Digicel Cup set to start

By PARKER TAMBUA
THE Digicel Cup is set to kick off next month with twelve teams confirmed to compete in the country’s premier rugby league competiton.
According to the season draw, the competition will have 18 rounds of home-and-away matches played in nine centres across the country.
The teams participating this year are the Port Moresby Vipers, Central Dabaris, Gulf Isou, Lae Tigers, Rabaul Gurias, Kimbe Cutters, Goroka Lahanis, Waghi Tumbe, Mt Hagen Eagles, Enga Mioks, Mendi Muruks and Hela Wigmen.
The business end of the season will see the top-six finals being played between Aug 16 and Sept 6 (four weeks) with all matches to be played at the Oil Search National Football Stadium (NFS) in Port Moresby.
All the teams are based in their respective provinces except for Gulf Isou, Hela Wigmen and Central Dabari who will continue to use NFS as their home ground.
Competition manager Stanley Hondina said recently that the Wigmen and Isou had been given until the end of this season to establish their home grounds in their respective provinces while using the NFS as their temporary venue.
The upcoming domestic season will also have some of the matches at the NFS as curtain-raisers to the SP Hunters’ Intrust Super Cup home games.
The centres that will be hosting Digicel Cup matches this year are Port Moresby, Lae, Goroka, Minj, Mt Hagen, Wabag, Mendi, Rabaul and Kimbe.