Cats, Magpies in do-or-die

 By ROBSON AKIS

GEREHU Magpies will come under extreme pressure when they take on a spirited Bomana Cats in the sudden death Capital AFL first elimination final at the Murray Barracks Oval on Saturday.

The Pies are the newcomers to the AFL finals since entering the city competition in 2012.

They will be trying their utmost best under the coaching genius of Casper Gelu to stay afloat in the finals series and make it to a more dignified final on September 26.

Coach Gelu is no novice to the finals football.  He is a veteran of four seasons who guided the then Port Moresby Swans to four consecutive finals from 2006 to 2009. 

He was responsible for the shaping and molding of Sebastian Gelu, Paul Tika, Bruce Sovara, Lincoln Gelu, Stewart Kadiko and Alois Baleko, who are currently a part of the Magpies mainstay.

Nephew Sebastian, Tika and Lincoln later became members of the Dockers premiership winning team in 2013 but lost the title to the Taurama Suns last year. 

The trio will combine their finals experience once again with Sovara, Kadiko and Baleko to lead the club pioneers Kawai Akaru, Emmanuel Taviri, Greg Ekari, Sennen Morris, Camillo Ekari and Mathew Pulah Jr to another level.

The Cats on the other hand are no newcomers to the finals. They have often faired well in the competition all season to be in the top five finish since 2011. That was the year in which they won their maiden premiership but those premiership players are now playing for other clubs in Port Moresby after their graduation from the AFL Academy.

A new breed of youngsters have crept onto the scene and those making ripples include Kataha Seewee, Peter Lavong, Gilmore Morehari, Jackson Ngawi, Hosea Wartovo and Cedric ‘Daru’ Isa.

These youngsters are on-song when they make their poetic moves across the paddock and they certainly will use the open Murray Barracks Oval to their advantage to give the Pies a tough challenge. 

The preliminary final at 2pm will see the Suns take on the Gordon Kokofas once more to decide who meets the minor premiers Koboni in next week’s qualifying final. Koboni have the bye. 

The loser of Suns-Kokofas match meets the winner of Cats-Magpies in the second elimination final next week. The Cats-Magpies loser bows out of the premiership race.

In the A Reserve, the Magpies take on the University Tigers in the elimination final and the Central Bombers face the Kokofas in the preliminary final. 

A Reserve minor premiers, Defence Hawks have the bye.

In the women’s elimination final the Dockers take on the Tigers while the Magpies meet the Kokofas in the double-chance preliminary final.