Harlies stun Brothers

By MICHAEL PHILIP
HARLEQUINS have caused an upset over Brothers in their premier grade 2023 grand final rematch with a 22-15 win on Saturday at the Bava Park Oval in Port Moresby.
The Kramer Ausenco-sponsored Brothers packed with experienced campaigners in the likes of Tony Sipa, Tisa Kautu and Derrick Voku could not hold on to a young Harlequins side led by Pukpuks speedster Ron Buttler to steal the win.
Head coach Billy Rapilla told The National that more needed to be done by his side going forward despite the gusty win over Brothers to be in a better position as the season continues.
“It’s a gusty win, they’re an experienced side in the competition,” he said.
“Once you give them a little bit of space they know how to convert and we just sometimes execute well as we should like we’ve been training for, but that’s the pressure that Brothers bring and that’s why they are the number one team in the competition.
“But overall despite areas that we lack to improve on, I am really happy for my boys to get out the win. We have been aiming for that.
“Grand final is gone, that was last year, this is a new year, new competition new everything so that’s exactly the type of mindset that my team have now.
“The past is gone, we can’t be thinking about it, rather work hard and write new stories this year.”
Despite the absence of few experienced players in the side, Rapilla said they were excited to give a chance to their young boys in the club to get a taste of what it felt like playing in the premier division.
“Most of our senior boys are still on recovery process, so we were able to give chances to the young boys to fill up the gap,” he said.
“They did well helping us to get the win and I think we need to use them more going forward.”