Mioks out to end drought

By MELTON PAIS
THE Enga Mioks see it as their destiny to claim just their second title in their 21-year history when they take on fellow Highlanders and dark horse Goroka Lahanis in Sunday’s Digicel Cup grand final.
The last time two Highlands teams played a grand final was in 2010 when the Lahanis beat the Mendi Muruks 21-10 in Lae.
The competition benchmark, the Enga provincial government-sponsored Mioks have been on top of the competition since the first round and have two wins (30-12 in Rd 1 and 32-18 in Rd10) over the Lahanis during the regular season with coach Timothy Lepa saying his side were set on completing a “wonderful” season.
“The thing that kept us performing and playing quality football throughout the competition was our team spirit and effective communication and winning the title would be a fitting end to a wonderful season,” Lepa said.
“We took every game as a grand final fixture and that really helped us mentally and physically.
“We’ve had our challenges but we’ve struggled to come this far and that’s been a strength of ours.”
Lepa said the Mioks felt it was their time to win a premiership after going without for 18 years.
“I urge Engans and Mioks fans to turn up to the grand final and hopefully we’ll get them a title,” Lepa said.
Mioks captain Supa Kokote said his side, who had won 14 games, lost three and drawn two, were on a mission to take back the cup for their fans and the people of Enga.
The Lahanis are by no means an easy mark having built up some impressive late-season form which saw them win their last seven games of the regular season and then beat the Lae Tigers (24-21), Agmark Gurias (14-12) and Waghi Tumbe (10-6) in successive weeks of the finals putting the Bintangor-sponsored side on a 10-match winning streak.
The Mioks have been well led by nuggety back-rower Supa Kokote and includes arguably one of the best dummy halves in the country in Woods Kawage working in tandem with veteran half Roger Laka.
The Lahanis late surge coincided with the appointment of Glen Nami as coach and the use of better game plans and execution by the Eastern Highlands side led by former PNG Hunters prop Gonzella Urakusie and backed by experienced centre Pasu Awani, playmakers Nick Hasu and Robin Soga.
Nami, a former Kumul, said his side had built up great momentum heading into the final and would be keen to settle the score with the Mioks.
“I just stepped in (as coach) a few months ago and we made some changes to the side bringing some new players and basically getting the team to play competitive football and playing to their potential,” Nami said.
“We had a poor start but we learned from our mistakes and focused on our strengths.
“We are ready to take on our Highlands brothers in the grand final. We hope our fans unite behind us during the final,” Nami said.
Grand Final Fixture: Sun, Sept 2 – Enga Mioks v Goroka Lahanis (1500) at the National Football Stadium.