Leigh Leopards star Lachlan Lam will make history this weekend when he skippers Papua New Guinea 29 years after his father Adrian first did.
The honour will come 24 years after Adrian last led out the Kumuls at the 2000 World Cup, by which point Lachlan was just two-and-a-half years old.
Fast forward to 2024 and it’s now time for the honour to be bestowed upon Lachlan with the Leigh Leopards playmaker set to lead Papua New Guinea against the Cook Islands on Sunday morning.
In another eerie twist, Adrian would play just 11 games for Papua New Guinea whereas Lachlan will captain the side for the first time in what is set to be his 12th cap, overtaking his Dad’s tally and continuing his legacy in one fell swoop.
Rhyse Martin, the Kumuls’ go-to captain, will miss the game for personal reasons and has dropped out of the 17-man squad to be replaced by Warrington Wolves’ new signing Dan Russell.
Leigh Leopards star follows in his father’s footsteps
Lachlan Lam will lead a Papua New Guinea team that is full of Super League talent with a total of six representing the Kumuls, including Lam.
Warrington and Cas both have two representatives with Rodrick Tai and new recruit Dan Russell representing the Wire whilst both Liam Horne and Sylvester Namo will come off the bench and represent the Tigers.
Forming the spine is a reported Castleford Tigers man in Judah Rimbu as well as captain Lam and Nene Macdonald who ruffled feathers with his NRL comments last week.
As for Lam, he’s spoken on the honour of following in his father’s footsteps with Leigh Leopards’ media manager catching up with the 26-year-old.
Commenting on being handed the captaincy, Lachlan Lam said: “It feels unreal. It’s such a special honour to captain this team and country. Something I’ll be proud of forever.
“It’s something that you don’t see very often, a father and son both captaining a country. I’m extremely proud.”
Asked how his Dad reacted, Lam explained: “He was emotional. As he always is. He just said he’s very proud and he’ll be at the game watching.”
For any Leigh Leopards fans intent on watching their star man captain the Kumuls, it’s an early start as coverage starts at 5:00 am on Sunday morning on both Sky Sports and Watch NRL.