Lae Tigers remain unbeaten

TWO tries from fullback Sanny Wabo helped the Lae Snax Tigers beat the Kroton Hela Wigmen 28-24 in their round six Digicel Cup fixture in Lae yesterday.
The double-header also saw the PRK Mendi Muruks beat the Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles 30-20 in the opening clash at the Lae Rugby League Ground.
The 2020 grand final replay saw the hosts exact some revenge for their loss in the decider last year.
The result sees coach Stanley Tepend’s Tigers as the only undefeated side in the competition.
It was an error-laced start for the home side and the visitors led by captain and prop Valentine Culligan obliged their opponents with consecutive sets.
The Tigers maintained their composure defensively and were granted an opportunity for points after a Wigmen infringement. Centre Joshua Lau kicked a penalty for a 2-0 lead.
That lead was soon added to hooker Noel Joel scrambling over the chalk and Lau slotted the conversion for an 8-0 lead.
The Wigmen focused their attention to the middle third battering the Tigers defence which paid off when interchange forward Tony Wemin sent burly prop Tommy Moide over for the Hela response.
Five-eighth Allan Simbiri converted for his side to trail 6-8.
Hard-running winger Nanduka Rame got his side in front for the first time with a barging effort complemented by Simbiri adding the extras and the momentum had swung back to the visitors who held a 12-8 lead.
Not to be outdone in front of their fans, the Tigers took play into the Wigmen half and exerted pressure which saw the Hela defence crack as centre Rodrick Tai fed winger Butler Morris who crossed for a four-pointer to level the scores (12-12).
Lau got a try-assist when a chip over the Hela defence saw winger Max Vali regather and have the defence on the back foot, dummy half Joel then sent Wabo over for his first try and halfback Jamie Mavoko stepped up to kick the conversion for the Tigers to lead 18-12 at halftime.
The Wigmen started the second 40 minutes positively with No.6 Simbiri kicking a penalty after high shot on Moide to close gap to 18-14.
The Tigers hit back with a try through Vali who benefited from an initial break by Wabo out of dummy-half for a 22-14 lead.
Centre Junior Igila crossed for the Wigmen to pull it back to 20-22 as the game entered its final quarter.
Tigers No.6 Mark Tony put Wabo through for what was the match-winning try with Mavoko making sure of the conversion to take a 28-20 lead.
The Wigmen managed an unconverted try to winger Bob Nale in the dying minutes but the hosts held on for the win.
Hela coach Charlie Wabo said the match was competitive throughout and his side had missed some opportunities.
“One has to win one has to lose, so Tigers came up with the win and we accept the loss. We had errors with too many drop balls and missed tackles and the Tigers came up with tries,” he said.
He said while he was pleased with the effort there were certain areas that needed to be worked heading into their next game against the Mendi Muruks.
Meanwhile, coach Tepend was glad his side had maintained a clean record so far and beating a top side like the Wigmen.
“We’ll take the win. It wasn’t the way we like to win as it wasn’t really a convincing. We dug ourselves into a bit of a hole at start and we dropped the ball a lot. You can’t win games doing that but we’ll take this result and work hard for the next game,” he said.
Results: Rd 6 – Isou 18 Cutters 16, Gurias 26 Dabaris 22, Tumbe 14 Mioks 12, Vipers 26 Lahanis 10, Muruks 30 Eagles 20, Tigers 28 Wigmen 24.