Wigmen disgrace

 By JACK AMI
THE Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Judiciary Committee has meted out hefty penalties to two players for their part in assaulting Agmark Gurias players in round four.
The incident took place at Joe Keviame Oval, Mendi, on Sunday, May 8, where Dickson Paul and Maxie Kapia, attacked Gurias players after a penalty was awarded to the visitors off a Wigmen restart and on the first tackle of the attacking set, Paul punched and kicked reserve forward Tuvi Lepan, who was on the ground, while Maxie Kapia punched No.12 Nelson Daplen several times.
Lepan is a current member of the SP Hunters squad while Daplen is a former Pukpuks sevens representative.
Paul was suspended for 136 Digicel Cup matches and will not be eligible to play in the competition until 2022 — serving a six-and-half-year ban.
Kapia, who received a 95-match ban, has been rubbed out of the semi-professional competition for five years — he will be able to play in 2020.
Former Hunters back David Lapua was also given a two-game suspension for dissent toward the referee Paul Wane with his constant badgering and harassment of the match official on two of his calls before the incident.
Footage of the incident, according to Digicel Cup general manager Stanley Hondina, was taken by a TV WAN camera at the field and uploaded on Facebook, prompting widespread condemnation from fans and supporters around the country.
The Gurias, who went on to win the match 13-10, their first victory over the Wigmen at the venue, kept their composure and completed the match.
The suspensions are effective as of this weekend.
Hondina said these players had the right to appeal the committee’s decision with an non-refundable appeal fee of K5000.
Hondina said aside from the suspension notices, the club was sent a strongly-worded letter which was critical of their lack of control and decorum by the entire team on the day. The Kemele Construction-sponsored Wigmen have been warned to exercise better control over their players and coaching staff at home games or could risk losing that privilege. He said future Wigmen games in Mendi would be closely monitored by PNGNRL and failure to maintain a high standard of due care and diligence would result in fines and further disciplinary action by the PNG NRL.
Hondina served a letter on the Gurias to remove the Facebook page containing the footage, which has had more than 20,000 views since it became available last Saturday.
He urged clubs not to contribute to the negative portrayal of the competition by enabling the circulation of such material.
Other players suspended for indiscretions from the round were Waghi Tumbe’s Bruce Kawage, Charlie Kapel and Sipa Koken —two matches each — and Enga Mioks’ Tiger Emere, also for two matches.