Tali heads into first grand final with Doncaster

By PATRICIA KEAMO
FORMER Papua New Guinea Kumul and Doncaster centre Jason Tali will play his first grand final with the English tier two rugby league club in the Betfred league one on Sunday.
The 33-year-old from Western Highlands has been playing with Doncaster since 2016 but Sunday’s match against Workington Town at Derwent Park, United Kingdom, will be his first grand final with the club.
Tali’s grand final appearance will be another milestone achievement for his career after playing his 100th game with the club in June.
“This is something special that will add to my career and I can’t wait to make history on Sunday,” Tali told The National yesterday.
“It’s a great feeling to reach the finals given the year that we had.
“Although we had players who sustained injuries during the season while some were diagnosed with Coronavirus (Covid-19) we managed to get through the playoffs and now to the final.”
Tali helped his side defeat Keighly Cougars in last weekend’s playoff against former SP Hunters and PNG Kumuls prop Wellington Albert’s side.
Throughout the 17 games he played in the League 1 season, Tali helped his side win 14 games and scored over 10 tries this year
“It was a really tough season for us to be honest,” he said.
“At one point I thought we couldn’t make it when we were hit with injuries and Covid-19 but we stood together as a team and found a way out.Credit to the boys and the management who worked really hard even though we knew we were down.
“We managed to win 14 games, lost five and drew one but we made it to the finals.”
Meanwhile, Doncaster chief executive Carl Hall commended Tali and PNG Kumuls and SP Hunters playmaker Watson Boas for their contribution to the club.
“The pair have contributed massively in us reaching the grand final,” Hall told The National yesterday.
“Jason Tali has been absolutely outstanding all year scoring plenty tries and solid on defence, he is a leader of our team.
“Watson Boas has played his part after his bad news with his injury, he has been really important off the field talking with the players and contributing his experience at our training sessions.
“We as a club are so grateful for their efforts to the club.”