Meninga confident in Kumuls forwards

By NATHAN WOTI
MOSES Meninga is confident that his fellow Papua New Guinea Kumuls forwards will get the job done in Saturday’s Oceania Cup fixture against a star-studded Fiji outfit.
“I trust them. Our teammates will be relying on us to provide the go-forward for our backs so we’ll try, as much as we can, to lead from the front,” Meninga, a teacher by profession, told The National yesterday before leaving for New Zealand.
“We have to get our minds ready for big games like this, not just training, but preparing our mindset as well.”
Meninga said head coach Michael Marum was counting the Kumuls’ big men to lay the foundation up the middle to create opportunities for fullback Alex Johnston, centre Justin Olam and winger Edene Gebbie to shine.
“Our main focus since we came into camp has been on defence and dominating the ruck area,” he said.
Meninga said the 20-man squad had a lot of training sessions since arriving camp in last week.
When asked about Tonga’s 16-12 win over Australia last weekend, the SP Hunters skipper said: “We call ourselves ‘one solwara’ boys and this win is definitely a boost for all the second-tier countries in the Pacific.”
The Kumuls face Brandon Costin’s Fiji Batis at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday.