Eagles edge Gurias

Sports

By LARRY ANDREW
A LATE Garry James penalty goal helped Mt Hagen Eagles sink Rabaul Gurias 12-10 in round four of the Digicel Cup in Lae, Morobe, on Sunday.
In the first game of Sunday’s Lae Rugby League Ground double-header, Mendi Muruks continued their perfect start to the season with a 34-8 win over Kimbe Cutters.
The Eagles-Gurias game started slow pace with the Rabaul-based Agmark-sponsored team pinning down the Western Highlanders in their own territory for almost a quarter of the first half, but they were unable to score.
The first half was riddled with errors, but that did not deter Gurias forwards Isaac Patrick, Steven Bruno, Rex Kaupa, Emil Benjamin and Tuvi Lapan from putting their bodies on the line against their bigger opponents.
An opportunity for the Gurias arose when they had possession in the Eagles’ red zone and decided to run the ball on the fifth tackle which saw second-rower Benjamin crossing over for an unconverted try to lead 4-0.
A few minutes later, the Eagles had the chance to score off an overlap near the Gurias’ tryline but the ball was intercepted by Roy Ellison who sprinted 98m to score next to the uprights and make the conversion easy for Konnie Bernard to extend the lead to 10-0.
The second half was in the balance but the Eagles — led by skipper Henry Wan, Leighton Lipu, Gordon Willy, Joshua Nani and Mosley Tika — applied pressure on the Gurias defence and were rewarded with an unconverted try to James.
Down 4-6 and inspired by No.6 James, the Wamp Nga-sponsored Eagles stepped up their attack and scored their second try through Wan, with James kicking the extras to level the scores at 10-10.
Both teams had opportunities for a field goal, but they were unsuccessful.
But one minute from fulltime, the Gurias conceded a penalty 30m out and James stepped up to seal the comeback victory for the Mt Hagen side with a successful conversion.