Kokomos soar at nines comp

THE future of Papua New Guinea rugby league looks to be bright after the Queensland PNG Kokomos finished as runners-up in the Cabramatta International Nines tournament held over the weekend.
The event has been run annually since 2003 and plays host to teams representing nations around the world, all vying for their take of the A$15,000 (K38,137) in prize money.
Qld PNG won their pool which included AMSA NZ, Africa United and the Phillipines. They beat the Latin Heat 24-12 in the quarterfinals.
They then beat the much bigger Serbian team in the semifinals, earning a berth in the final against the NSW Kooris.
The final was a tough battle between the Kooris and PNG with the score 0-0 at half time. Injuries, however took their toll on the Qld-based Kokomos and it made the difference in the final half of the competition against the classy Koori outfit, with the Kooris winning 14-0.
The Kokomos coached by Elias Paiyo showed great resilience against a variety of teams and have developed over the last three seasons to become one of the best teams at the Cabramatta 9s.
Paiyo, said that he was impressed with his side’s performances and the professional approach they had displayed.
He said the PNG talent on display certainly made an impression and drew a lot of enquiries from interested parties who watched the tournament.
Captain Eli Wickham, Bobby Tau, Thane Kellermeyer (until he was injured), Cameron Boga, Zeb Samuels, Ono So’oale and Kumul Richard Pandia stood out.
As a mark of respect for the passing of Kumul Kato Ottio last month, all PNG Kokomos players wore black arm bands and the organiser’s of the tournament arranged a minute’s silence before the first match.