‘Dabaris not there yet’

DABARIS coach Bagelo Solien says Sunday’s 10-40 round-two loss to the Lae Tigers shows the Central side still have a long way to go in order to become Digicel Cup heavyweights.
Into their second season in the country’s premier rugby league competition, the Dabaris showed a lot of promise in their 18-6 round-one win over Gulf Isou on July 4.
But a 30-point drubbing at the hands of the defending champions provided a harsh reality check for the Dabaris, who fielded veteran forward David Loko, captain Rex Kaupa and SP Hunter Gairo Kapana.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” Solien said.
“Obviously, the Lae Tigers are a quality side and they’ve been together for a while.
“This was a good learning curve for us.
“We’ll take a lot out of this game.
“They have a great coach in Stanley Tepend so when you come up against them, it’s always going to be tough.
“We talked about the ruck and how great they are around it with their discipline and quick play-the-balls.
“At the end of the day, we didn’t keep up with them and they made us pay.”
Solien said they were still finding their feet with former Hela Wigmen playmaker Jerry Teme joining five-eighth Junior Belo in the halves.
“It’s their first game together in the halves so you can’t expect them to perform a miracle,” he said.
“We blew our opportunities — we had two or three tries that went against us.
“It could’ve been a different ball game but that’s rugby league.”