Suburban league to host finals this week

Sports

FINAL matches of the Port Moresby suburban rugby league competition for last weekend were deferred to this week due to Independence celebrations.
Competition chairman Bosky Koke said the battle for 2017 premiership would start this weekend at Kone Tigers Oval in Waigani.
He said that in the men’s A-grade division the Morata Swans have secured the third spot on the ladder after defeating last year’s runners-up Marane K-Rats 16-6 in the final round of the competition.
However, the Rats still remain in the top spot leading the other seven teams in the top eight.
The Rats have won a back-to-back minor premiership this year.
David Terry’s Betari Falcons are in second spot while Swans are running third in the men’s A grade division.
In the Under-20 division, Western team, Waliya, finished first in the race to win the minor premiership for the first time since 2014, while Mountain Bulls are second followed by six teams who made it to the top eight for the final.
In the women’s division, Morata Swan lead three other teams that made it to the finals this season.
Koke said the top four teams would play each other while the bottom four would play each other to go into the major semi-finals.
“We will have the elimination contest for the bottom four teams first and then we’ll have the U20 final and wrap it up with the top four qualifying finals,” Koke said.
“This would lead us to the preliminary and grand finals over the coming weeks.
“We are urging the residents of Port Moresby to watch the matches and rally behind their players over the weekend as we are into the finals.”
He has called on all fans to support their teams at Kone Tigers Oval in the battle for the 2017 premiership.
The A-Grade top eight teams are Marane K-Rats, Betari Falcons, Morata Swans, Mountain Bulls, Magpies, 54 Bears, Erima Hurricanes, Swamp Ghost
The U20 top eight teams are Waliya, 54 Bears, Swamp Ghost, Mountain Bulls, Betari Falcons, East United, Marane K-rats and Erima Hurricanes.