Wigmen to honour late patron Agiru

Sports

THE Hela Wigmen will pay tribute to founder and patron the late Hela Governor Anderson Agiru, pictured, by wearing a specially designed jersey in their round 8 and 9 Digicel Cup rugby league fixtures.
Wigmen chairman Andy Hetra said the players and team officials would wear an Anderson Pawa Agiru jersey to honour the official ending of the posthumous term of governorship of the Wigmen’s founder, who passed away on April 28, 2016.
The Wigmen’s next two games are against the Enga Mioks in Port Moresby on Saturday and the Mendi Muruks on June 25 — a day before polling in the national election in Hela.
“This is to commemorate the official ending of the posthumous term of Wigmen’s founding patron,” Hetra said.
“Governor Agiru’s five-year term in office ends when Hela goes into polling on Monday, June 26.
“Agiru was the pioneer patron of the Wigmen franchise in 2013 and the founder of Hela Wigmen rugby league brand.
“He had the vision to use sports to bring hope and a platform for unity in Hela.
“In just our second year in the Digicel Cup competition (2014) the Wigmen franchise won the premiership which is our biggest highlight so far,” Hetra said.
Since its inception, the Wigmen have performed consistently in the Digicel Cup finishing in the top five. Wigmen have done well in identifying and developing talent from the Hela and neighbouring Southern Highlands.
Hetra said Stanton Albert was a fine example of the success of their development programme and bow with the support of state owned resource enterprise Kroton, Wigmen would continue the legacy.
One of the club’s recent initiatives was the forging of a partnership with Ipswich Jets under the Marcus Bai Project where players Benjamin Hetra and Warren Glare had been picked to join the Queensland club.
“We hope to improve on this partnership and create more pathways for our local talent. We are also grateful to our supporting sponsors the Hela provincial government, Kemele Construction, Hides Gas Development Company and Ipwenz Construction.
“It is a small way of honouring a great leader who lived life to the fullest and passed on. This election marks the official closing of the chapter where Hela people will go into the polls without their favourite son on the ballot papers since 1992. We wish all the Hela voting population well during this time to let the ballot speak for itself in choosing a new leader to carry the province forward.”
All 17 jerseys will be auctioned online individually via Wigmen’s Facebook page. The online bidding started last Sunday and will run for nine days and ending on Monday, June 26.
The highest bidder for each number will collect their limited edition jumper after bidding has stopped.