Eagles see off Crocs 28-14

By ELIAS LARI
THE Gulf Isapeas went down to the Wantok Gaming System (WGS) Mt Hagen Eagles 28-14 at Rebiamul oval in Mt Hagen yesterday in Week 14 of the Digicel Cup challenge.
Isapeas’ ball handling errors and inability to defend off their line cost any hope of climbing out of the bottom rung of the ladder in 2012.
The first half was an armwrestle to begin with but the Eagles ended the first 40 minutes 22-4 ahead.
Eagles got the jump on the Isapeas when wing George Benson picked up a loose ball and ran the length of the field to post the first points of the match for a 6-0 lead.
Eagles find another crack in the Isapeas defence and this time Elijah Don sneaked through the defence and scored an unconverted try.
Isapeas lifted their defence to keep the scoreboard static for a good period.
This put the Eagles in a haze allowing left wing Marara Ura to penetrate the Eagles line to score an unconverted try to trail 10-4.
Eagles’ Joe Joshua added a four-pointer for the home side to grab back the ascendency.
Eagles’ Scot Francis scored again to give his team an 18-point buffer at the break at 22-4.
The first 20 minutes of the second stanza saw little scoring opportunities for both sides.
Winger Gary Lo scored the match winner for a hefty 28-4 lead.
Isapeas’ Nelson Wallen, Terry Kaupa and Phoenix Puri Jr muscled up on a complacent Eagles side in the final five minutes with Ura picking up his second try.
Isapeas’ Jason Koive added another try on the stroke of full time to see his side close the margin to 14 points.