Tepend axes Loko, lays down law

LAE Snax Tigers coach Stanley Tepend says he is cracking down on player discipline to better last year’s Digicel Cup success.
Tepend stressed this after releasing former SP Hunters second-rower David Loko on disciplinary grounds.
He said he would not entertain ill-disciplined players.
“We have many young players coming up and those players in the squad should obey the management by following rules and regulations,” Tepend said.
“We are not only training our players to be good and talented rugby league players on the field, but also giving them first-class treatment to be good citizens to their families, communities and the country.”
Tepend said he was confident in Ryan Kiso filling in the void left behind by Loko.
He said being the Digicel Cup champions, every team will be out to disrupt their title defence. “I have Jason Mission who will take the role of Charlie Simon as we want to put more emphasis on our kicking games this year.
“Jason and Scott Francis will have a solid combination in the halves.
“They will be assisted by Wesa Tenza and Noel Zoel who are our hookers.
“Our kicking game will be a crucial area to clean up this season.”
Tepend said Tiger Emere, Rex Yallon and Kasi Dickson would fill in the vacancy left behind by John Andy.
He said they now had David Lapua in the centres who has more experience in backline and has good football skills.
“We are looking good for this season, with the best squad members in our team,” Tepend said.
He said the Tigers had scouted some young players from their academy to bolster their campaign.