Digicel Cup 2016

The Mt Hagen Eagles despite being pulled down by Lae Snax Tigers in the first second clash yesterday, are given another chance to meet the winner of the third – fourth clash with Rabaul Gurias who edged out EPG Mioks.

Gurias coach Steven Nightingale said though he was happy with the patchy win, they still have some work to do before facing the tough Eagles  side this coming weekend.

“We had a lot of ball handling errors on the field and off-sides which was just simple stuff that almost cost us our game,” he said.

The Snax Lae Tigers are the minor premiers for this season after topping the competition points ladder on 27 points.

The top 5:

• Snax Lae Tigers (27)
• Wamp NGA Mt. Hagen Eagles (25)
• EGP Enga Mioks (23)
• Agmark Rabaul Gurias (22)
• PRK Gulf Isapea (19).

Finals for the Digicel Cup will get underway on the 14^th of this month. The finals format will see the Eagles play the Mioks while the Gurias take on Isapea in a sudden death match.

The Tigers will have the bye.

First off is in Wabag where the EGP Enga Mioks play host to the Simbu Lions, while the Kemele Hela Wigmen will lock horns with the Bintangor Goroka Lahanis in Mendi.

The last game in the Highlands is the clash between Wamp NGA Mt. Hagen Eagles and the PRK Mendi Muruks in Mt. Hagen.

The SNS Port Moresby Vipers will fly up to Lae to take on the Snax Lae Tigers.

All games in the Highlands and Lae are scheduled for a 2pm kick-off.

The game in the nation’s capital will be a showdown between two much improved teams in Waghi Tumbe and PRK Gulf Isapea.

There will be four games played up in the Highlands region. All games are scheduled for a 2pm kick off.

The Waghi Tumbe side will play host to the Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles at Jiwaka while the Bintangor Goroka Lahanis go up against the PRK Mendi Muruks at home in Goroka.

Across in Mendi, the Kemele Hela Wigmen will do battle with the TNA Simbu Lions. The other game is between the visiting Agmark Rabaul Gurias and the EGP Enga Mioks in Wabag.

The Tigers shot up to first place after the Gurias suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Waghi Tumbe over the weekend.

The Tigers now remain the only undefeated team in the competition on 11 points (from 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 bye).

The progressive ladder after 6 rounds:

Snax Lae Tigers (11) Agmark Rabaul Gurias (10), Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles (9), Kemele Hela Wigmen (7), PRK Gulf Isapea (7), Waghi Tumbe (7), EPG Mioks (7) PRK Mendi Muruks (5), SNS Port Moresby Vipers (4), Bintangor Goroka Lahanis (4), TNA Lions (1).

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Coach Stanley Tepend said Tigers are overdue for a grand final win after doing well in the round robin but missing out on the grand final every season.

Tigers are currently leading the ladder after Round 2 following their win on the weekend against Port Moresby Vipers.

Tepend said it’s really early now but they’d like to make the finals.

“We owe it to all our supporters and families that have stuck with us over the years and also to the Franchise owner Lae Snax who have stuck by this team,” Tepend said.

They were defeated by Snax Lae Tigers 28-10 in front of over 2000 supporters at the National Football Stadium on Sunday.

Vipers were the first to score five minutes into the game through Raymond Tia 4-0 after a missed conversion from Quintan Ragi.

It was a physical game spiced with bone-crushing tackles that had the supporters on their feet, cheering their favourite team on.

Tigers fought back to score their first try of the season six minutes later through right winger Butler Morris, who dived in to score a corner try.

The match will get underway at 3pm at the National Sports Institute in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province.

Both teams are on two points following their win in round 1 however, Wigmen took the lead due to points for and against.

PRK Mendi Muruks will host third-placed Mt Hagen Eagles while Waghi Tumbe will battle with Gulf Isapea at Minj.

In Wabag, Enga Mioks will take on TNA Simbu Lions while Stop N Shop Port Moresby Vipers will host the Snax Lae Tigers who were on bye last weekend.

This now rests the uncertainties over the PNG Sevens star's association after playing a key part in the Pukpuk's recent journey to qualifying for the Hong Kong 7s. 

Morris was in training with the Tigers in Lae this week, preparing for the round two Digicel Cup match against the SNS Vipers in Port Moresby. 

Coach Stanley Tepend named him at the right wing to partner with another debutant, Billy Paul. 

Tepend said Morris will initially run at the wings but that is to give him plenty of time to assess the backs' performance before he can find a spot.