Marape: Vipers aim to win

 By JOHN PANGKATANA

CAPTAIN ‘courageous’ Larsen Marape has thrown down the gauntlet on his Port Moresby Vipers teammates to prove they are not premiership chokers.

The first time skipper said the Vipers answered the call to give the Kokopo Gurias a taste of their own medicine by winning the match that mattered the most.

The Vipers lost thrice to the Gurias this season but rose beyond themselves with a gutsy performance with Marape at the helm in last week’s preliminary final, winning handsomely 32-8.

“We broke all the rules to deny the Gurias but now we have an even bigger task to stop the Goroka Lahanis,” Marape, pictured,  said.

“Toktok long mi karim kaikai bikos mipela olgeta wanbel long bekim dinau blong ol Gurias,” he said.

The 29-year-old from Hela said the determination to rise had brought a new wave of confidence in the team.

But, he warned it was now a mind game for the players individually to prepare themselves.

“The Lahanis beat us in both meetings at home and away … but the final is a different ball game and I firmly believe we have the experience and mental toughness to go another step,” Marape said.

He said there was a great desire now in the Vipers to give something positive back to the nation’s capital and to ultimately bring back the lost glory of yesteryears.

Marape, who is a promising Kumul prospect, did not hide the fact that it is going to be fireworks with players from both sides prepared to push the boundary to get a look in to World Cup selection.

The Vipers meet the Lahanis at Lloyd Robson Oval on Sunday.