Wigmen shock Lahanis

By LARRY ANDREW
THE Goroka Lahanis were beaten 20-12 by the visiting Hela Wigmen in their Digicel Cup round three match at the Danny Leah Oval yesterday.
The Lahanis, who were coming off a loss to the Gurias in round two, were expected to bag the two competition points against a Hela side that had gone down to the Lae Tigers by the same score line in the previous round.
The Eastern Highlanders were out-played by the better side on the day with William Mone at five-eighth and veteran forward Joseph Omai leading the side well.
In Lae, three second-half tries to the Tigers saw them clinch a 28-18 win over the Port Moresby Vipers at the Lae Rugby League Oval.
Lae fans packed the LRL expecting their side to earn another win at home against the misfiring Vipers.
But they got a little bit more than what they bargained for as the visitors proved they could rise to the occasion.
The biggest blight on the match was the high error rate by both sides and a odd dubious call by referee Max Simon.
The home side was first on the board with double tap as second-rower Ali Pinda and then centre Lynol Molpoyo crossed for tries.
Hooker Noel Joel converted the second try and the Tigers took a 10-0 lead.
Complacency crept into the hosts play as some loose carries and wonky direction from the halves led to the Vipers having the ball in good field position. Vipers winger Ben Wemin touched down as a result and the visitors found themselves only two points adrift when forward Manu Kame barged over for another four-pointer.
Neither tries were converted so the Tigers held on to a 10-8 advantage.
The Tigers regrouped and had the final say in the opening 40 with No.1 Joe Joshua scoring for a 14-8 lead at the break.
A rejuvenated Vipers started the second-half, with John Supa scoring out wide to trail behind 14-12.
The Tigers kept their noses in front, with winger Joseph Mockie scoring his side’s fourth try for an 18-12 lead.
Tigers forward Joe Kingal added another try, benefiting from an Edwin Ipape chip kick which was not cleaned up by the Vipers.
Lae centre Pasu Awane helped put the result beyond doubt after he broke the line and handed off to Mockie, who fed a supporting Joshua for his second try and the match-winner.
Halfback Mafu Kales managed the conversion for the home side to be 28-12 ahead with less than five minutes remaining.
Tigers 28 (Ali Pinda, Lynol Molpoyo, Joseph Mockie, Joe Kingal tries, Joe Joshua 2 tries; Noel Joel, Mafu Kale con) Vipers 18 (Ben Wemin, Manu Kame, John Supa, Brendon Gotuno tries, Jonah Kautu Jr con) HT: 14-8 (Tigers) at Lae Rugby League Oval, Lae.
Round 3 Results: Sun, May 21 – Tigers 28 Vipers 18, Lahanis 12 Wigmen 20, Muruks 10 Mioks 8, Tumbe 14 Gurias 24.