Palais eyeing top three

By ROBINSON LEKA
THE Papua New Guinea Palais will be gunning for a top-three finish at the Pacific Games in Samoa, says coach Paul Tietjens.
Tietjens who was pleased with his side’s preparations, said he was confident of a top-three finish with gold at the top of the priority list for the Palais.
“I set a goal with the PNG Olympic Committee and the ladies that we are good for a medal”, Tietjens said.
“Obviously, we are striving for gold but I think we’re definitely good to finish in that top three.
“Anything can happen in sevens, especially on any given day so if we put in a good performance, we’re good enough to have a genuine crack at a medal.”
Tietjens added that the Palais’ recent participation in the QAS Sevens Series in Australia was the finishing touch for the Palais to find positional combinations before heading off to Samoa.
“We played six games against Bond University and Griffith University and performed very well,” he said.
“It was obviously the last opportunity for my girls to put their best foot forward, to be selected in this team but also a chance to build our combinations moving into the Pacific Games.
“Just build positional combinations and look to get us some valuable game time moving to the tournament.”
The Palais will be travelling to Samoa today where they will meet with the rest of Team PNG in Apia for the opening ceremony on Sunday.