Touch victories satisfy skipper Eka

 By ISAAC LIRI

PNG men’s open touch football captain Eugene Eka is so far satisfied with their big wins since the competition began on Friday.  

Eka said taking each game seriously and sticking with their game plan has helped them to pull-off extraordinary results. 

“I’d say we’ve had a long preparation focusing on the simple things and right now everything is working for us.” 

Eka referred to winning the bronze medal in the World Cup months ago as a stepping stone that has given them the much-needed experience to perform with high standards in the Pacific Games.  As gold medal favourites, Eka said there was a lot of expectation on their shoulders but they were just focused on their game plan and taking one match at a time.

“We know that every team playing against us have prepared well,” he said. 

Eka set a new Pacific Games record, scoring the fastest try in 25 seconds on Friday.  

When asked about the record, Eka said he was happy about that but gave credit to the overall team performance which was something the team had concentrated on after coming back from the World Cup. 

“Most of the players in the team have played in competitions together since 2011 and the team is more like a brotherhood. 

“We’ve played together at the  junior level, regular touch competitions around the country and have travelled together representing the country so I’d say the bonding between the team has given us a lot of confidence.

“With a very good home crowd behind us, we are doing our best and getting the gold medal is our main objective,” Eka said. 

Eka’s coach Peter Topp spoke highly of him as a good leader who loves leading.

“Eugene shows by his effort on the paddock in how much he is doing,” Topp said.