Wigmen eliminate Mioks

A SOLO Wane double helped the Hela Wigmen progress into the second stage of the finals after they defeated the Enga Mioks 14-12 in the Digicel Cup elimination finals in Port Moresby yesterday.
The clash at Sir John Guise Stadium saw the Mioks, who came into the finals as underdogs, almost caused an upset when they were leading 12-10 five minutes from fulltime.
Wane’s second try, off a set piece on the right edge, was what saved the day for the 2019 runners-up.
The Wigmen scored first in the opening ten minutes through Wane. A successful conversion from Solomon Pokari saw them lead 6-0.
But the Mioks levelled the scores at 6-6 in the 17th minute through prop forward Aken Talim who scored a converted try beside the uprights.
A penalty goal through captain Roger Laka before halftime saw the Enga government-sponsored side lead 8-6 at the break.
The Wigmen fought back early in the second half which saw Pokari set up Norman Brown for an unconverted try to take a 10-8 lead.
Former Mendi Muruk and current Mioks halfback Kewa Kili ran a blind-side play before putting in a kick for Kora Lega to score an unconverted try for a 12-10 lead.
But the hosts fought back to seal the win and progress to the minor semifinal where they will face 2013 premiers Port Moresby Vipers.
Wigmen coach Charlie Wabo said his side needed to improve if they were to beat the Vipers and reach the grand final.
“We are playing it one game at a time,” he said.
“We’ll take the win but there are lot of areas that we will have to improve on.”