Cherry-Evans stars in PM's 13 win over PNG

The Prime Minister's XIII shrugged off a bizarre pitch invasion and a second-half comeback as Daly Cherry-Evans led the Australians to a 34-18 win over Papua New Guinea. The game had to be stopped for 10 minutes as thousands of the 14,007-strong rugby league-mad crowd streamed on to the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby on Saturday.
Coach Mal Meninga was told cloud and shadow movement prompted an earthquake scare which led some fans to fear the light towers were falling down. When order was restored, Cherry-Evans crossed for a double before the Kumuls bounced back to score three of the next four tries to reduce the deficit to just 12. Meninga conceded the incident caused his side to lose focus but was happy with the result given his side came away injury-free ahead of Tests against New Zealand and Tonga over the next two weeks.

Bizarre pitch invasion halts PM's XIII clash against PNG

Thousands of fans have rushed the pitch just 20 minutes into the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII clash with Papua New Guinea. Play had to be stopped as the incredible scenes unfolded, with a bizarre explanation behind the lengthy delay. Daly Cherry-Evans helped open the scoring when he delivered a cut-out pass for winger Nick Cotric – but when the playmaker crossed shortly after for the first of his two tries, chaos ensued. The supposed cause of the delay was sparked
by a report one of the light towers was going to fall – sending a flurry of fans out of the stands and onto the field. Once the stability of the light tower was confirmed as safe, the Aussies got straight back to business. Cherry-Evans starred in the PM’s XIII 34-18 defeat of Papua New Guinea in a game marked by a bizarre pitch invasion. The Manly skipper scored two tries and set up another in front of a 14,007-strong rugby league-mad crowd at National Football Stadium in Port Moresby on Saturday.

A DCE double guides us to a tough win over the PNG Kumuls

The Australian PM's XIII overcame scenes of chaos, which saw players running from the field to escape a fan invasion, to seal a 34-16 victory against Papua New Guinea on Saturday. The match was brought to an abrupt halt midway through the first half when thousands of Papua New Guineans began pouring on to the field, sending the Aussies rushing back to the sidelines as almost half of the 14,007 fans in attendance rushed on to the playing surface.

"At first I was a bit scared," Jake Trbojevic said. "But they just love their footy – they just wanted to shake our hands. At first everyone was a bit worried trying to run off the field but it was harmless." The match was stopped for almost 10 minutes before officials and police managed to escort the thousands of fans back to their seats. "I didn't know what was going on with all the fans running on the field. A lot of commotion and the coppers were on the field and the next minute people were spread everywhere. It was pretty scary. That's just part of it. They enjoy their footy. They just wanted to get on the field and touch you," Trbojevic said. It is believed the stampede was sparked by a group of fans who believed the light tower in one corner of the field was about to collapse. "I was pretty scared to be honest," Zac Lomax said.

Shakiah Tungai stars for Australian women's side

A hat-trick from Australian winger Shakiah Tungai has helped the Australian women's PM's XIII team to a 40-4 win over the Papua New Guinea Orchids in Port Moresby on Saturday afternoon. The Aussies grabbed first points after a lovely short ball from halfback Quincy Dodd put Talesha Quinn over for the opening try of the match. Tungai then dived on to a beautiful grubber kick from five-eighth Keeley Davis, who attracted a couple of defenders and then dribbled one behind the line to find an unmarked Tungai for a 12-0 lead.

The youngest player on the field, 17-year-old Rhiannon Revell-Blair from Brisbane, scored the third try for Australia when she dived over in the corner, but it was the magical cut-out pass from Michaela Peck down a narrow blind side that set it up. Tungai grabbed her second soon after but the Orchids hit back through Naomi Kaupa to send PNG into the sheds trailing 20-4. The second half started the way the first did, with the Aussies scoring – this time it was a massive run from captain Rebecca Young, who ran over the top of several Orchids defenders to score under the post. The game then came to a halt when Hannah Southwell was floored in a tackle that put her head in an awkward position, but she managed to get up and walk off the field despite the concussion.

PNG PM's XIII v Australia PM's XIII

PNG PM's XIII: 1 David Mead, 2 Edene Gebbie, 3 Justin Olam, 4 Nene MacDonald, 5 Dan Russell, 6 Lachlan Lam, 7 Watson Boas, 8 Moses Meninga, 9 James Segeyaro, 10 Stanton Albert, 11 Rhyse Martin, 12 Nixon Putt, 13 Wellington Albert

Interchange: 14 Tom Butterfield, 15 Enock Maki, 16 Kyle Laybutt, 17 Willie Minoga, 18 Radley Brawa.

Australia PM's XII: 1 Corey Allan, 2 Zac Lomax, 3 Jesse Ramien, 4 Brian Kelly, 5 Nick Cotric, 6 Jake Clifford, 7 Daly Cherry-Evans, 8 David Klemmer, 9 Ben Hunt, 10 Jordna McLean, 11 Tyson Frizell, 12 Tyrone Peachey, 13 Jake Trbojevic

Interchange: 14 Aaron Woods, 15 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 16 Matt Prior, 17 Chad Townsend, 18 Gehamat Shibasaki, 19 Reece Robson, 20 Enari Tuala.