Rebels stalwart behind growth in WNB

By WENDY KATUSELE
FOR the man who stood behind the success of national sevens champions Kimbe Rebels, Freddie Matthies never thought the team would reach such heights on a consistent basis.
But Kimbe’s domination of the sevens format is testament to the drive and passion Matthies has for the game.
Today he stands proud to see his Rebels as reigning national champions.
Although Kimbe claimed last month’s top prize by default they still had to work to be in a position to claim the title and for that Matthies who is part German, Tuvalu, Samoa and Kavieng ancestry had the bonus of being named assistant coach the national team to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, in July.
Last month the Rebels wrested their fifth national title proved to all and sundry that West New Britain was a stronghold of the game.
Thirty two-year old Freddy Matthies recalled his return to Papua New Guinea in 2003 from Australia, and it was the year he continued playing the sport he loved in Kimbe, the same year the sport was introduced to the Oil Palm province.
The following year Matthies made the Pukpuks team and took up the role of president of the local association and was player/coach for the Rebels in their early days.
The road to success was not a smooth one, finance became the biggest hurdle but with the assistance of Kimbe Bay Shipping Agencies and the money from the players own pockets was able to sustain the team and the beginning of many trophies to add to the cabinet.
The Rebels won their first ever title at the Monian Sevens in Kavieng in 2007, the same year the national titles – grabbing the cup from leading associations Port Moresby and Lae.
The following year Rebels claimed two more sevens circuits tournaments – the Black Orchids and Kimbe sevens but failed to retained the national title.
They reclaimed the national title back in 2009 together with another Kimbe and Black Orchids double.
Apart from the Kimbe and Black Orchid titles, the boys from the West added the Rabaul and Kavieng sevens titles to their growing collection.
They were also cup runners-up at the Trans Highway sevens in Lae.
The Matthies-led team added more titles which included the Madang sevens in 2011 and this list of accomplishments landed them the SP Sports Team of the Year Award.
While this is one great achievement from a team mostly made up of village boys, the team is now a pride of the West New Britain people.
Matthies challenged the provincial government and its two open members to support all sports in the province.
His dream is for rugby union to have its own ground to host its games and tournaments and for the sport to continue to grow in WNB.