The incredible story of how 25 tribesmen walked Kokoda to inspire Kumuls star

Kumuls forward Nixon Putt was in tears as he embraced the 25 tribesmen from Mt Hagen who had travelled by bus and boat before walking the Kokoda Track to watch him play at the World Cup.

Carrying a banner that bore Putt’s name and Kumuls number, the group embarked on the week-long pilgrimage from the dusty village of Warakum Komkui in Western Highlands Province to honour a pledge to his late father.

To get to Santos National Football Stadium, where they saw Putt play live for the first time last weekend and will again support him on Saturday against Samoa, the tribesmen endured a 12-hour bus ride to Lae followed by a 14-hour journey by sea to Popondetta in aluminium tinnies rented from local fisherman.

Most had never seen the ocean before.

That was just to get to the starting point for their mission, which was to walk the Kokoda Track – a relentless 96km trek through the rugged Owen Stanley Range where Australians and Papua New Guineans combined to repel Japanese invaders during World War II – to Port Moresby.

“As soon as they told their story I was in tears,” Putt said. “That is what the World Cup means to people in Papua New Guinea.

“When they arrived I went up there and we all had a big cry. We were all in tears. I was shocked that they did it. That was a big moment for all of us. The first thing they said was that they wanted to honour my dad and his promise to do this trek and watch the World Cup.”

Putt’s father, Noki, began planning the expedition in April but he passed away suddenly in June.

“The boys wanted to honour his word,” said Putt, who plays for the Capras in the Queensland Cup.

“Me and my family flew up from Rockhampton for the funeral for two weeks, and after his burial they told me, ‘we promised your dad we are going to do it so we will’.

“He planned it for the boys to be part of something historic that they can tell their kids growing up, and my kids as well.”

Putt began his rugby league career with Mt Hagen Eagles while in high school and after three seasons he was recruited by the PNG Hunters in 2017.

The now 30-year-old also made his Test debut for the Kumuls at the 2017 World Cup and has been a regular fixture in the PNG team since.

“This is my third World Cup so that’s why they came up with this idea,” he said. “They said we don’t know if you are going to play a fourth World Cup but we want to make this happen. It is once in a lifetime.

“Knowing they were planning this sort of motivated me to play well and make sure I was part of the team.”

Their efforts also inspired Putt in last weekend’s 42-18 defeat of Lebanon, with the secondrower scoring a try, topping the tackle count and running for more than 200m with the ball.

“They were in tears when I scored and when I walked back I looked up in the grandstand and I was in tears,” he said.

“That try was for them. When I spoke to them, I promised them, ‘you guys did my dad proud and made his word become reality so I am going to promise you that I will score a try for you and I am going to play hard for you and make sure you have a memorable time watching me play’.

“I play for my country, but what they did gave me extra motivation to play for them.

Yet the tribesmen didn’t realise how hard their journey would be.

To walk Kokoda Track took longer than they expected so they went without sleep to ensure they didn’t miss the game against Lebanon. They also ran out of food.

“They left in a bus to travel to Lae, which was a 12-hour drive,” Putt explained. “They spent the day there and organised three fishing tinnies. We are from The Highlands and  there is no ocean there so it was the first time for all of them on the sea - in a little tinnie.

“They were travelling in the day, but when it got dark they had to sleep over and wait for daylight to come. There were mozzies and some of them had sea sickness.

“It took them 14-hours in the tinnie from Lae to Popondetta and one of our fellow Hagen men was there so when they said they were going to do The Track to watch me play he gave them a ride to help them to where The Track started.

“For all of them it was the first time. They only bought biscuits to eat. They didn’t have a map, and they thought it was closer than it was.  

“They said we are walking to watch the game, so we don’t want to miss it. On Tuesday they started walking day and night.

“For two days they walked without food. They then had to rest because they were weak. They would have arrived on Thursday night but they had to sleep, so on Friday morning they arrived at Owers Corner.”

Upon hearing the story, Kumuls coach Jason Demetriou asked Putt to address the team who are now set to draw inspiration from the pilgrimage by the 25 tribesmen from Warakum Komkui as they prepare to take on Samoa on Saturday.

“On Thursday night coach asked me to say in front of the boys what it means to be a Kumul and how we are inspiring people,” Putt said.

“All of the boys were shocked. They wanted to meet them and get a photo so they can go back and show their family in Australia and everywhere in the world what rugby league does for Papua New Guinea as a nation.”