Southern win women’s title

By MELTON PAIS
THE Southern Confederation won the PNGRFL National Schools Rugby League U18 women’s title at the National Football Stadium yesterday.
The Bagelo Solien-coached Southern side won two and drew one of their games to claim the title.
In the first round, Southern drew 6-6 with Highlands and in the second round, they thrashed Northern 30-0.
Southern scored six tries, with prop Samantha Kuman picking up a brace, while halfback Lilah Malabag kicked three goals.
Southern then beat New Guinea Islands 22-0 in their final game to finish on top of their division.
Coach Solien said the side had assembled with little preparation time but praised his players for their effort. He said they were pushed hard in the first game against Highlands but by the end of the game had gotten better.
“We only had two days of prep but the results show that we were able to perform to a high level and follow the game plan,” Solien said.
“For Samanatha’s case, she has a great potential and we’ll get her to play in a trial match that is coming up for the Southern senior women.”
He said the initial squad was made out of players aged between 13-15 but had to drop most of them because the competition was open.
“We got lots of youngsters intially but we had to change because the competition is open,” he said.
Results: Thurs, Sept 13 – Rd 1: Southern 6 Highlands 6, NGI 12 Northern 0; Rd 2: Southern 30 Northern 0, NGI 0, Highlands 0; Rd 3: Highlands 6 Northern 6, Southern 22 NGI 0.