Coates’ first preference is Aust

The National Sports

By PATRICIA KEAMO
KUMULS coach Michael Marum says Bronco Xavier Coates’ first preference is to play for Australia but if he doesn’t get selected by the Kangaroos for the Rugby League World Cup then he will play with Papua New Guinea.
The former SP Hunters boss said he had spoken to Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga earlier this week over the status of the 20-year-old Queensland Origin winger.
“Xavier’s first preference is to play for Australia and if he gets picked again this year (for the Maroons) then I’m sure Meninga has already got him on his list,” Marum said.
“If he doesn’t get selected by the Kangaroos then he comes to the second-tier country which is PNG.”
The Papua New Guinea international made his Origin debut last year, scoring two tries in as many games for the Maroons.
Coates has been a revelation in the National Rugby League (NRL), scoring 12 tries in 21 appearances since his Broncos debut in round 16 of the 2019 season.
He and fellow PNG international Alex Johnston (both 36.9 km/h) were named as the second fastest men in the NRL in 2020 behind Melbourne Storm flyer Josh Addo-Carr (37.2km/h).
“If Coates decides to play for Maroons again this year then that’s going to rule him out for Kumuls,” Marum said.
“It’s sad to see that he’s probably not going to play for us but we respect his and his family’s decision.”

2 comments

  • The obvious option would be to completely leave people like Xavier Coates out of the Kumuls. He prefers to play for Australia and to him, PNG is not worth playing for.
    PNG wants Kumuls to be 100%; hail, rain or shine. There are over 60 eligible players who can represent th their country.
    We are a proud country. PNG is not second rate.

  • Coates is. It saying png is second rate????? He grew up in qld, his dads people are from Aust, he plays for qld, and he is proudly Australian. But he is still proudly Papuan, it is his right to play for whoever he wants, this is not an offence to Png, we should be proud that our boys and girls can play all over the world and still be proud of PNG, Karu seika, you play for Aussie, full K Ave support.

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