Porebadas up in arms

By KEVIN TEME
IT was a brotherly affair in day five of the Southern region nines championship when two Porebada teams – Sharks and Saints – clashed in pennant quarter-finals.
Earlier protests by both sides to get into the bowl seedings were turned down by organisers because of a lower points differential.
This led to Sharks team patron Steven Morea saying fairness had to be maintained to run the tournament.
“We are happy with the tournament but fairness has to be there in dealing with all judiciary matters of the running of the competition.
“It seems teams are favoured and that is not right,” a disappointed  Morea said.
Despite that outburst, the Governor  Alphonse Moroi-sponsored event continued  successfully.
However, Morea then  put up a sizeable cash prize for the eventual Southern region 9s cup winners to play a Porebada select side to prove who the best team in the Southern region is.
“This is not an Aroma show, I am putting a healthy prize for the cup winners to challenge a Porebada side whether it be in the nines or 13s,” he said.
Reagrdless of the Motuans’ disappointment, the fact was that teams progressed to the finals based firstly on their win-loss record and then on their for-and-against record.
Meanwhile, technical problems with the lighting have pushed the cup quarter-finals match between Baruoro and Vewala Blacks to today.
All preliminary finals will be played today ending with the grand finals.