Morata league going from strength to strength

MORATA Offseason Rugby League is one of Port Moresby’s biggest offseason competitions, which promotes grassroots talents and helps them achieve their goals, according to an official.
Samson Metofa, a senior officer with the Finance Department, has introduced professionalism to the competition in an effort to be transparent and accountable as president of the league.
He said his tenure would expire this season and wished not to continue as president due to work commitments.
Metofa is the treasurer of Kone Tigers, a pioneering club in the Port Moresby Rugby Football League alongside Paga Panthers.
He said new executives would be elected during the annual general meeting.
Metofa and his executives had set the benchmark by staging successive grand finals which culminated with the presentation of awards and cash prizes to the top-two teams in each division.
Through his leadership, the league secured Motor Vehicles Insurance Limited as their major sponsor alongside the National Capital District Commission (NCDC).
NCDC commissioner Elis Siki had earlier pledged K20,000 for the women’s competition to promote gender equality and discourage violence against women and girls in communities.
Metofa said NCDC’s involvement was aimed at focusing on talent identification and development to help grassroots talents become better rugby league players.
A total of 60 teams competed in the Under-20, women’s and premier divisions, with sides coming from Morata, Waigani, Tokarara, Gerehu, 7-Mile and 8-Mile.
Metofa said the competition was a feeder league to Kone Tigers. He thanked Tigers president Benson Upas and his executives for the mutual understanding.
He said operations manager John Mauwi, secretary Eki Ene and other committee members ensured that the league maintained a competitive standard.
“They committed their time and effort to manage the competition,” Metofa said.
“Criticism and protests did not discourage them from ensuring successful grand finals in all the divisions.”
He praised them for their sacrifices and hoped that they would be retained next season under a new management.
For the first time, volunteers were given an opportunity to oversee the matches and were paid for their services.
This was new to the volunteers who were urged to take ownership of the league.
Metofa said he was satisfied with his contributions to the league and urged his successor to continue the legacy to raise the standard of the competition in the nation’s capital.