Avora raring to play, score tries, win

 By PETER SEVARA JR

TALENTED Junior Arova (pictured), has had a taste of big time league and wants more. 

It all started with the Gulf Isapea – Lae Tigers face-off in June last year at the then Lloyd Robson oval, the currently-under-construction National Football Stadium. 

The Hohola Four lad was plucked from the off-season team, Hohola Flies, following Digicel Cup player suspensions after a brawl between Lae and Gulf players.

The Flies centre immediately impressed. 

He scored seven tries from six games, most of them coming from the Wigmen and Isapea’s game where he scored four tries. 

During his run with the Flies last year he scored more than 20 tries – a great strike rate even at that level.

The Kukipi/Mirivase lad started off as a junior in the under-12, U14 and U16 divisions in schoolboys rugby league while at Eki Vaki Primary School in Port Moresby. 

The grade 12 student at Badihagwa Secondary School, kept himself very busy over the holidays joining the Corporate Nines team Funeral Home Tigers and came out the top try-scorer for the tournament.  

He then left for Aroma, joined forces with the Gavuone team, Kaimarshalls in the Puka Temu Cup scoring five tries and returned as the skipper for Vanagi Blacks in the Southern Nines and scored six tries for the same team weeks later in the Moresby South Nines.

The softly spoken lad recently played fullback for Paga Panthers during the Coca-Cola Ipatas Cup Southern challenge. 

The Panthers unfortunately fell 6-0 to a Whitehaven Lagaip Brothers, featuring Jessie Joe Nandye, Pipi Kilori and the Dickson Wallen.

 The solid 20-year-old has amassed 30-plus tries in his career and returns to rugby union club, Spartans in the Capital Rugby Union, keeping fit and hungry to impress.