Papua New Guinea skipper Lachlan Lam has opened up on the emotional moment he informed his father he will be captaining the Kumuls for the first time this weekend.
Lachlan will follow in the footsteps of his dad Adrian when he leads the team out for Sunday's clash with the Cook Islands in Port Moresby.
The duo will become just the second known father-son pairing from a major rugby league nation to each captain their country and the first in nearly 60 years.
According to rugby league historian David Middleton, Lachlan and Adrian Lam will join British pair Gus and Bev Risman in achieving the feat. Gus led Great Britain in nine Tests in 1936-1937, while Bev was captain for three matches at the 1968 World Cup.
The gravity of the moment is yet to sink in for Lachlan and he said there were plenty of tears when he told his dad the news.
Lam shows his skills
"I was a little bit emotional, but I was very happy," Lam said. "I'm very proud and privileged to have the honour. It's not something I take lightly and there's a bit of history there with my family so it's very special for me.
"Dad's an emotional guy so he was crying [when I told him]. He's wanted this for me for a long time but with a skipper like Rhyse [Martin], you never know when you're going to get an opportunity. He was very happy and emotional and just proud of me."
Adrian Lam was one of the most exciting players in the NRL in the 90s, representing Papua New Guinea 11 times and playing 14 State of Origin matches for Queensland.
A premiership winner with the Roosters, he went on to star for Wigan in the final years of his career before commencing a transition to coaching. He has been the coach of the Leigh Leopards since 2021.
Lachlan was quick to follow in his father's footsteps, making his NRL debut for the Roosters in 2021.
The playmaker was reunited with Adrian in 2022, when he joined the Leopards.
While Sunday's match will be a special moment, Lam is determined to remain focused on the bigger picture in Port Moresby.
Papua New Guinea can secure their place in next week's promotion-relegation match at CommBank Stadium with a win on Sunday.
The Kumuls opened their Pacific Championships campaign with a victory over Fiji before last weekend's bye.
Bati v Kumuls – Week 1, 2024
A loss to the Cook Islands will see for and against decide who wins the Bowl and plays either Tonga or New Zealand for a place in the top tier.
Lam's promotion to captain comes with Rhyse Martin missing this week's match due to personal reasons. Papua New Guinea coach Jason Demetriou said he expects the forward to be available should they progress to the promotion-relegation clash.
Demetriou played against Adrian Lam during their respective playing careers and said it was a proud moment to name Lachlan captain.
"It's one of the best conversations I've had with a young bloke," Demetriou said. "He was chomping at the bit when I asked him if he was interested in captaining the country.
"It's pretty special. I was fortunate enough to play against his dad plenty of times over in England and for his son to captain his country, it's unique and special for both of them."
Match: PNG Kumuls v Cook Islands Aitu
Week 3 -
home Team
PNG Kumuls
2nd Position
away Team
Cook Islands Aitu
3rd Position
Venue: Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
The recent rise of Tonga and Samoa has seen Papua New Guinea fall down the international pecking order over the past few years.
The Kumuls are now ranked seventh in the world, a position Demetriou said is not acceptable for a country where rugby league is the national sport.
Last week's victory over Fiji was the first step in climbing up the rankings and the coach is determined to ensure his side topples the Cook Islands and earns the opportunity to prove they belong in the top echelon of the sport.
"We spoke at the start of the camp, we're ranked seventh in the world and my honest opinion is that's too low for the Kumuls," Demetriou said. "The Kumuls should be chasing top four in the world.
"With the talent we have here we're more than capable of reaching the top four in the world. Unless we're aspiring to that then we shouldn't be putting the jersey on.
"The boys were shocked to hear we were ranked seventh and they want to improve that. That's where we're going but we can only improve if we get the chance to play against the top tier countries.
"This year the NRL's put the promotion game in and that gives us a chance to earn the right to play in those top-tier games. We're pretty excited but we've got a job to do this week first and if we can get that done then we'll worry about next week."
