Muruks keep hopes alive

By LARRY ANDREW
THE Mendi Muruks kept their Digicel Cup top-four hopes alive with a 22-6 win over the Enga Mioks in round 10 at the Lae Rugby League Ground yesterday.
Eager to bounce back from their loss to ladder leaders Lae Tigers, the Muruks opened the scoring through an unconverted try by Leon Undipia.
A mistake by Mioks fullback Kora Lega in his own territory saw Muruks secondrower Nelson Yei crossing over for a try, with hooker Jerry Joe converting the extras for a 10-0 lead.
The Mioks, under the captaincy of Supa Kokote, were rewarded with a penalty after the Muruks were ruled to have held down an opposition player for too long.
The penalty did not go to waste as hooker Tapia Solu decided to switch the ball to the right where centre Sterlloin Piebo found space to score next to the uprights to trail 6-10. But the Mioks gave away a penalty in the play-the-ball area which saw the Muruks opting for a kick at goal to extend their lead to 12-6.
After halftime, Muruks’ Junior Rau crossed over for an unconverted try to increase their lead to 16-6.
The Muruks added their final try in the 73 minute when Mackenzie Yei scored under the uprights off a scrum.
Solu added the extras to seal the win.