Soilen backs squad

By ROBINSON LEKA
CENTRAL Dabaris coach Bagelo Solien is backing his squad, including former SP Hunters forward David Loko, to give the more established Digicel Cup sides a tougher contest this season.
The Dabaris failed to make the playoffs in their debut season in the country’s premier rugby league competition but the Central side are optimistic about their chances this year.
Solien said the side’s combinations were still a work in progress despite their 18-6 round-one win over Gulf Isou at Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby on Saturday.
“I’ve three players I want to try in the halves,” he said.
“I’ve Jerry Teme on the extended bench so by the end of round two, we’ll probably know the make-up of our side.
“Young players Jack Alu and Wallen Tauloi stood up to the task.
“We’ve two senior players in Frank Kagai and David Loko, who have joined us for this season, so the last couple of days have been great for our younger squad members.
“I hope they learn from our experienced pair and improve as the season continues.”
Meanwhile, Isou coach Nigel Hukula said their high error rate had proved costly.
“I wasn’t too disappointed,” he said. “I thought it was good to get the first one out of the way and the Dabaris played well too.
“So there’s a lot of good things that we can take from the game and areas we can work on.
“I wanted a manager and I thought Yunny Patrick did well.
“Gabby Taune is a playmaker and it normally takes about two or three games to get our combinations gelling.
“Unfortunately, it’s a short season and we’re looking to stick with them.
“We can’t do much when you don’t have the ball, our handling was poor and we need to be more decisive.”