Australians respond to fans, PM’s 13 experience at NFS

THE Australian PM’s 13 overcame scenes of chaos, which saw players running from the field to escape a fan invasion, to seal a 34-18 victory over PNG on Saturday.
The match was brought to an abrupt halt midway through the first half when thousands fans began pouring on to the field, sending the Aussies rushing back to the sidelines as almost half of the 14,007 fans in attendance rushed on to the playing surface.
“At first I was a bit scared,” Jake Trbojevic said.
“But they just love their footy – they just wanted to shake our hands. At first everyone was a bit worried trying to run off the field but it was harmless.”
The match was stopped for almost 10 minutes before officials and police managed to escort the thousands of fans back to their seats.
“I didn’t know what was going on with all the fans running on the field. A lot of commotion and the coppers were on the field and the next minute people were spread everywhere. It was pretty scary. That’s just part of it. They enjoy their footy. They just wanted to get on the field and touch you,” Trbojevic said.
It is believed the stampede was sparked by a group of fans who believed the light tower in the north corner was about to collapse.
“I was pretty scared to be honest,” Zac Lomax said.
“The boys started heading back to the sheds. But at the end of the day, it shows how much respect these people have for you. They look up to you. If we can give back the slightest thing, that’s our job done.”
The tower remained standing, but many on the opposite end of the field took the opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the game’s biggest names.
“The cloud movement behind the lights made them look like they were shaking,” Australia coach Mal Meninga said.
“It looked like it might fall down but it was just because of the clouds. They mistook that … you can’t blame them. If I’m sitting in the crowd and I’m thinking the lights are going to fall on me I’m jumping on the field too. You can’t blame them for them.”
PM’s 13 captain Daly Cherry-Evans, who scored a double, was one of a few Australian players who didn’t rush back to the bench.
Instead, he hugged and high-fived the adoring fans. “When they were running out they were smiling,” he said.
“They weren’t running out of fear, they were running out of happiness. I knew nothing was wrong. I thought I would give some people some high-fives. It was an amazing PNG experience. Something I’ll never forget. It added to the whole experience.” – NRL.com