The pride of the Amazing Port Moresby and flag carrier of the nation's capital the Moni Plus Port Moresby Vipers, launched their 2023 campaign at their new home ground at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium yesterday. Patron Governor Powes Parkop and City Manager Ravu Frank, major sponsor Heduru Moni Plus represented by Managing Director Mr Aho Baliki, and other sponsors were in attendance to launch Viper's 2023 season. Chairman of the Vipers, Dr Newton Albert, thanked all sponsors in attendance, 15 in total, a record number of sponsors for any Digicel Cup team. The message was loud and clear from all the sponsors. Break the 10-year premiership drought! NCDC committed K1.5 million to the Vipers for the year 2023, and Governor Parkop challenged the team to not only win the competition but stay true to the values that have made the Vipers a benchmark team in the PNGRFL. "Play strong, play hard but play fair and always conduct yourselves as ambassadors of the game and nation." "We carry the pride of our country because we represent the capital city." Governor Parkop continues to support the Vipers in his 16th year because he believes it is a tool for development. "Rugby League is more than a game. It is also business, entertainment, recreation and a powerful tool for development. The game is also the pulse and passion of our people." Governor Parkop also handed an official request on behalf of the Vipers Management to PNGRFL CEO Stanley Hondina to support their bid to join NSWRL in what he described as another journey for the Vipers. "We have to push the boundaries and market our players. Set new horizons." City Manager Ravu Frank also thanked the sponsors who have come on board to support the Vipers in their 2023 rugby league season. “NCDC has been and will remain committed to supporting our city team, and this year is our year to lift the Digicel Cup trophy.” “Sir Hubert Murray Stadium is the home of Port Moresby Vipers, which has been built to a high standard with world-class facilities, so there is no reason or room for excuses that we will be victorious in this season.” Said Mr Frank.

Jarryd Hayne has been jailed after a bid to remain on bail before his sentencing for rape was denied. The 35-year-old disgraced former NRL star hugged his crying wife before he was taken into custody by court sheriffs today when Crown prosecutors succeeded in having his bail revoked in the NSW Supreme Court. Hayne had been allowed to remain on bail since he was found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent earlier in April after a judge found he could be "vulnerable" in custody ahead of sentencing on May 8. Justice Richard Button said on Friday Hayne was "remarkably" still on bail after being found guilty and it was "inevitable" the 35-year-old will be jailed. "It is proven that Mr Hayne is a man who sexually assaulted a woman," Button said. The question was when. Hayne's barrister Margaret Cunneen SC argued there were "special" or "exceptional" circumstances requiring the bail he has complied with for more than four years be continued until he is sentenced. Then he can be almost immediately be classified as a prisoner in need of protection, rather than placed on remand with other prisoners awaiting sentence. He would be held in "oppressive" and isolated conditions while on remand. Hayne's crime has attracted an unprecedented amount of attention, more akin to a high-profile murder, and out of proportion with the actual gravity of the two sexual offences he has been found guilty of, she said. Many details of the case remained unknown to the general public. "There was a closed court for evidence, as there should be," Cunneen said. However, it meant a "baying mob" had become involved in a "toxic" social media campaign in response to his crimes, committed over 30 seconds by someone with no other criminal history, Cunneen said. "Mr Hayne suffers from the default position he is a sex offender of the most debased and worst kind," she said. The "terrifying" posts also reach the prison population, she said. Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield said some of the posts were years old. The restricted conditions required by his need for protection were no different from others in protective custody or isolation, for various reasons, Hatfield said. Many offenders have young families whose lives are disrupted by them entering custody. "It is not by itself special or exceptional such that it would justify being released on bail," he said. Hayne previously spent more than nine months in custody before an earlier guilty verdict was overturned, requiring the third trial, and the resumption of a prison term. "To recommence it with something as oppressive as 25 days in isolation, represents something that is exceptional," Cunneen said. The judge was not convinced. "The fact is, all prisons are inherently places of deprivation of liberty," he said. "If Mr Hayne should otherwise be in custody, that circumstance should hardly stand in the way of it," Button said, before revoking Hayne's bail. 9News understands he will be taken to Silverwater Prison and will remain there until he is sentenced on May 8. Hayne faced a third trial and spent nine months in custody following an earlier guilty verdict that was overturned on appeal due to "profoundly wrong" legal directions given to the jury before it deliberated. The jury in the first trial was discharged without reaching a verdict. Hayne was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman with his hands and mouth after attending her home on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final. She cannot be identified. A taxi Hayne paid $550 to drive him to Sydney following a bucks weekend waited outside the suburban Newcastle home while he played the woman songs on a laptop and watched the end of the grand final as her mother sat in the living room. Following the assault, the pair cleaned blood off of themselves in the woman's ensuite and Hayne continued to Sydney, the trial heard. Source: NineNews.com.au

Five months after helping Australia to World Cup glory, Roosters forward Angus Crichton steps back onto the field in NSW Cup on Saturday with the support of coach Trent Robinson and the entire rugby league community behind him. After taking time away from the game to receive treatment for a bipolar disorder, the 27-year-old is set to line up against Newtown at Henson Park with Robinson confident that “it won’t be too long before he is back in NRL”. Dismissing any concerns that Crichton could be the target of sledging over his mental health issues, Robinson was adamant players would not lower themselves to that level. “I think our game has been very good with that and our players have been really good right across the board with… we’re human, we’re imperfect,” Robinson told the media on Thursday. “There’s no better place than rugby league to know that’s the case and people accept that. We often have people around us and stories of family and friends so I just think he’ll be straight back into it as normal. “He is in really good shape physically and the plan is to get him started and play 50 to 80 minutes depending on how the game is going. [caption id="attachment_38835" align="alignnone" width="788"] Crichton levels it[/caption] “He has been really good at training so it’s time to start playing. He missed a lot of that pre-season period and you can’t replicate that during the season so we need to ramp it up through reserve grade.” Sitting seventh with a 3-2 record the Roosters travel to PointsBet Stadium on Friday to confront one of last year’s finalists for the fourth game in a row, following wins over the Rabbitohs and Eels and a 28-8 loss to the Storm in Round 6. The 20-point margin in Melbourne was the Roosters’ heaviest defeat since Round 11 last year against eventual premiers Penrith, but Robinson said his side was clear about their lessons to come out of it and “steely about how we want to approach this game”. “We’re clear on who the Sharks have been the last couple of years and we know their system of play,” he said. “It’s up to us to make sure we pressure that and make sure Nicho [Hynes] doesn’t get the time that he got in the first 20 minutes against Warriors.” One man who has come under scrutiny in the wake of the Storm defeat is Victor Radley, who was sin binned in the first half for a late shot on Cameron Munster. [caption id="attachment_38836" align="alignnone" width="788"] Match Highlights: Roosters v Eels[/caption] In his absence the Storm ran in two tries to turn an 8-6 deficit into an 18-8 lead and critics again lined up to accuse Radley of letting his team down with his ill-discipline. It’s a theory Robinson was quick to pour cold water on ahead of the showdown with a Sharks outfit sure to be smarting after giving up a 20-point lead against the Warriors and having two weeks to stew on it. “Victor has been really good this year, his temperament has been really good,” Robinson said. “He’s been going after the games in the way that we want to see it and he had a little blip there but let’s not sit on it for too long. “It’s not as simple as sitting down and saying ‘stop doing that’. That’s not how players work. “That’s not the attitude you want them to play with and there’s a fine line for the guys in that position. “It’s about the maturity and the moulding of himself at different times. He knows where his game is at and where it is headed.” In a major boost to their hopes of victory the Roosters welcome back skipper James Tedesco from concussion protocols and prop Matt Lodge from a facial fracture. Lodge hasn't played since the season opener against the Dolphins and Robinson is looking forward to having the 101-gamer back in the fold. "Matt has been a top-level player for us so to get him back in there and coming off the bench for us is key," Robinson said. "His size and carry as well as his intelligence around the game is important so to get him back in is really good." Source: NRL.Com

Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou drew first blood against long-time mentor Wayne Bennett on Thursday night, as South Sydney overcame the Dolphins 36-14 at Suncorp Stadium. Thirty unanswered points in the second half saw the Rabbitohs run out comfortable winners in the end, with quickfire tries to Campbell Graham and Cody Walker inside the opening 10 minutes of the second half flipping momentum after the Dolphins led 14-6 at the break. Star fullback Latrell Mitchell was in the thick of the action, scoring a try, setting up two line breaks and laying on a try assist, while his accurate boot provided an additional 12 points for his side. Cody Walker also laid on three tries and was a key figure in the win. Despite the lopsided final score, it wasn't until the final 20 minutes that the Rabbitohs pulled away on the scoreboard, with the sin-binning of Kenny Bromwich leading to the visitors scoring three tries in the space of six minutes, during which time the Dolphins didn't touch the ball once. There will be some concern from the win for the Rabbitohs though, with Cameron Murray placed on report for a kick pressure in the first half and representative back-rower Keaon Koloamatangi failing to finish the match due to an ankle injury sustained in a tackle from Ray Stone. Source: NRL.Com

It’s not the combination Panthers fans expected to see in 2023 but young guns Izack Tago and Sunia Turuva are fast making a name for themselves as a lethal left edge pairing. Since a devastating ACL injury to teammate Taylan May handed 20-year-old Turuva an opportunity on the left-edge, the young pair have combined superbly with five tries and seven line breaks between them in five games. Fijian representative Turuva said the fact he had played outside Tago in his junior years has helped him make a seamless transition into Ivan Cleary's premiership-winning backline. “We’ve played with each other since we were young so there is already a bit of a connection there with him,” Turuva told NRL.com. “Off the back of the World Cup, I did come into the pre-season with a lot of confidence and it gives me a lot of confidence seeing the coaching staff, Ivan, Nathan (Cleary), Dylan (Edwards) and the faith they have in me. “Building connections there with Jarome (Luai) and Izack, they tell me every game that they’re backing me and I tell them I back them every day.” Making his first-grade opportunity bittersweet is the fact it came off the back of a close friend's season-ending injury, but Turuva is determined to do May proud in 2023. “Taylan killed the pre-season and was training really well and then had a really unfortunate injury,” he said. “For myself, I just knew I had to do what I do best... play my part for the team, nothing too fancy, just play my role. “We still see him around the academy and working hard. Now I just feel like I can never take this opportunity for granted.” [caption id="attachment_38756" align="alignnone" width="788"] Tago in top form[/caption] No less crucial has been the stability 21-year-old Tago has provided to the left edge after a Kikau-sized hole was left to be filled during the off-season. Tago is relishing the chance to work with experienced back-rower Scott Sorensen and the flying Turuva, the trio winding back the clock to their days playing NSW Cup together in 2021. “I played with a lot of those combinations I have this year in (NSW) Cup so that made it a bit easier to transition,” Tago told NRl.com. “Tito' (Turuva) was in my team coming through the grades ever since I was about 12. He’s great, he’s a real vocal player and he helps me out a lot. “He’s very athletic and he brings heaps of energy. I’d probably say that’s the biggest thing about him. “I played with Scotty in Cup as well, he was my back-rower when I was centre so I was happy for him to come back in because I already had that combo with him. “I feel like my confidence as a player has always been pretty good considering the talented players I’m around but in terms of experience, the season I had last year has definitely helped with the new combinations.” Coming off a big win over the Sea Eagles in Round 6, Penrith will look to carry that momentum into a clash with a Knights outfit boasting plenty of firepower of its own out wide. “Dom Young has been killing it, every time I’ve played against him he’s always been solid so it’s going to be a good challenge this week,” Tago said. “He really turned one on when we played them in the World Cup and showed what he’s about. “We can’t really give them too much space or time or I think they’ll make us pay for it.” Source: NRL.Com

SP PNG Hunters are set for this weekends blockbuster round 5 clash as the homeboys match an in-form 6th placed Northern Pride team in the QRL Hostplus Cup challenge on Saturday at Barlow Park, Cairns. They come out of a two-week break, after a bye in Round 4 and the Easter long weekend, and are ready to make some noise promising their faithful fans in 2023 that there is plenty to be excited about, with a win, a draw and one loss to their scorecard since the start of the season. Despite not all results going their way, there are genuine signs of improvement in this squad under new Head Coach Stanley Tepend, and the Hunters have a great opportunity to maintain their position inside the Top Eight when they take on the Northern Pride on Saturday. While rookie fullback Morea Morea featured heavily across the opening three games, it is the work of the teammates around him that is allowing Morea to shine in attack. The Hunters forward pack led by Ila Alu and Junior Rop has been strong to start the season, consistently winning the yardage battle and generating momentum for the spine to play on the back of. Hooker Wesser Tenza and halves Jamie Mavoko and Sakias Komati have combined effectively to begin the year. Tenza is directing traffic from dummy-half and getting the Hunters into certain areas of the field in good-ball. From there, Mavoko, Komati and Morea are linking smoothly in the backline to shift the ball to spaces on the edge. The Hunters are playing a fast, aggressive style of football this season and they will look to continue that form in Round 5. Head Coach Stanely Tepend paid tribute to his forward pack this week after a strong start to the season. “They (Alu, Rop & Kapinias) play an important role for us in the middle,” said Tepend. “The middle of the field is where games are won or lost and we’ve been going well thanks to the work of those three in around the ruck. Wesser (Tenza) is also a part of this.” Tepend said the growing experience of his forwards is helping the Hunters compete against more fancied opposition. “Each year these guys get a bit more experience. It can be a heavy toll on the body playing in the middle and as they play more games, they get a bit wiser and more confident. We’re getting the benefits of their experience over the last few years.” Looking ahead to Round 5, Tepend says defence has been a focus for his team as they prepare to face the Northern Pride. “The good thing is we know we can score points. Every time we get into good-ball we have looked threatening, but now it’s more about stopping the opposition from scoring,” said Tepend. “We’ve focussed a lot on our defence over the last two weeks. We’ve worked on fixing some things as individuals – mainly our discipline - which I think will help us perform better as a team.” “It’s been good to use the last two weeks to improve in those areas.” Team List 1. Morea Morea 2. Brandon Nima 3. Junior Igila 4. Rodrick Tai 5. Solo Wane 6. Sakias Komati 7. Jamie Mavoko 8. Junior Rop 9. Wesser Tenza 10. Epel Kapinias 11. Sherwin Tanabi 12. Benji Kot 13. Ila Alu (captain) 14. Trevor Solu 15. Tom Moide 16. Koso Bandi 17. Henry Noki 18. Joshua Mire 19. Siki Konden

Unlike people living within NCD, patients in the Central Province, East New Britain, and Morobe wait twice as long for an ambulance. St John Ambulance, the emergency ambulance service in Papua New Guinea, has an urgent need for more staff at ambulance stations in these provinces. According to the latest statistics, patients in Central Province, East New Britain, and Morobe are waiting twice as long for an ambulance compared to those in NCD. The lack of adequate ambulance stations and trained personnel in these regions is a major concern, especially during emergencies. The longer response times mean that patients are more likely to suffer complications or even lose their lives. It is crucial that this issue is addressed and people in every part of the country have access to timely and efficient emergency medical services. St John Ambulance is committed to providing quality emergency ambulance services across PNG for the Government. However, it needs support from the provincial government and other stakeholders to staff more ambulance stations in Central, Morobe, and East New Britain Province. By funding additional ambulance stations and recruiting more trained personnel, St John can significantly reduce response times and save more lives. The government and other stakeholders are urged to join hands with St John in this mission. St John’s Momase regional commander Anderson Poumb said; “We have seen an increase in people calling for emergency help from the ambulance service, but it takes longer to respond because we need more St John People to operate our ambulances in Lae”. “We have three ambulances in Lae, but funding from the Morobe Provincial Government only allows us to staff one of these ambulances.” “Current funding from Lae City Authority helps us employ eight full-time professional ambulance staff, including a senior registered nurse. But this is only for Lae City.” “We get calls every day for areas outside Lae City. We only have one ambulance. At any one time, we have three people, often critical, waiting hours for the ambulance to help them.” “For example, when an ambulance crew is attending to a case at 12-Mile, they have to take that patient to the hospital. When other calls come through, we must finish with that first patient and respond to the next. It could mean patients are waiting hours before much needed help gets to them.” Mr Poumb pointed out that more and more people outside of Lae City are hearing of the great work the ambulance service is doing and therefore calling 111 for the ambulance service. Poumb added, “What we need is support for ten more ambulance officers and an agreement with the Morobe Provincial Government so we can operate more ambulances for Morobe province.” “The people of Morobe province who live outside of Lae City deserve to have access to this great ambulance system.” St John is operating in Lae based on a memorandum of agreement with the Lae City Authority and Morobe Provincial Health Authority. The MOA doesn’t cover responses outside of Lae City, although St John does its best to provide care to critical emergencies outside Lae City.

Broadcasting rights for the 2023 Pacific Games in Solomon Islands will focus on member countries rather than an individual company. Pacific Games Council Chief Executive Officer Andrew Minogue told RNZ Pacific the Pacific Games Organising Committee would produce the programmes and have the selected broadcasters share that in their respective countries. "We have basically settled on a model that is like the traditional model that we've employed in previous Games where the Organising Committee will sort of put it all together in-house and then contract with different regional broadcasters, for example, Fiji TV in Fiji or France Television for the French territories," Minogue revealed. "So, what will happen is they will all pull their resources, bring them all together and then create post broadcast. "They're not going to outsource it to another company, they're going to do it themselves with the expertise they've gotten. They've got some very good people internally who have done this sort of work before. "But they'll lean very heavily, like all other previous Games have done, on contributions from regional broadcasters, from the TV and radio stations from participating countries who can bring some personnel, some equipment down to help put it all together." Ownership Meanwhile, Minogue clarified that the decision on the broadcasting right is for the Council to make. They work with the organising committees who put together a broadcast plan and organise the tender process. "The broadcast right is ultimately owned by the Pacific Games Council. Just like we own the Games, we own the rights to the broadcasts as well," he said. "The Organising Committee puts together a host broadcast plan in terms of how they would like to deliver the host broadcast services and they would do that effectively with our blessings. They will issue the contracts to the host broadcast organisation, to the other regional broadcasters that might contribute to the production. "But that has to be approved by the Pacific Games Council. That's the process that we've gone through with Solomon Islands. There's been the tender process, the evaluation of tender because there have been different bidders." [caption id="attachment_38709" align="alignnone" width="788"] The final of the men's 100m at the 2019 Pacific Games Photo: Roland Setu/Games News Service[/caption] Minogue said Solomon Islands Broadcasting will also have a role in the Games. "There will be a role for them. There's certainly been a big part of the discussions that we've had with the Organising Committee. And no agreements have been signed yet but our expectation is that SIBC will have the domestic rights in Solomon Islands to broadcast the games internally. "But they're not the organisation that will be the host broadcaster of the entire Games. We always try and keep that separate from a local broadcaster," Minogue added. The Council hopes that the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Channel will assist in boosting the reach worldwide, through their online platform. Source: RNZ 

Warriors five-eighth Te Maire Martin is set to miss the next eight weeks of the season after scans confirmed he fractured his left fibula in the Round 6 loss to the Knights.  The club confirmed Martin's diagnosis on Tuesday, after he was forced from the field in the 46th minute after suffering the injury while attempting to score a try. Warriors hooker Wayde Egan will miss the side's clash against the Cowboys under concussion protocols. Meanwhile, the Knights and Wests Tigers have confirmed star players Jayden Brailey and Adam Doueihi will miss the remainder of the 2023 season respectively after suffering ACL injuries in Round 6. Source: NRL.Com

Newcastle have fended off a second consecutive Warriors comeback to run in an impressive 34-24 victory at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday night. The Knights had a 22-6 lead after running in four first half tries but like last week in their win over Cronulla, the Warriors showed fight to deliver a scare for the Novocastrians after the break. The visitors got to within four points after tries to Adam Pompey and Edward Kosi reduced the deficit in the second half but a cheeky try to Kurt Mann from close range and double to powerhouse winger Greg Marzhew got the Knights home. Marzhew and Dominic Young helped the Knights start fast with charge over tries on either edge setting up a 10-0 lead. The Warriors hit back through Pompey in the 22nd minute and looked to have had a second via Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad through a similiar play but the NRL Bunker ruled Jackson Hastings was impacted in the lead-up to the try. Newcastle struck twice more within eight minutes through kicks not collected cleanly by the visitors for a handy 16-point lead with the breeze behind them in the second half. The Warriors needed to be first to score after the break and could reduce the deficit on the right edge with Pompey putting on some fancy footwork to step around Bradman Best for the side's second. Nicoll-Klokstad's ability to set up tries for Edward Kosi and Jackson Ford late kept the Warriors in the game momentarily but time this week was against them with the Knights doing enough to hold on. Source: NRL.Com

Responding swiftly to genuine emergencies is what the officers at Saint John Ambulance (SJA) do best. As busy as the Eater period can get, the nights can be a handful with callers calling in to seek for ambulance transportation to the hospitals. Ambulance officers attended to cases all over the city all of last night to dawn, including four cases with one patient experiencing Shortness of Breath (SOB) case, a trauma case, a severe sour throat case and a Respiratory Viral Infections (RVI) case that can be associated with a wide range of clinical manifestations. Despite with only six ambulances on the road and two officers per ambulance, the team responded promptly to the first SOB case which was a female in her 40’s. The team immediately put her on oxygen and rushed to the Gerehu General Hospital (GGH). The team was than dispatched to 9 Mile Bush Wara area to attend to their second emergency call, a trauma case. A male aged between his 30’s-40 was assisted immediately by the officers and transported to the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH). The male patient lost a lot of blood due to a drunk assault. He was stabbed by his wife after acting all rowdy, which caused her to act out of rage and stabbed him with a knife on his leg. But being under the influence of alcohol, the SJA officers advised the care takers that he won’t be attended too and treated immediately due to having alcohol in his system. A patient who is under the influence of alcohol waits for at least 3 to 4 hours before the nurses or doctors can attend to him or her. Going beyond the city limits to provide substantial medical services, the team dashed off to Goldie Barracks around 1am to attend to their 3rd case. The patient suffered from a sore throat and was rushed to GGH. The officers mentioned that this could be a possible mouth cancer case if not treated early. Ending off the night was a painful site of the RVI case. The patient who is in her 20’s expressed agony as she was rushed to the PMGH. The patient who is on ART treatment for HIV/AIDS said that she did not have any medications due to it been finished. She expressed pain throughout her whole body and shortness of breath as well. The patient had NIL care takers due to her family not wanting to hop on the ambulance with the team to take her to the hospital. Even so, the officers safely rushed her to PMGH and was left at the Emergency department.

The Warangoi Rural Hospital in the East New Britain (ENB) province has reported a quiet Easter weekend so far with no major cases being reported at the hospital. The Sister-in-Charge, Rosemary Sylvester, said the hospital was very quiet and they only got one admission at their labor ward. The lady gave birth to a healthy baby girl that weighed 3.6kg. “Apart from our Good Friday baby girl that was delivered, no reports of any incidents or major incidents that were reported since yesterday. It was basically quiet in the hospital.” Sister Sylvester said, they only received one new admission who is currently in the Out-Patient being treated for diarrhea and abdominal pain. Meanwhile, the sister was also happy to report that the rural hospital has enough supply of medical drugs at this time. She added that, their routine immunization outreach programs has been going well and mothers are taking in their babies to get immunized. “We have a good coverage for our immunization programs and as well the COVID-19 vaccines that are available for the people.” “We started rolling out the COVID-19 vaccines in the month of November last year and seen a good number of people coming forward to get vaccinated, but we could do better with the numbers if there is more awareness carried out so people know the importance of the vaccine.” Sister Rosemary also appealed to the general public to take care of themselves during this long Easter period.