Wests Tigers and Papua New Guinea centre Justin Olam has revealed his displeasure at the appointment of Jason Demetriou as the new Kumuls head coach.
The former South Sydney Rabbitohs head coach was confirmed as the new boss of the national team ahead of the end of year Pacific Tests, with the Kumuls to take on Fiji and the Cook Islands in the Pacific Bowl tournament.
Demetriou takes the spot of Justin Holbrook, who has joined the Kangaroos' coaching staff under Mal Meninga for this year's Pacific Championship against New Zealand and Tonga.
It's understood a number of candidates were injured for the Papua New Guinea role before it landed with Demetriou.
โBeing able to bring someone of the calibre of Jason Demetriou in to coach the Kumuls is fantastic news for the game in PNG," PNGRFL CEO Stanley Hondina said per NRL.com.
โJason has tremendous experience at NRL level and was an integral part of the North Queensland coaching staff that won the 2015 Premiership.
โHe will bring a great knowledge of the game and a winning mindset to the role, and we believe that he is the perfect fit for what we are looking to create with our national side.
โWe are interested in building a long-term relationship with Jason leading up to the 2026 RLWC and have been in talks with Jason and are looking forward to finalising this soon.
โI know he is excited about the quality we have in our squad, and we believe that he will do an outstanding job in working with a talented group of players.โ
But the news of the former South Sydney coach - who was sacked mid-season by the NRL club - being appointed hasn't sat well with everyone.
Centre Justin Olam took to Instagram to express his frustrations over the decision, arguing Demetriou will be another coach who only stays with the national team until a better option becomes available.
"Nothing against the coach but hopefully these coaches don't just come to pass time until they get a better option elsewhere. This is our national team, have some pride. I'm sure there are some ex-Kumuls players who will take the job and have some pride. This needs to stop sometime," Olam wrote in an Instragram story which shared the news of Demetriou's appointment.
The centre has been an integral part of the national team in recent seasons, and despite a lack of form with the Tigers in the NRL, is a likely walk up starter for the country during this year's end of season international tournament.
