Papua New Guinea coach Stanley Gene believes there are plenty of positives to take out of his team's opening 42-0 Four Nations loss to Australia.

Despite conceding eight tries at Parramatta Stadium on Sunday night, Gene was pleased with the defensive performance and said there was a foundation to build on for the remainder of the tournament.

"Our boys gave 100 per cent on Sunday and I think the Australians will still be feeling some of the hits the boys put on them," Gene said on Monday.

"We gave up some easy possession in the first half and they also scored some lucky tries which blew the score out a little bit.

"We kept them scoreless for a 30-minute period which is a real positive as not many other nations could say they have done that.

"Now it is a matter of sitting down and looking at the tape in the next few days to see where we can improve for the New Zealand game."

Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea secondrower Sigfred Gande has been forced to withdraw from the Four Nations tournament with a groin injury.

Gande will remain with the Kumuls for the rest of the tournament with North Sydney back-rower James Nightingale to come in as his replacement.

The Kumuls fly to Rotorua on Tuesday ahead of their next Four Nations Test against New Zealand on Saturday.

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