A resurgent young Enga Provincial Government Mioks outfit gave 3rd place Kroton Hela Wigmen a reality check before going down 12-22, in an epic Digicel Cup Round 13 blockbuster on Sunday.
After their narrow loss to 2nd place Agmark Rabaul Gurias in Kokopo last week, it was obvious from the outset the Mioks took a lot of confidence with them to match the aggression and energy of the star-studded Wigmen side.
The young Mioks outfit was led out by former Guria Stanley Olo at lock and Noel Joel, veteran dummy half and PNG Hunters number 9. Joel was clinical in his game management, manoeuvring his lighter mobile pack around the park and did well to hold out their heavier and experienced opponents especially at crucial stages of the match.
The physicality, aggression and pace of the game was quite unreal especially the bone crushing tackles that kept the crowd alive, let alone the match officials busy.
As the physical battle continued into the 2nd half, fatigue took its toll, especially for the young inexperienced Mioks outfit, who dropped their guard and lost concentration.
That's when the experienced Wigmen's spine Solomon Pokare in 7, Tony Wemin in 6 and Patrick Morea at dummy half started dictating terms using Captain Valentine Culligan and Samuel Yegip to gain valuable metres, and turning them into points.
At fulltime Wigmen won 22 points to Mioks 12.