The Ave Rugby League Club made their presence felt in the 2024 Hidomo 9s tournament in Alotau, Milne Bay Province, to retain their championship following their triumph over the Hidomo Brothers in the Cup decider on Saturday, November 9th.
With this championship glory against the Hidomo Brothers, the club has 10 titles under its belt, becoming one of the successful teams in the 9s format.
Ave fielded a very strong side comprising the current and former Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup players in the likes of Michael Yanis, Bartholomew Evi, Douglas Pirika, to name a few.
The experienced semi-professional players had one task to execute and that was to defend their title, which they did and took the tournament by storm, bringing the trophy back to the Nation’s Capital.
Club owner and coach, Don Pio was delighted and stoked to defend the Hidomo 9s tourney for the second year in a row, attributing the team’s success to hard work, dedication, and preparation.
“It feels good winning because of all the hard work and commitment the boys have put in for this tournament. The victory feels sweet,” Pio said.
The bulk of the players are looking forward to participating in the upcoming Southern 9s tournament, which will be hosted towards the end of November and during the festive period.
Interestingly, the Ave RLC are the back-to-back (2023-2024) reigning champions of the Southern 9s tournament. Pio revealed that they aim to retain their title for the third consecutive year.
“We have the upcoming Southern 9s, which we want to do a three-peat. We are focusing on that and continue to develop players by bringing them to the next level,” he said.
Comments