Lae 11 Brothers claim inaugural Kande 9s tournament

A TRY by fullback Cedric Bono against Beyond Dogs in extra time saw Lae 11 Brothers claim the title and K30,000 in prize money with a 14-10 win in the grand final of the Morobe Kande 9s yesterday.
The inaugural rugby league tournament was hosted over the weekend at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae.
The Dogs settled for the runners-up trophy and K15,000, while in the third-place playoff SSG Roosters of Port Moresby featuring former Kumul Edene Gebbie beat Mendi’s Olco Butterflies 18-4 to pocket K10,000 with the Southern Highlands side settling for K5,000.
The all-Lae affair final was down to the wire after both Dogs and Brothers beat Roosters and Butterflies in the semifinals. Brothers were first on the board with winger Derrick Voku carrying Dogs defendersover the line out wide for an unconverted try to lead 4-0.
However, the Dogs after a good phase of play created an overlap for winger Bernard Yufa to bag a four-pointer to level the scores. The Sydney Fred-coached Brothers picked up momentum in the second stanza with Voku scoring his second try with Jacky Winas converting to extend the lead to 10-4.
But that did not stop the Dogs outfit who bit back with Emmanuel Michael crossing the chalk and then converting his own try to lock up the scores at 10-10 and forcing the final into golden point extra time. The brethren’s Bono held his nerve and finished off an attacking move to score the title-winner.
Tournament director Joel Ambrose acknowledged all 32 teams that took part over the week-long tournament and making it a success.
Ambrose said the aim of the tournament to put talent from Morobe (Lae) on show as well as those from around the country.
He said players would be identified from the tournament to be part of the Morobe Kandes squad as the new franchise looks to enter the Digicel ExxonMobil Cup in 2025.
Ambrose said he was encouraged with the quality of football over the seven days and the turnout of fans to the Lae Rugby League ground.
He said the Morobe Kandes management would stage another tournament next year during the Easter weekend with K200,000 in prize money on offer.
He said winner would get K100,000 with the runners-up K50,000, third place K30,000 and fourth place K20,000 making it one of the richest nines tournaments in the country.