractured his left hand earlier in the year and only returned to the field in the final three rounds of the NRL regular season.
Marum said the Australian Kangaroos medical staff had also examined Segeyaro’s hand and concurred with the Sharks’ assessment.
“The Sharks doctors advised us on Saturday. James wasn’t cleared by his club to play in the Tri-Nations although he really wanted to,” Marum said.
Despite the unavailability of Segeyaro, the Kumuls were not short of No.9s with Wartovo Puara Jr and Kurt Baptiste ready to fill in the dummy half role.
“Kurt and Wartovo were there for us and went well. I thought Kurt was really effective. With the other guys in the team, we got to see them play against quality sides. But I preferred to see them out there for a bit longer.”
Marum said vice-captain Ase Boas had pulled up with a sore left knee and had been subbed off in the final 10 minutes of the fixture against Fiji.
“We rested Ase after he injured his knee during the Fiji game.
He didn’t play against Australia and we’re just managing him through the next couple of days,” Marum said.