Paula DAVID

A second half blitz led by Kalyn Ponga and Bradman Best has helped guide the Knights to an impressive 46-26 win over the Titans at McDonald Jones Stadium. Ponga, playing in his first game at McDonald Jones Stadium since July last year, responded to criticism received last month with a try and two try assists as the Knights ran in four tries in 15 minutes to blow the Titans away. The Knights trailed 12-6 before half-time until Ponga sprung to life and placed a kick for Tyson Frizell to cross. He then linked with Bradman Best on the left edge for a 22-18 lead and then broke through himself for the side's fifth of the afternoon. "To play at home like that after the last 7-8 months, it hasn't been all sunshine and roses the last eight months, so to put in a performance like that in front of a crowd I haven't played in front of for a long time... I am happy," Ponga said. "I have to back it up and be consistent and that's something I needed to do for the rest of the year and something I haven't done for the last couple of years... it's just one performance." A try to Dane Gagai shortly after Ponga's effort set up a 16-point advantage before David Fifita, who scored a double in the high-scoring clash, ran the length of the field to narrow the gap late. Best, who came under first for a mid-season trip to Bali during the side’s bye week, had an unfortunate start to the game when he allowed the ball to bounce from the kick-off. He had the final say throughout the afternoon, however. The Knights weren’t made to pay for the early error and managed enough field position early to enable Jackson Hastings to place a kick for a leaping Dominic Young to collect and plant the ball down nicely. A penalty goal to the home side put them 6-0 in front but their lead quickly evaporated with two tries in four minutes to Queensland Origin hopefuls Fifita and Phil Sami. Fifita made the Knights defensive line look non-existent when he finished off a Kieran Foran pass on the inside before Sami outleaped former teammate Greg Marzhew in the air for the visitors' second. Despite a try after the break through Jayden Campbell, it was all the Knights in the second half as Ponga and Best worked their magic down the left channel. The Titans appeared to have the final say through Alofiana Khan-Pereira on the left edge until an intercept try to Young, who ran 95 metres for the Knights' sixth try of the second half on the siren, ended a fortnight of scrutiny for the club. Source: NRL.Com

The Panthers dismantled the Roosters 48-4 at BlueBet Stadium on Friday night to send an ominous warning to anyone with designs on taking their premiership crown. With Jarome Luai staking an undeniable claim for the NSW No.6 jersey and Scott Sorensen producing the best game of his career, the Panthers put the match to bed by half-time with four unanswered tries. Having conceded the opening try in their previous four matches, Penrith ended that streak in emphatic fashion in the 10th minute when James Fisher-Harris put Sorensen over with a nice offload. A dropped ball by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 20 metres out from his own line gave the Panthers a shot at a second try but the Roosters defence held firm and a penalty got them out of their own end. The Panthers extended their lead in the 22nd minute when Sorensen exploded into space on the left edge and found Tyrone Peachey who was tackled just short but got an offload away for Dylan Edwards to score. Luai showed his class with two try assists in the space of two minutes late in the half as the premiers really flexed their muscle. First it was Sorensen the beneficiary as Luai went across field and put the rampaging back-rower into a gap and then Peachey grabbed the 53rd four-pointer of his career courtesy of a dazzling Luai line break. The second half started the same way the first had ended for the Roosters with errors cruelling any chance they had of mounting pressure but their defence held firm until the 61st minute when Isaah Yeo turned playmaker with a cross field kick for Brian To'o to score. Nathan Cleary's conversion made it 30-0. The Roosters finally got across the line with 15 minutes to play when Billy Smith put Corey Allan over in the corner with a neat flick pass. With 10 minutes to play it was Sunia Turuva adding his name to the tryscorers list courtesy of some slick lead-up by Luai and Peachey. Luai then capped a magnificent game with a try in the 76th minute as the score blew out to 42-4 before Peachey grabbed a double after Jaxson Paulo made a mess of cleaning up a grubber kick. The Panthers have now won their past seven games against the Roosters, who also lost big guns Joey Manu and Waerea-Hargreaves to injury on a horror night at BlueBet Stadium, a ground they have not won at since 2017. Source: NRL.com

The Melbourne Storm have rebounded in style from a misfiring Magic Round performance to down the Broncos 24-16 at AAMI Park on Thursday night. Coming off a disappointing loss to Souths, the Storm's big guns took it upon themselves to restore pride, with Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes scoring tries and laying them on as Melbourne beat Brisbane for the 13th time in a row. The Broncos lost their skipper Adam Reynolds to a head knock in the first half and hung tough for most of the night but ill-discipline proved costly as they had three players sent to the sin bin. The Storm struck the first blow after 12 minutes when Harry Grant and Munster combined for the game's opening try, the gun No.9 putting his five-eighth into a gaping hole from close range. Four minutes later the home side went close again when Munster put Justin Olam away on the left edge only for Broncos fullback Reece Walsh to come up with a trysaver to deny the PNG flyer. The Broncos hit back in the 17th minute when a penalty try was awarded after Grant pushed Herbie Farnworth in the back as he led the race to the ball as it rolled into the in-goal. In his desperation to get to the rolling ball, Reynolds landed heavily on his head as he dived for the ball and was taken from the field on a medicab. With Reynolds out of the match it was Walsh who stepped up in the 25th minute when he produced a superb long pass to put Jesse Arthars over in the corner and the Broncos led 10-6. The Broncos lost Farnworth to the sin bin in the 38th minute for a professional foul and the Storm made them pay immediately when Reimis Smith delivered the final pass for Will Warbrick to score. Four minutes into the second half the Storm looked to have hit the lead when Munster's bomb was put down by Walsh and the ball was spun wide for Warbrick to cross wide out but the bunker ruled Xavier Coates had been in front of the kicker and went inside the 10 metres. The Storm got across the line again in the 51st minute when Eliesa Katoa was cruising into the in-goal but Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam was able to knock the ball loose with a last-ditch tackle to save the day for the visitors. The Broncos went down a man again in the 56th minute when Patrick Carrigan was sin binned for a hip drop tackle and the penalty goal to Nick Meaney gave Melbourne a 12-10 lead. Again the Broncos were made to pay for being down a man when a cross field kick by Hughes was tapped back by Coates to Olam who touched down for his third try of the season. Meaney dragged the conversion attempt to the left to leave the margin at six points. Meaney made amends soon after when he slotted a penalty goal after Billy Walters was pinged for a late tackle on Munster and the Storm led 18-10. With five minutes to play the Storm put the game to bed when Warbrick grabbed his second courtesy of another pinpoint kick to the corner from Hughes. A consolation try to Cory Paix in the 78th minute was followed by the sin binning of Thomas Flegler and Aaron Pene, taking Brisbane's sin bin count for the night to three as they were left to rue an opportunity lost against a side they haven't beaten at AAMI Park in seven years. Source: NRL.Com

The SP PNG Hunters will take on the Blackhawks at Jack Manski Oval in Round 9 of the QRL Hostplus Cup in Townsville this afternoon at 6:30pm. The Hunters going in with confidence into todays matchup having secured back-toback wins in their last two games. Making the most of their home ground advantage, the Hunters put on a show for the locals at the Santos National Football Stadium in the last fortnight to register wins over the Mackay Cutters and Ipswich Jets. The Hunters recent form has them sitting just outside the Top 8 coming into Round 9, and they have a good chance to strengthen their position on the QRL Hostplus Cup ladder if they take over the 13th placed Blackhawks this evening. Meanwhile, SP PNG Hunters Head Coach Stanley Tepend was pleased with the results over the last fortnight but insists there is still plenty of work to be done. “I think our start to games has been really good the last two weeks.” said Tepend. “Against Ipswich we completed the opening quarter without an error." "Our discipline was much improved and that laid the foundation for the rest of the game.” “It was disappointing to concede a few late points and we’ve worked hard this week on staying focused, keeping our communication strong and working to play out the full 80 minutes.” Tepend is expecting a strong showing from the Blackhawks at home tonight night and stressed the need for PNG to stick to what has worked for them over the last two weeks. “We’ve had a short turnaround this week so we’ve focussed on getting the boys refreshed and ready for Friday night." “We’ve mainly concentrated on our own game, but we know the Blackhawks will provide a good test for us.” “The boys are looking forward to going up against some of their fellow countrymen. It’s a great challenge for our boys to play against International talent and test themselves.”

Students attending Kikori Secondary School in the Gulf province now have access to a modern computer laboratory equipped with e-library facilities that will greatly enhance their learning.  The computer laboratory is the first of its kind to be built in the area. It is a modern fully furnished building equipped with 24 computers and 1 teacher workstation.  The laboratory, the computers and its server are powered by a new 15kW solar power system that will provide power 24 hours a day.  The e-library can be accessed by the students and their teachers through a local area network (LAN) that was installed. Learning materials for all the subjects taught are available, including popular reading and educational books. As the system is not Wide Area Network (WAN), the students are protected from harmful internet materials. The project was delivered by Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) and its subsidiary the PNG LNG Gas Resources Pipeline Ltd (Segment 7) at a cost K1.18 million. This cost includes the classroom, the computers, LAN systems and solar powered systems.  Jubilant students and their parents joined MRDC Managing Director Mr. Augustine Mano and local leaders of Kikori in celebrating the opening of the facilities yesterday.  Mr. Mano visited the school in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, and learnt first-hand the many needs of the school. He decided there and then that the best help for the students would be a modern facility to enhance learning.  “In places like Kikori and other project areas, kids have the potential but can lose interest in education very quickly due to lack of good learning facilities, lack of teachers, and remoteness of the villages they live in.  “That is why we must deliver these facilities to them, to keep them in the classrooms, to ensure the learning materials they have access to, are on par with more privileged kids in urban areas and the rest of the world have access to.  “We are determined that no project area child is left behind,” Mr. Mano said when handing over the facilities to the school administrators. He said a similar facility would be built in schools in the PNG LNG project footprint areas like Semberigi, Kutubu, Moran and Komo in Southern Highlands and Hela provinces.  Gas Resources Pipeline (Segment 7) Director Mr. Wauro Oumabe was proud that the facility, the first of its kind in the area, was delivered for kids in Kikori. “This brings learning for our children to be at least on par with kids in other parts of PNG who are not as disadvantaged as us in very remote and forgotten parts of the country,” he said.  Mr. Oumabe urged the school students to make use of the facilities and look after them.

Nasfund Contributors Savings and Loan (ncsl) continues strong income and profitability momentum delivering a healthy crediting rate of 6% to members, despite a challenging economic backdrop. The ncsl Board has approved an interest crediting rate of 6% to ncsl members for the financial year ending 31 December 2022. This equates to K 14.9 million that will be allocated to the savings accounts of over 142,000 members. During 2022 ncsl paid an interim interest of 1.2% to members’ savings, equating to K3million. After statutory reserving of 20%, ncsl will be paying an additional 4.8 % or K 11.9 million in interest to members. This is a total of 6% for the 2022 financial year equating to K 14.9 million in interest on savings for ncsl members. Other highlights for 2022 were: • Total Assets increased by 9.1% to K 312.5 million • Net Asset Value increased by 15.8% to K 38.5 million • Revenue from core business increased by just over 6.6% to K 29.4 million • Total Revenue increased by 8.5% to K 39.5 million. • Net Income increased by 16.4% to K 16.1 million (after expenses including interim Interest Payment to Members and Loan Provisioning) • Sound General Reserves increased by 20.3% to K 24.8 million, • Interim Interest Payments to Members increased by 9.6% to K3.0 million. • Total membership increased by 0.4% to 142,340 members after some internal data cleansing. • Members Savings increased by 8.2 % to K 267.9 million. • Net Loan portfolio increased by 9.6% to K 139.4 million ncsl’s final interest crediting rate of 6.0% is above the average crediting rate of 5.5% paid to members over the last 5 years and is consistent with the Society’s record of providing strong, positive returns on member funds. With steadily increasing membership, ncsl is one of the largest Savings and Loans Societies in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Region. Although the first quarter of 2023 ended with unplanned disruptions to member services, we are confident that the actions taken have resulted in the best possible outcome for members. In March 2023, ncsl reported a threat to its MIS and took proactive steps to isolate the risk and safeguard member savings. This action was executed successfully, and member’s funds are safe and intact. Some services at branches and the use of the Poro debit card have been temporarily disrupted and ncsl apologises for this inconvenience. We assure members alternate arrangements are in place to enable members to access withdrawals or loans in the interim while we work to restore services at our branches. Ncsl announces K16.1M Profit and Interest Crediting Rate of 6.0%. An extensive remediation exercise is currently underway. Members can be assured that we are taking all necessary measures to ensure this does not happen again. A dedicated call center has been established to ensure that our members are supported as we work towards a full resumption of services. Members are encouraged to contact us on 207 2000 for assistance. The ncsl board assures members that the innovative services ncsl is known for will continue, as we focus on improving product offerings, processes, and customer experience. Chairman Ian Tarutia said, “Our commitment to members is that we are working hard to restore services and we are almost there.” “ncsl remains committed to supporting the aspirations of our members by delivering essential and affordable financial services." "I thank the Chief Executive Officer, Vari Lahui and his hard-working team for consistently delivering strong results for the benefit of our members.” "A total of K14.9 million in interest payments was dispersed to the accounts of over 142,000 members on Friday afternoon."

Save the Children and Meta (formerly known as Facebook) are proud to officially launch Phase 3 of “I Am Digital” which is an online safety and digital literacy educational campaign. Phase 3 of the program builds on previous work to promote internet safety with tools and resources for parents, educators, and youth directly through offline awareness campaigns that will be conducted in schools across the country. The campaign will support young people who don’t yet have access to the internet, before they get online. For the first time, the program’s resources will now include information and advice on avoiding scams and identifying and combating misinformation. These new topics give additional safety measures to the current learning materials and aim to provide especially school children and young people with advice, tips and tools that will help them to have safer, more positive, and respectful online experiences. Save the Children in Papua New Guinea, Country Director Fiu Williame-Igara said, “Save the Children in PNG is proud to be part of the I Am Digital campaign again to work in promoting, educating, and empowering our young people in the Pacific Islands to have safer and more positive online experiences. “Promoting a safe and positive online environment with the knowledge of media literacy and spotting and avoiding scams will give young people, especially young women, and girls, those with disability and minorities the opportunity to have respectful and empowering online experiences and to be able to add their voices to encourage appropriate behaviors amongst them and their peers.” The I Am Digital offline campaign will be carried out in primary and secondary schools in 8 provinces, including the National Capital District, over the next 4 weeks. The I Am Digital Campaign is being implemented in the Pacific in Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. It will be delivered in English as well as in local languages.

The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) received two brand new buses, donated by the National Gaming Control Board (NGCB) to support the transportation needs of the students, faculty and staff. The keys to a 25-seater coaster bus and a 15-seater HiAce bus were handed over by NGCB Chief Operating Officer Mr. Paul Ketombing on Thursday 5th May 2023, on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer Imelda Agon to UPNG Acting Registrar Roboam Kakap at the Ela Motors, Badili Showroom in Port Moresby. “The donation is part of NGCB’s ‘give back program’ ongoing commitment to supporting education and community development.” “We are proud to partner with UPNG to provide these buses, which we believe will enhance the educational experience of students and contribute to the growth of the university community.” Meanwhile, UPNG Acting Registrar Mr. Roboam Kakap said, “We are extremely grateful for this donation, which will make a significant difference in the daily lives of our students, faculty and staff.” “We are currently struggling with the issue of transport since some of our vehicles are unroadworthy and not in operation at this juncture.” “Our focus is to ensure smooth flow of university’s day to day operation and with this timely donation will certainly help us achieve our key result areas and continue to deliver quality education, research, and service to PNG and the Pacific. “On behalf of the University council, academics, staff and students, I sincerely extend our profound gratitude and thank the Board Chairman Mr. Clemence Kanau, CEO Ms. Imelda Agon for this donation.” The buses will be operated by UPNG’s transportation department, which will ensure their proper maintenance and use. With the addition of these two buses, the University of Papua New Guinea is better equipped to serve its students, faculty, and staff by providing safe, reliable and convenient transportation options. The 25 -seater coaster bus will be used by students and 15 -seater HiAce bus will be used by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

A commanding 32-6 victory over the Sea Eagles on Friday night has ensured the Broncos will end Magic Round still at the top of the Telstra Premiership ladder. After being beaten soundly by the Rabbitohs last week, Brisbane returned to form in style in front of a crowd of 50,077 at Suncorp Stadium, running in six tries in a dominant display. Winger Selwyn Cobbo scored half of those tries himself and ran for 202 metres, with the only blight from a Brisbane point of view being the loss of back-rower Kurt Capewell to a failed HIA in the second half. The Broncos took little time to get going, with Reece Walsh linking with Selwyn Cobbo for the opening try, before Billy Walters burrowed over to give them a 10-0 lead on 15 minutes. By the end of a first half in which they had 63 percent of the ball, the Broncos had run in further tries to Cobbo and Jesse Arthars to lead 20-0. While the possession count levelled out in the second 40 and Manly enjoyed prolonged periods in attacking territory, they couldn't find a way through and eventually the result was put beyond doubt by a long-range Cobbo intercept. Herbie Farnworth got over for Brisbane's sixth in the closing minutes, with Adam Reynolds adding his fourth conversion of the night, before Ben Trbojevic scored a late consolation try for the Sea Eagles.   Source: NRL.com

Students attending Kido Elementary and Primary school in the Central Province will now be equipped with the much needed vital learning materials to do their research and enhance their literacy skill with the opening of their very own Library. The Library is the first library built under the NuiPower’s Community Investment Program said NuiPower Financial Manager Agnes Juwana. She said the construction phase of the library took nearly a year to complete at a cost of K400, 000. Five of the target landowner villages will also receive a library each, starting off with Lealea and moving to the other villages. She said, Kido received theirs first, Lealea will be next, followed by Papa, Boera and Porebada. “In the next two weeks or so, we will build another Library in Lealea. The procurement has already started and the contractors has identified and we will start on that soon. ” “Next year we will start at Papa and move on to the remaining two villages.” Kido Primary Headmaster Mr. Douglas Benoni said, the Library will be a big help to the teachers of the school and most importantly, the students. Mr. Benoni said, the building will be very important to them as all their school resources and curriculums will be kept there for safe keeping and a vital asset to the children and students of Kido as it will be a good research facility and for them to engage themselves in reading. He said, Kido is situated in a rural area and having access to such materials like textbooks, reading books and other learning resources is quite difficult. “We were only using the strategy of classroom library and whatever few books we had, our students used. But with the opening of this library, our students will have access to the much need learning resources. And we are very grateful for our new library.” Mr. Benoni has encouraged the 108 Elementary and 137 Primary students to make use of their new library and to look after it as it provides the knowledge if they only open up the book and tap into it.  

The Sea Eagles and Broncos will clash in the second game of Magic Round weekend on Friday night with both sides looking to rebound after losses in Round 9. Manly's loss to the Titans was a disappointing one given they were at fortress Brookvale and it won't get any easier with their next trip north classed as a home game when they host the ladder leaders. The Broncos were comprehensively beaten by South Sydney with their second half efforts exposed in the past fortnight in a concern for Kevin Walters. Traditionally these two sides pile on the points against each other in Magic Round with the Broncos scoring a 38-0 win last year while in 2021 the Sea Eagles racked up a 50-6 scoreline against their opponents. Despite losses last week, both sides appear to have turned a corner in 2023 and will want to maintain their pace at the top of the table. Source: NRL.Com

The SP PNG Hunters are back for another home game this Saturday 06th of May, looking for another win when they host the Ipswich Jets at the Santos National Football Stadium in Round 8 of the QRL Hostplus Cup. The Hunters outplayed the Mackay Cutters last weekend to collect two competition points on the back of a resounding 18-10 win. The Hunters defended a desperate Cutters outfit as they mounted a comeback midway through both halves, but for all their desperation the Mackay Cutters never really got close. Fullback Morea Morea, centres Benji Kot and Rodrick Tai and wingers Brandon Nima and Solo Wane all topped 100 plus running metres in Round 7 as they marched the Hunters into attacking territory. From there, the spine combined smartly through Wesser Tenza, rookie five-eighth Joshua Mire and halfback Jamie Mavoko. They found points on both edges by engaging the line and passing strike attacking players like Kot and Tai into space out wide. The 8-point winning margin doesn’t truly represent the Hunters dominance in last week’s game. They made four line-breaks to one, missed less tackles and comfortably bested the Cutters in yardage on their way to their second win of the season. The challenge now is to back it up this weekend against an Ipswich Jets outfit that have endured a tough start to their 2023 Hostplus Cup campaign. The match will kick off at 3pm in the afternoon. Team List 1. Morea Morea 2. Siki Konden 3. Brandon Nima 4. Rodrick Tai 5. Solo Wane 6. Sakias Komati 7. Jamie Mavoko 8. Junior Rop 9. Wesser Tenza 1 0. Koso Bandi 11. Epel Kapinias 1 2. Julius Yakoba 13. Ila Alu (captain) 14. Judah Rimbu 15. Tom Moide 16. Henry Wan Noki 17. TBC 18. Sanny Wabo 19. Trevor Solu