Harlies’ double assault

 By FRANCIS RODNEY PULU

THE Harlequins rugby union club is set for a double assault on the 2015 Lae rugby union title with its premier and A grade sides taking on Royals and Pirates.

The matches will be played at the Supporters Club Rugby Union fields at the Lae Showgrounds on Saturday.

Harlequins team manager Kirake Timothy said it was a great feeling to have teams in the finals of both divisions and the club was hoping to reap success from the matches, ensuring a double celebration over the weekend. Timothy said major sponsor Hornibrooks had contributed significantly to the club’s rise in the city’s rugby competition over the past eight years.

He said he was pleased that all the hard work had paid off, with the teams dominating their grades and were now aiming to claim the season’s top honours.

“We’ve been the defending champions in the A grade over the last three years and our premiers have dominated the competition since 2010,” Timothy said.

“I think the stage is set for another memorable performance by our side.

“We can’t thank our sponsor Hornibrooks enough for what they have done for the club but we just hope to keep on doing what we do every year and play hard, play fair but come home with the titles,” he said.

He said on top of that they have a good management team and the club was fortunate to have the services of PNG Palais assistant coach Michael Muriki.

 Timothy said the Harlies A grade side would be going into the finals as favourites against the Pirates, while the premiers had a little more work to do against the Royals.

He said the Harlies premier side were lucky to have the services of sevens representative Butler Morris, who is expected to play flanker.

Tom Simon, winger Billy Ben, lock Clifford Valito and Robin Loma are the players to watch out for.

In the A grade final, Harlies’ Maluai Batala has been strong all season long while Junior Belo and Elijah Larry in the front-row are expected to play a leading role as is speedster Isaac Tanataito.