Hawks win OSL Cup in Daulo league

MG HAWKS walked away with the Oreau and Sons Limited (OSL) Cup and K1,000 in prize money after defeating Himakup Norths 4-0 in the A grade grand final of the Kofena off-season rugby league competition last Sunday.
The grand final was played at the Riverside Rugby League Ground at Kofena, Daulo district of Easter Highlands province.
It was a long road for Hawks and Norths who survived in the round-robin matches which started last December. Nine teams  participated in the competition.
Port Moresby-based local company Oreau and Sons Limited were the major sponsors.
They were backed by local Goroka Stationery.
Both sides were anticipating winning the title and matched up in all departments but failed to crack the strong brick wall defence that kept them scoreless in the opening half.
They maintained a similar momentum in the second stanza. However, with only three minutes remaining before full time, Hawks winger Oviacs Kembo picked up a runaway try to put Hawks in front with an unconverted try to lead 4-0.
They defended their lead for the final minutes to take the OSL Cup and the K1,000 cash.
In the reserve grade, Wamito defeated Gohunoma 6-4 to bag K500 and the shield.
At the presentation ceremony, major sponsors and OSL chairman Oa Johnson said the aim of the sponsor was to promote and identify raw talents to be exposed to playing at a higher level of competition of the PNG National Rugby League challenge.
Johnson said Kofena was the worse fighting area for many years and had deprived youths from participating in sporting activities.
“We want to sponsor sporting activities in the area so youths can concentrate on positive developments and forget about illegal activities,” he said.
He had made a commitment to continue supporting the event and would assist them to affiliate to PNG Rugby Football League to have the chance of participating in PNGRFL sanctioned tournaments in future.