Poor pairing of halves, hooker costing us, say Tumbe

WAGHI Tumbe coach Joe McConnor has blamed the poor combination between their halves and hooker for a poor Digicel Cup start which has seen them win just one from six matches.
The ninth-placed Jiwaka government-sponsored side have the fourth-worst attack in the 12-team competition.
“The combination between our halves and hooker has been our biggest problem since the start of the season,” McConnor said.
“We lack composure and we just can’t execute well in attack.
“We are trying our best to improve in attack each week but we still aren’t clicking.
“But there are five games remaining in the regular season so we must not give up.
“We will put more effort into improving the combination.”
In the Vipers match, Tumbe’s Jodah Wesley played at hooker while 2019 SP Hunters pre-season train-on squad member Saki Peter and Francis Sam played at five-eighth and halfback respectively.
McConnor said he would be counting on the trio to step up in this weekend’s round-seven clash with last season’s runners-up Hela Wigmen.
Tumbe have been dominant over the past two seasons, finishing in the top-three on both occasions.
This season has been their worst start so far but McConnor says they are still hopeful of a berth in the top-six playoffs with five rounds of the regular season remaining.