Raw talents impress Solien

By JACK AMI
ROUND one of Southern Super League National Gaming Control Board Cup featured exciting raw talents at Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby on Friday.
League chairman Bagelo Solien was impressed with the performance of all the teams, especially Rigo Raiders, Hiri West and Buria Reds against the more experienced Port Moresby sides.
Visiting teams Buria Reds and Hiri West were valiant despite losing to Port Moresby Suburban Ducks and Funeral Home Laumas respectively.
Ducks suffered a scare from Buria but they held on to win 18-14 while Laumas beat a young West outfit 28-18.
In the other matches, Moni Plus-sponsored Port Moresby Vipers edged Moresby South Blacks 8-6 in an encounter that was riddled with handling errors.
A strong second-half performance saw Central Dabaris sink Koiari Nagavas 28-18 while hosts Rigo Raiders surprised PRK Gulf Isou 22-12 at Kwikila in Rigo.
Laumas had a wealth of experienced players, including SP Hunters forward Adam Korave, as they capitalised on their weight advantage to gain easy yardage up the middle.
But they were put to test in the opening minutes before organising their attacking to outclass West.
Fielding upcoming talents from Porebada, Papa, Borea and Kouderika, West were competitive throughout the match.
Competition manager Indy Verena said the league had agreed for only three Digicel Cup players to play for each team in any one match.