Demetriou handed debuts to Ila Alu, Koso Bandi, Robert Mathias and Elijah Roltinga. The real masterstroke was shifting Nene Macdonald to fullback where he finished with two man-of-the-match awards. And then there is the confidence regained by Morea Morea, a youngster many believe will be the face of the game in a few years in his homeland.

The Kumuls stunned a stacked Fiji side, defeated the Cook Islands and will start $9 outsiders against New Zealand at CommBank Stadium on Sunday in the consolation final. No one will give the Kumuls a chance, but Demetriou has done a remarkable job to get them this far.

Demetriou has no intentions of becoming another head coach that could have been. He is still on the right side of 50.

“I’m a footy coach, it’s what I am, and I’m just enjoying coaching again. It’s a pleasure to be involved with this group,” was all Demetriou would say when asked about his future.

“My deal [with PNG] expires at the end of this campaign, so we’ll see what happens from there. I just want to be in the moment.”

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A lot of coaching is about man management. Demetriou has the players believing their style can match it with any team. He also knows the only way the players will improve is by regularly competing against the best.

“I think the players are starting to believe there’s potential to develop, but we can only do that if we test ourselves against tier-one countries,” Demetriou said.

“We haven’t played New Zealand since the 2013 World Cup. Nene is the only guy who has played against the Kiwis. We just have to put our best foot forward and make the country proud.”

If they can do that, it might just land Demetriou a job, too.

The Pacific Championships is Live and free on Channel 9 & 9Now