Dabari to run trials on Friday

By JACK AMI
POTENTIAL talents from Central are going through their final phase in the Dabari training camp preparing for the selection trials at Bava Park, Port Moresby, on Friday.
The trials will see the Central side taking on an experienced Port Moresby Koiari side to select a 40-man squad for the franchise’s debut in the 2019 Digicel Cup.
From an initial squad of 100 coach Chris Enara pick 40 players and begin specialised training to prepare the final squad for the season which is expected to kick off in April.
Enara said he was impressed with the talent coming out of the districts in Central and could see that the players were building a sense of pride at finally being able to represent their province in the country’s leading rugby league competition.
Enara said since training started the Central players had improved significantly and he was expecting village-based side to be competitive against the PRL and Koiari sides.
“We won’t be surprise if a good number of district players make the Dabari 40-man squad,” Enara said.
The PRL side has several PNG Hunters and Digicel Cup players and has been divided into two sides to take on the district team.
Enara said he expected the Central side, which included rugby union representatives Freddy Rova and Ketsi Raka, to rise to the challenge.
“We’re getting ourselves prepared for the bigger arena and all is looking good with the amount of quality training we’ve had,” Enara said.
The PRL side are under under head trainer Arua Ben Moide and coaches Gimapau Keimelo and Norris Selu.
Dabari director Manu Lofena said the club had an open policy on player recruitment but stressed that first priority would be given to Central players.
Lofena said the idea was to build a team primarily of Central talent with other talent and experience brought in to complement the squad.