Storm win back-to-back South comp title

By JACK AMI
THE Badili Warako Storm made it back-to-back premierships with a 6-0 win over Talai Spartans in the Moresby South rugby league grand final at the Sir William Skate Oval in Kaugere yesterday.
Storm took home K10,000 and the Justin Tkatchenko Trophy and Spartans were rewarded with K5000.
Storm’s Maya Clarkson was voted the man-of-the-match.
In the Under-20 division Sub City Raiders beat Bulldogs 8-4 to win their second title in a row.
Raiders pocketed K5000 and trophy and Bulldogs won K2500.
In the women’s inaugural grand final Gabutu Dragons and Sub City Raiders were locked at 8-8 after golden point to be declared joint 2017 champions. The cash prize of K7500 was split between the sides.
The finals games were trouble-free and peaceful.
It was a neighbourly affair as the two Badili teams — Storm and Spartans — got the match down to the wire and with the winning try scored by Storm prop Sameul Kult after his opposite Wailo James dropped the ball in his own 20-metre line in the 57th minute.
Kult picked up the loose ball and stepped wide and touched down on the left edge with the conversion by Clarkson over the cross bar for a 6-0 score line and only points of the 60 minutes challenge.
Storms coach Jimmy Hama said it was neighbours’ affair but they took the game seriously and were determined to win and did that in the dying stages.
Hama attributed the win to all the players who had performed to their best of abilities.
He thanked the team’s major sponsor Dickson Warako for his continuous support to the team and also the Badili community for backing the Storm.
League chairman Brown Murema thanked major sponsor and MP Tkachenko for his support to the league and for making the grand final a successful one.
Murema said Tkatchenko’s support has seen the league grow from strength to strength over four years.