Malum backed Tepend

FORMER Lae Tigers coach Steve Malum says the overlooking of his successor and former Kumul Stanley Tepend for the role of SP Hunters head coach is disappointing.
Digicel Cup premiership-winning coach Stanley Tepend, former Hunters development officer Shane Morris and Mathew Church had been shortlisted from 14 applications.
But former Sunshine Coast Falcons assistant coach Church got the nod to lead the Hunters for the next two seasons.
Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) chairman Sandis Tsaka said last month that Church had “met all the necessary requirements and qualifications to be head coach”.
Malum said throughout his 53 years of involvement in rugby league, he had never seen such a decision that had overlooked the capabilities of a local coach like Tepend.
The Morobe native said he had nothing against Church but the decision of the PNGRFL board had not gone down well with him. Malum said he was the first black Papua New Guinean to captain an expatriate-dominated national schoolboys side against their New South Wales rivals in the years leading up to Independence.
“I am questioning criteria used in the selection,” he said.
“We didn’t need to bring in an NRL coach for the Kumuls to defeat the British Lions recently. Marum was assisted by Tepend.
Malum said having a local coach would allow the Hunters players access to someone they could relate to. “We know ourselves. Our qualified people know how we think and how we are brought up,” he said.