Tigers enforcer in camp

 THE Lae Tigers may have been in the news for the wrong reasons lately but they have something to cheer about after three of their players were named to train in the Team Kumuls squad.

Menacing prop Mogi Wei Jr, fellow forward Roy Kela and back Thompson Teteh have earned call ups for the Lae side which has been one of the best sides after eight rounds of the Digicel Cup.

Thompson and Kela are current national representatives while Mogi has been a stand-out performer for the Tigers in 2013 with his mix of size and aggression. 

Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) and Team Kumul announced the squad for tis third training camp in Port Moresby from June 10-13.

The Camp 3 squad:  Josiah Abavu, Richard Kambo, Charlie Wabo, Enoch Maki, Sebastian Pandia, Larsen Marabe, Israel Eliab, Albert Patak, Dion Aiye, Ase Boas, Wartovo Puara Jr, Joe Bruno, Mark Mexico, Adex Wera, Jason Tali, Tiger Emery, David Loko, Thompson Teteh, Roy Kela, Mogi Wei, Wellington Albert and Sigfreid Gande.

The squad will assemble in Port Moresby on Monday following their Round 9 commitments with their Digicel Cup teams. 

 All players will be contacted by Team Kumul management to update them with their travel details and other information.  

Both Team Kumul’s Director of Rugby League (Mal Meninga) and Director of Coaching (Adrian Lam) commented on how impressed they were with the PNG based players attitude and willingness to learn and implement new concepts during the second camp in Goroka. 

They also acknowledged the generosity of the Digicel Cup franchises for allowing their players the opportunity to be involved in such an elite programme. 

“It can only benefit further the game of rugby league in PNG.”

“We are looking forward to getting the guys together again to see how they’ve gone with the concepts that were introduced to them in Camp Two” Meninga said. 

“We are continuing to work on not only the fitness and structure but also the ongoing change of attitude, a change of focus, of really putting in and not just for yourself but also for your team and ultimately, your country. We continue to also reinforce the idea of looking at the bigger picture, outside the lines of the football field”.

Lam added: “In this camp we are continuing to up the intensity. The guys have all been sent away with specific goals, which must be achieved in order to reach our requirements for the Rugby League World Cup later on this year in the UK. 

“We have trimmed the squad down from 28 to 22 for this camp although we are still actively monitoring players outside of this group.”  

High performance coach Neil Dunkley reiterated that the players would be re-tested on specific criteria to monitor their training and progress. 

“In the last camp we introduced cutting edge technology in the form of GPS (Global Positioning System) monitors for the measurement of performance related parameters,” Dunkley said. 

“These GPS units, are worn by the players during training and testing. They can also be worn during matches. The information gleaned from this set-up is invaluable and gives us an excellent indication of where individual players are at.” 

All players named are advised to contact “Team Kumul” general manager Matt Natusch on: +61 413 44 7574, +675 72669124 or on [email protected].