Rugby League World Cup: Lachlan Lam discusses his return to the North West and the start of Papua New Guinea's tournament

The 24-year-old spent a few years of his childhood living in Wigan and playing as a junior for St Pats, while his dad Adrian was representing the Warriors.

Lam returned to the area earlier this year after signing for Leigh, who are coached by his father, and is now currently part of the Papua New Guinea World Cup squad who are competing in Pool D.

“I’ve really enjoyed being back,” he said.

“When I first got here it was the heatwave, and it hasn’t got too cold. It’s fresh in the mornings and the evenings, but when the sun comes out it’s pretty good.

“It was a little bit sentimental when I first arrived. My old man and Derek (Beaumont) picked me up from the airport, and we drove around the area.

“We looked at my old school and old house, so it was good to get back and pretty surreal.

“It’s every kid's dream to play at a high level and to be enjoying your footy.

“Probably at the time (when playing for St Pats) I couldn’t have imagined playing in a World Cup for PNG, because when you’re that young you don’t understand the connection, but it’s been unreal.

“The camps and the games have been the best times of my life.

“We’ve got a group of boys here. We are all connected to the country in different ways.

“The way we have bonded is pretty funny, we are all laughing and joking all day long, but as soon as we start training, we hit the ground running to get our work done.”

Prior to the start of the World Cup, Lam says he received some advice from his dad, who is also currently part of Australia’s staff for the tournament.

“He’s scared we’re going to play them at some stage,” he joked.

“He’s reached out a few times and follows my journey closely, especially since I’ve joined his team.

“He is always giving some pointers where he thinks.”

Papua New Guinea started the World Cup with a 24-18 defeat to Tonga at the Totally Wicked Stadium, with their opponents scoring a late winning try.

“It was a sad loss, but we left a lot out there,” Lam stated.

“There was a lot to like from the game, but it was also very bitter to lose.

“There 20 points left out there against a top ranked team. As a team and as a nation, people can see that we will get better week by week, game by game.

“I got my try and kicked okay but there are some things I will bring. I’m not too happy because we didn’t win.”