Kimbe side appoints Samak as coach

FORMER Rabaul Guria Luke Samak has been appointed as the new coach of the Kimbe Cutters for the upcoming Digicel Cup season.
Franchise manager Freddie Kumai told The National yesterday that the club had not performed to their expectations in the past two seasons under outgoing coach Jessie Alunga.
“Luke Samak is a former Gurias winger who played alongside Alunga and won a premiership in 2005,” he said.
“He is experienced as a player in his time, in terms of coaching, he has only been an assistant to Alunga in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
“The board has decided to go with him (Luke Samak) this season because of the ordinary performance of the team in the last two seasons.
“We saw that we needed a new coach and Luke has what it takes to be the coach, so we thought we should give him a chance.”
Samak is a teacher by profession who currently holds headmaster’s position at Banauele Primary School in Hoskins.
Kumai said Samak was a good communicator and that the board was confident Samak would lift the performance of the team.
“He is intelligent and with his teaching qualification, he has good communication skills as well apart from being a former player,” he said.
“He is well connected with the players and he’s always up to date with development in rugby league coaching.
“He always watches videos of coaching techniques and is eager to improve the team’s performance and that’s what the board wants.”
Meanwhile, Kumai said former SP Hunter Justin Yoka had left the club.
However, he said the club had secured the services of former PNG Under-19 Glasgow 2014 star Josiah Jimmy and former Waghi Tumbe forward Koso Badi.
He said former SP Hunters squad member Steven Bruno would reunite with the Cutters after he was dropped by the Hunters.