Jason Demetriou was satisfied with Papua New Guinea’s opening-round performance, while admitting there are areas they will need to be better.

The Kumuls defeated Lebanon 42-18 to get off to a winning start and bolster their chances of progression to the semi-finals.

It wasn’t a polished performance but Demetriou was pleased with the display given the context surrounding the fixture, with big expectation placed on his side.

“It was rusty, but it was good to get the win today,” he said.

“I say it all the time. The first game is always the most difficult because you’ve got a lot of boys that haven’t had a game for a month and they’re in the same boat. It’s always a bit rusty, but as the competition goes on, we’ll play a lot more free-flowing and a lot more fluent.

“I’m really happy to get the result. In saying that, we still scored 40-odd points. Considering that we’re going to get better, it’s good signs.”

They faced a Lebanon side something of an unknown quantity, but impressive all the same.

“There were some really experienced players in there. It’s hard to get a gauge on Lebanon because they probably haven’t played for three years since they last played a game together.

“But if you look at their results in the last World Cup, they were a very competitive side. They got some experience down at Royal Players and some really experienced Queensland and New South Wales Cup players as well. So I knew they’d be tough.

“I knew they’d play with a lot of passion. But ultimately, I knew if we did the things that we do well, that we’re a stronger side. We’ve shown that over the last couple of years.”

On the areas we need to improve, Demetriou said: “Like I said, I thought we got a bit worn out at stages today. That comes from the heat and the fatigue from not having a game for a while.

“I just feel like we can fall into some shape and move the ball a bit more than we did today. That’ll come as the weeks go on. I have no doubt by the time we get ground training on Tuesday, we’ll be a lot more free-flowing than we were in training this week.”