Southern confederate names U20 side for national 9s tournament

THE Southern Confederate team for the Under-20 National Rugby League 9s Championship are aiming to be the pioneer champions of the inaugural tournament.
Coach Bagelo Solien says they will use the tournament to market their players to the Digicel Cup and the PNG Hunters programme.
“Because it’s a new concept we want to show that we produce quality junior players in our confederation,” Solien said.
“Most of the players selected will be new to the national level but have come through our programmes and have been sighted in various nines tournament in the Southern region.
“We have been paying attention to some of these players and we have their player data so our key focus is to market them well,” he added.
Training for the Southern Confederate started yesterday (Tuesday) at the Lahara Park in Port Moresby.
The team’s 17 man train-on squad will be trimmed down to 12 tomorrow. The PNGRFL-sanctioned tournament is scheduled for Feb 17-18 in Goroka and will involve participation from the four national zones; Northern, Highlands, New Guinea Islands, Southern and development teams from the Digicel Cup franchise.
PNGRFL will release a confirmation list of all participating teams this week. The teams leaves for Goroka on Feb 16. Southern team: Tom Mana, Amon Lesley, Saka Mairi, Gini Tau, Heniga Lapanda, Micky Doga, Michael Yanis, Christopher Taria, Philip Kenny, Junior Hoki, Michael Fovex, Boas Galema, Raho Goada, Michael Miro, Ezikiel Rero, Golatho Seri, Harry Vai; Coach – Bagelo Solien; Trainer – Nao Boge; Team Manager – Indy Verena.