Brothers, Flies make semifinal in PRL comp

THE Hohola Flies and North Build Brothers advanced to the major semifinals after defeating their opponents Hawks and Royals respectively in the top-four playoffs of the Port Moresby Rugby League competition.
For Flies, making the finals is nothing new,  according to coach Michael Eka.
The Flies come from behind in the second half to send the Hawks home with a 22-18 victory.
“Our aim is to be two-time premiers,” Eka said.
“We are last year’s premiers and we will come back again and claim the title for the second time.
“We cannot underestimate other teams in the competition and we are looking to play hard for the finals berth, we are also preparing well to meet the challenge posed by these teams in the finals playoff.
“But we’re training and preparing hard for this and we would give our best to win the finals to claim the title for a second time.”
The Flies’ winning form is intact as they consistently advanced and maintained their spot among the top four teams since the competition started.
Hawks and Royals have a second chance which will be their do-or-die game next weekend.
Royals stood tall despite struggling over the last 20 rounds of the game and got the minor premiership but went down in the elimination finals but they have a second chance to prove their worth in the run for the major title.
If experience is to be a telling factor in the finals, Royals have the obvious advantage as they have been playing in the finals for more than five years.
For Richard Wagambi’s Paga Panthers, they face an uphill battle in their sudden death game without the assistance of their Digicel Cup players and the Hunters assistant trainer Roger Laka in the halves.
The Panthers defeated Kone Tigers 8-2 in what was referred to as tug-of-war but the Panthers took the ascendancy.
Panthers are now gearing up to take on either Royals or Hawks in the major semifinal in two weeks. Apart from these two elite teams, Hohola Flies and Panthers, Brothers and Souths have come a long way.