Koboni’s fairy tale run comes to an end

 By ROBSON AKIS

GRAFFITI Koboni’s fairy tale run to the Port Moresby AFL finals came to an abrupt end when they were decisively bundled out of the race by a determined Digicel Gordon Kokofas 9-8-62 to 7-4-46 at the Murray Barracks Oval on Sunday.

The Demons have themselves to blame for snoozing in the first half and half-heartedly contesting marks and giving chase only to find themselves reeling and dusting off their backsides.

The Devils winning chances were offered to them in the first quarter when they had the use of a strong south-easterly wind but complacency got the better of them and they struggled to kick only one goal.

A fired up Kokofas, on the other hand, went straight into attack from the first bounce and rallied strongly against the wind and booted two goals and two behinds to give them an eight-point head start at the first break.

The Demons struggled again to find form in the second quarter and only managed a lone behind as Kokofas nailed three goals and a behind with the aid of the wind to establish a respectable 26-point lead at half time with the scoreboard reading of 5-3-33 to 1-1-7.

The Kokofas were completely shut out in the third quarter and scored nothing but when play resumed in the final quarter, lady luck went with them with the wind as they dominated the centreline and moved the ball forward with ease to slam home four goals and five behinds.

The devils only managed a goal and a behind to bring their heart-breaking loss to a respectable margin.

The best players for the Kokofas were Paul Philip, Sunny Yogomin, LailaiIla, Elijah Barewoi, John Vincent and Steven Ila, while Tapu Henry, Francis Brown, Tau Morove, Pala Renagi, Dominic Livuana and young Lai Lai stood out for Koboni.

In the major semi-final on Saturday at the same venue (Murray Barracks Oval), red hot Moni Plus Taurama Suns prevailed over Moore Printing University Tigers 8-7-55 to 6-9-45.

The Tigers challenge the Kokofas in the second elimination match on Saturday, while the Suns take on minor premiers Lamana Dockers in the qualifying match on Saturday