The Gaire ladies will take the courts to retain the title as queens of Kairuku-Hiri netball when they face the test against 15 villages this week.
The challenge is on at Barakau village located just outside of Port Moresby city till the 23rd of September.
Gaire are the winners of the last netball tournament and they are adamant to keep their winning streak going in memory of their late coach.
“Yes they are really prepared and we are looking forward to bringing back our titles back to Gaire, right now we have the U21 and A grade and we’ll be defending those two titles, we are looking at U17 and U15 as well,” said President of Gaire Netball Association, Molly Manoka Tauedea.
Tauedea said COVID-19 has affected the rest of the country but being in the village has kept them safe and hard at training for the tournament.
Meanwhile, the presence of former PNG netball starts at the tournament have also given the local players and especially the youngsters something to sweat for, as they will be scouting for top players.