Papua New Guinea 12–62 Australia — World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup
4 Oct 1986 · Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea · Attendance: 17,000
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup: Papua New Guinea 12–62 Australia, at Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on 4 Oct 1986.
Scorers
| Papua New Guinea | Tries: Numapo (2) Goals: Kovae (2) |
| Australia | Tries: Cleal (2); Kiss (2); O'Connor (2); Hasler; Jack; Lewis; Lindner; Mortimer; Roach Goals: O'Connor (7/12) |
Teams
| Papua New Guinea | Australia | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dairi Kovae | Fullback | Garry Jack | 1 |
| 2 | Joe Katsir | Wing | Michael O'Connor | 2 |
| 3 | Lauta Atoi | Centre | Gene Miles | 3 |
| 4 | Bal Numapo | Centre | Chris Mortimer | 4 |
| 5 | Mafu Kerekere | Wing | Les Kiss | 5 |
| 6 | Darius Haili | Stand off/Five eighth | Wally Lewis (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Tony Kila (c) | Scrum half/Half back | Des Hasler | 7 |
| 8 | Joe Tep | Prop forward | Steve Roach | 8 |
| 9 | Roy Heni | Hooker | Royce Simmons | 9 |
| 10 | Ati Lomutopa | Prop forward | Bryan Niebling | 10 |
| 11 | Bobby Ako | Second row | Paul Dunn | 11 |
| 12 | Bernard Waketsi | Second row | Noel Cleal | 12 |
| 13 | Arebo Taumaku | Loose forward/Lock forward | Bob Lindner | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Kepi Saea | Mal Meninga | 14 | |
| 15 | Noah Andy | Paul Sironen | 15 | |
| Barry Wilson | Coach | Don Furner | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Neville Kesha (New Zealand) |
| Player of the match | Bob Lindner (Australia) |
Match report
PNG's home fixture in the pool phase of the World Cup, played a week after their historic 24-22 upset of New Zealand. Australia's touring Kangaroos clicked into gear at Lloyd Robson Oval and produced a rout, scoring 12 tries to two in front of a 17,000 sellout crowd. Nine different Australian players crossed the line, with Noel Cleal, Les Kiss and Michael O'Connor each scoring twice; O'Connor also landed 7 of 12 goal attempts to top-score with 22 points. PNG's only points came from a double by centre Bal Numapo, converted twice by fullback Dairi Kovae.
Australia led 18-8 at halftime before pulling away after the break to complete a 50-point winning margin. Bob Lindner was named player of the match. The win was part of Australia's build-up form heading into their run to the World Cup final against New Zealand two years later.
Sourcing caveat: This match is unrelated to the separate, later PNG-Australia record 70-8 win at Wagga Wagga on 20 Jul 1988; the two fixtures should not be confused.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 70–8 Papua New Guinea
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Papua New Guinea 6–40 Australia
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 36–14 Papua New Guinea
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): Australia 46–6 Papua New Guinea