Lulu happy with win

Sports

By HENRY MORABANG
PORT Moresby Vipers chairman Ted Lulu has described their first ever win over champions Lae Tigers as “sweet” after a long drought in 2017 Digicel Cup season.
Ted Lulu, who is also National Capital District deputy city manager-social services, said in the interview yesterday that he was excited and relieved after the Vipers’ 38-12 win.
“After all the negativity from the rugby league populace in Port Moresby, the NCDC franchise team finally delivered the first win after nine consecutive losses,” Lulu said.
He commended all former Port Moresby Vipers players led by Charlie Wabo, who came together to assist the new-look team.
The win is a challenge for the former champions to continue to win more games from here on.
Lulu thanked coach Joe Sipa and his management for their win and hoped they would continue to bring more victories before season ended.
With a congestion on the Digicel Cup point ladder, Lulu wants to use the win as a morale booster to win the remaining games.
“We want to win the remaining games to have a crack at the 2017 Digicel Cup knock-outs,” a happy Lulu said.
Sipa, a former Port Moresby Vipers player took over from Philip Boge and has been in the helm of the team for the past two weeks.
“This is third week as coach and he’s came up with an impressive win. We could have notched up another win against the Mendi Muruks (in round 9) but the day did not belong to us,” he said.
Lulu said the Vipers have the upper hand in the remaining matches as all games would be played in Port Moresby so that might put the team in a better position to pursue their finals dream.
“The remaining games are a must-win for us if we want to make the finals. The onus is now on the players not to be carried away with the win over the Tigers and concentrate on the remaining games,” Lulu said.
Coach Sipa was also proud of the win after taking the side for only three weekends.
In the first weekend, Vipers went down to the Enga Mioks (10-6) and also lost to the Muruks (10-6) and he used those matches to set the team on the right track. The victory was the result of changes made in the team plus motivation from senior players and former Vipers.
The part Chimbu and Bougainville man said he was hoping for positive results in the remaining games because the Vipers would be enjoying home ground advantage.