'I love getting whacked and I love whacking people. That's what we do'.
With that clear mission statement, Nene MacDonald sums up what makes the PNG Kumuls tick and what makes them such a dangerous opponent in the World Cup knockout stages.
After knocking off Cook Islands 32-16 to secure their first win of the tournament on Wednesday morning (AEDT), the Kumuls are on track for a quarter-final showdown with England at Wigan on November 5.
It's a mouth-watering prospect for all those who have adopted the Kumuls as their second favourite team, but perhaps not so much for the tournament hosts and their fans.
"It will be one of our biggest challenges if we get there but we have the team and lots of our players have played alongside each other for many years now," MacDonald said.
"It's almost like the same team [from 2017] and we have gelled a lot and we are rising up and trying to make a difference.
Yei from the back fence
"We have our brand, our own style and we want to have an effect in this Cup, not just be part of it. One day we'd like to win it for our people."
That Kumuls' style is built on brutal defence and power running through the middle, a mantra coach Stanley Tepend admits his team went away from in a scratchy first half against Cook Islands.
Tries to Rodrick Tai and Kyle Laybutt set up a 10-0 lead but the sin-binning of MacKenzie Yei for a dangerous tackle in the 28th minute invited the Kukis back into the game, a try to Paul Ulberg closing the gap to 10-6 at the break.
Rocket Rodrick
"We went away from our way, the Kumuls way. We tried to go wide too early so at half-time I just told them to run straight, run hard, tackle hard," Tepend said at the post-match media conference.
"The boys were not down [after the loss to Tonga] but proud of the performance and we had to put our attention to Cook Islands, who we respect. The start of the second half we played the way we wanted to play.
"We have a good bunch of boys. It's sad that two of our wingers [Xavier Coates and Edene Gebbie] had to fly home with injury sad but the connection we have is still strong."
That connection came to the fore in the second half at Halifax Jones Stadium as the Kumuls ran in four tries through Rhyse Martin, Lachlan Lam, Justin Olam and a second for Tai to give them plenty of momentum heading into next week's clash with Wales.
With big men Wellington Albert, Sylvester Namo and Yei laying the platform, Lam was able to take control and get quality ball to destructive outside backs Olam and MacDonald, while Rabbitohs star Alex Johnston was cool and composed at fullback.
Olam to Lam
After a rollercoaster eight-year NRL career that included a horrific broken leg in 2019 and being sacked by the Cowboys the same year, MacDonald was thrown a lifeline by Kumuls legend Adrian Lam at Leigh Centurions and flourished with 26 tries in 27 games.
In a stunning season of dominance Leigh won 26 of 27 matches in the Championship before defeating Batley Bulldogs in the grand final to earn promotion to Super League in 2023.
"It has been an amazing year, getting promoted to Super League and now playing at a World Cup. It means so much to me putting this jersey on," MacDonald said.
Tepend delighted with win
"It has been five years since I last put the jersey on, with injury and other stuff, and then to get a shot at Leigh and fight my way back has been amazing.
"It has been a long and emotional journey but it’s like I never went away."
Making the World Cup experience even more special for the 28-year-old is getting the chance to share it with Adrian Lam, who has been in camp to present jerseys and offer encouragement to the new breed of Kumuls.
"We are rising up and creating our own brand and one thing we are doing is making sure we don’t forget the players who made the path for us, so having Adrian and Stanley Gene here has been fantastic," MacDonald said.
"Without them, we are not who we are today, and we want to show them how much they mean to us.
"We looked up to them when we were kids and now they are presenting our jerseys so it’s very emotional."
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