Royals rise in second half to edge Gulf West in A-Grade encounter

By JACK AMI
ROYALS put in a solid defensive effort in the second half of their Port Moresby Rugby League A-Grade fixture on Friday to edge Gulf West 10-4 at the Santos National Football stadium.
True to their line of work, the team normally associated with the Royal Police Constabulary, held their discipline under pressure from the Gulf men to claim a crucial win after a 4-4 score line at half time of the round nine match.
West crossed first through Skeme Sine for a 4-0 lead early on but the boys in blue hit back through a former West recruit Handape Tatape to draw even at the halftime hooter.
The second 40 minutes were a torrid affair as both sides fought for ascendency and ruck dominance.
Brendan Paul crashed over to break the dead lock midway through the stanza and Pokapen Pes was pin-point accurate with the conversion to give the blue brigade some breathing space 10-4.
That six-point lead would be maintained until the final whistle.
The match was by means a smooth flowing affair with a high error count stifling any attacking momentum either side was trying to build but it was Royals who made the most of their few opportunities to claim the competition points.
Royals coach Junior Yambe said the make-up of his team was based on ensuring consistency but also rewarding commitment and he acknowledged his charges for their efforts in a scrappy affair.
“I think we deserved the win but we’ve still got a lot of polishing up to do, especially on our attack and our starts,” he said.
“We have to step things up and maintain our consistency across the park.”
As for the Gulf side, having a few too many fresh faces may have dented their rhythm with the club not able to maintain a steady line-up from one week to the next.
Both coaches were also vocal from the side lines of NFS field 2 questioning some refereeing calls which left more than a few perplexed.
In the round’s other fixtures, Hanuabada Hawks continued their streak of wins adding the Tarangau scalp to their list of victims following a 20-16 win over the warders.
Hawks maintain their top spot on the leader with the boys in blue right at their heels as sides jostle for a spot in the top six. In the other matches, Hohola Flies held out Defence 12-4 to edge their way up the standings, Magani were fortunate to beat Dobo Warriors 12-10 as Warriors Dickson Otis missed a crucial goal from in front of the uprights; Kone Storm ground out an 8-4 win over Paga Panthers and Kone Tigers beat Butterflies 18-8.
Standings: Hawks 17, Royals 15, Storm 14, Magani 10, Warriors 9, Flies 9, West 8, Tarangau 8, Tigers 8, Paga 7, Butterflies 3 and Defence 0.