Kokomos U14s Continue to Impress
While the boys suffered an early setback with Tynan Han suffering a wrist injury, the Kokomos boys took on the Cook Islander boys undaunted by the size of their opposition. Joe Hoerler got an early break and then secured a penalty after the Cook Is opposition went in high. Unfortunately, PNG were unable to capitalise on their early foray into the opposition territory.
The first half continued to be a tense arm wrestle, neither side giving way to the other. Cook Is were the first to blink, with the classy PNG representative, Will Boland crossing the line and putting the Kokomos in front 4 nil.
Kavana Kurt equalised just on half time for the Cook Islands with the 4 All half-time score reflecting the tight match.
Giovanni Marius made a 3om break with a bustling run through Cook Island traffic that put them within 5m of the line. Marius backed up for the second phase of the next play and looked to have crossed the line but the referee called him short. PNG kept the pressure on with Andrew Hill also looking to cross the line but the touchie called him out.
The Cook Island boys answered the pressure with a try from Xavier Stowers, which was converted by Jay Masters. The Cook Island boys had garnered the lead. PNG 4 – Cook Is. 10.
A beautiful kick off from PNG, lead to them regathering the ball from the kick off. They managed to get to within 10m of the try line but a pushed pass put Cook Island back in possession and made the most of it with another try. This was followed up with another try in the corner.
The Final Score was PNG 4 v Cook Is. 18.
After the game, Coach, Neville Chang, said he was very proud of the boys performance, especially considering a lot of them were 12 and 13 year olds. He thinks correcting a few small things will see positive results as they move into the QPICC carnival.
“We need to hold on to the footy and finish set plays and not revert to one-off individual plays. They also need to have a bit of faith and stop second guessing themselves”, said Chang.
He added that over the next two weeks he will be concentrating on welding the boys together as a team.
- Published in Cook Islands, Match Report, Under 14
QLD PNG v Cook Island Trial Matches
The Cook Islands will host QLD PNG trial games in preparation for the 2017 QPICC Carnival. The Trial Games will be held at Souths Sunnybank Rugby League Club (Woff Street). See below for details.
u14s Courageous Defence against Tonga 14
Senior Coach, Neville Chang, would have been very proud of his u14s QLD PNGs efforts against Tokoua Tonga. This was the u14 boys first trial game for the 2017 QPICC season. The Tongan boys huddled and performed their cultural war cry, called the Kailao, the Tongan equivalent of the haka, then the game kicked off on a windy and overcast day at Bill Norris Oval, Beenleigh.
Tele Leota from opened the proceedings with the first four points going to Tonga. It was a controversial try given the Tongan boys had 14 on the field at the time.
As the first half progressed the Tongan boys kept the PNG team in their own half but the PNG boys defense held despite the pressure. The Kokomos boys were persistent and that persistence paid off when No. 3 made a much needed break resulting in a gain of 40m. A subsequent penalty against Tonga for a head high tackle resulted in the Kokomos putting their first points on the board courtesy of Saxon Warwick. Unfortunately PNG were unable to add the extras and the scores were locked up at 4 all at half time.
The second half opened with PNG on the attack. William Boland put the Kokomos in the lead with a try. The kick was unsuccessful, PNG were now in front 8 points to Tonga’s 4.
Tonga’s response was to step it up a gear and scored three quick tries to turn the result around. Eventually winning the match 20 points to 8 at full time. However, the last try scored by Tonga, was another controversial one as they again had 14 on the field.
Despite the two questionable tries from Tonga, the Kokomos boys showed real courage in defense throughout the match. They held together as a team and refused to give up under pressure. They should be very proud of their efforts and I, for one, am looking forward to watching them as they stake their claim on the QPICC u14s title.
QPICC Training Commences 16th August, 2017
TRAINING COMMENCES: Wednesday, 16th August, 2017
TRAINING TIME: Each Wed 6:30pm – 8pm
LOCATION: Bill Norris Oval, Beenleigh
FOR TEAMS: U14, U16, U18 and Women’s
2016 U14 Kokomos QPICC Team Named
Coach Neville Chang has named his team for 2016. Congratulations to the following players:
Andreas Merton
Dylan Trauntner
Kobe Annikin
Frazer Annikin
Shane Rimats
William Boland
Liam Edwards
Joseph Hoerler
Souekji Wanma
Geovanni Marius
Che Wnama
William Bonney
Ezra Mam
Isaiah Pabai
Jordan Gorogo
Ronald Lewis
Daniel Tabe
Yohannes Gawi
Jordan Paiyo
Jeremiah Tkatchenko
Vuli Anganjuan
Jordan Abel
Shaquille Tongia
Thomas Ladd