Muruks to test Tigers mettle

By JACK AMI
THE Lae Tigers return home this weekend to host the Mendi Muruks in round five of the Digicel Cup.
The defending champions proved their mettle in Wabag, Enga, last week with a gutsy 14-8 win over the Mioks and now face the Southern Highlanders, who kept the Waghi Tumbe scoreless, winning 26-0 at the Joe Keviame Oval in their last match.
The Sunday fixture is a clash between the first and second-placed sides. The last time they met was almost a year ago in Mendi, with the Lae Biscuit Company-sponsored side earning a 24-22 win over the Muruks.
The forward matchups are intriguing, with Andrew Ipi leading a Mendi pack that also includes former Kumul prop Nixon Kolo.
The Tigers have yet to taste loss in 2017 and the Lae Rugby League Oval has been a happy hunting ground for Stanley Tepend’s men, with wins over Gurias (40-0) and the Port Moresby Vipers (28-18) so far at the venue.
The Muruks may not be able to out-muscle the home side and a lot will depend on what their halves can create for a backline that has PNG 7s representatives Wesley Vali and Tisa Kautu.
The Tigers, who claimed the SP award for Team of the Year last week, would be buoyed by that recognition and a loss at home would be something they would want to avoid at all costs.
The Tigers are in solid form and led ably by Charles Simon and Mafu Kalas, with ex-Hunter Timothy Lomai and Anderson Benford also out to prove a point.
The Morobeans have yet to reach the kind of form that took them to the title last year — but they are building nicely.
The Sunday clash with the Muruks, while providing a stern test, should not be too much of a challenge, given the Tigers have home court advantage, the form and momentum to exploit the flaws in the opposition’s game. Standings: Tigers 8, Muruks 6, Wigmen 5, Gurias 5, Lahanis 4, Mioks 2, Tumbe 2, Vipers 0. Fixtures: Sun – Lahanis v Mioks, Tigers v Muruks, Gurias v Vipers, Tumbe v Wigmen.