Lions unsure of Gurias
The National, Friday July 10th, 2015
SIMBU Lions franchise owner Gerard Phillip says he is not sure about his side’s opponents, the Agmark Gurias, on Sunday but the aim will be victory.
“I haven’t seen the Gurias play this year and I’m not sure how good they are or what they have done but we will be aiming for the win at home,” Phillip said yesterday from Kundiawa as his side prepares for the second match of the cross-over round.
The TNA-sponsored side has been the real surprise packet of the 2015 Digicel Cup season and last week further enhanced their contender status with a 18-0 win over a toothless Lae Tigers outfit at Dickson Oval in the Simbu provincial capital.
The win was the Lions’ best effort against the Morobe side since entering the competition in 2011.
Phillip welcomed the result as a sign that the side was improving but would not say whether he thought the team was good enough to win the title.
No Simbu franchise has won the semi-professional competition since its first incarnation as the SP inter-City Cup in 1990.
The closest the side came to winning a title was in 1996 when the Kundiawa Warriors were beaten by the Mendi Muruks in a violent final at the Lae Rugby League Oval.
Phillip said a partisan home crowd was expected at Dickson Oval and despite going into the game with several injuries most notably to Stevn Gari, the Frenchman, who is now a naturalised citizen, said the side had been boosted by the return of Radley Brawa from French rugby league.
The centre, along with winger Kuni Minga, have been playing in the domestic French competition since 2013 having been given the opportunity by Phillip in his homeland.
Phillip said he was pleased with the progress of the Lions over the season but admitted there was no guranatee that they would make the grand final.
“We know that what we are doing is working and it is right so we’ll continue doing that but we are still a long way from being the best we can be,” Phillip said.
Standings: Tigers 18, Lions 17, Wigmen 16, Gurias 16, Muruks 12, Lahanis 12, Vipers 10, Eagles 7, Tumbe 6, Isapea 6. Fixtures: Lions v Gurias, Tigers v Wigmen, Muruks v Lahanis.