{"id":252523,"date":"2025-10-31T05:36:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T05:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/252523\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T05:36:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T05:36:13","slug":"nrl-2025-fans-to-give-kumuls-edge-against-fiji-bati-in-pacific-bowl-decider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/252523\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2025: Fans to give Kumuls edge against Fiji Bati in Pacific Bowl decider"},"content":{"rendered":"

PNG Kumuls head coach Jason Demetriou believes there is \u201cno better crowd in the world\u201d than the one in Port Moresby, describing the fans as a vital source of energy for his players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe passionate home crowd will be our biggest weapon,\u201d Demetriou said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if there\u2019s a better crowd in the world, to be honest.<\/p>\n

“Last week started a bit quiet, but by kick-off, the stadium was packed and the energy was electric, especially when we played the kind of footy we know we can play.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s up to us to get the crowd into the game and play that true Kumul style.\u201d<\/p>\n


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Demetriou said that style – fast, physical, and fearless is what defines the Kumuls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the footy I love to see,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we generate ruck speed, play fast, and get players coming off the back fence, that\u2019s Kumul footy.<\/p>\n

“We saw glimpses of it last week when Finley Glare nearly scored off Edwin Ipape\u2019s run and Morea\u2019s offload. We want to build on that this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the clash against Fiji will not only be about lifting the Pacific Bowl trophy but also about preparing the team for bigger challenges ahead \u2014 including the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis game is the best preparation we can get for the World Cup,\u201d Demetriou said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a trophy on the line and a lot at stake. I\u2019ve been really impressed with Fiji. They\u2019re similar to us \u2014 young, hungry, and full of energy.<\/p>\n

“Both sides have brought in a lot of new players, and you can see the future of both nations coming through.\u201d<\/p>\n


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Morea Morea Try<\/p>\n

Demetriou said he expects an open and exciting game, with both teams playing fearless rugby.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese young players have no fear \u2014 they just want to play and express themselves,\u201d he said. \u201cYou saw that from Fiji last week, and hopefully, you\u2019ll see it from us this week too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PNG Kumuls head coach Jason Demetriou believes there is \u201cno better crowd in the world\u201d than the one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-252523","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}