Sakias Komati’s second half brilliance propelled the Wamp Nga Mount Hagen Eagles to their first premiership triumph since 1998, edging the Kroton Hela Wigmen with a 28-20 victory in the 2024 Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup Grand Final on Sunday, September 15th, at the sold-out Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.
As expected, the match kicked off to a fiery start. The Wigmen wasted no time and scored the opening four-pointer in the fifth minute through veteran hooker Woods Kawage, who scooped the ball quickly at the ruck in Eagles’ red-zone and darted over the line.
Five minutes later, half-back Solomon Pokare placed a soft grubber kick and center Terrance Wemin raced in an open space to ground the ball. With two unsuccessful conversions by Pokare, the Wigmen took a 8-0 lead.
With twelve minutes remaining before half time, the high-flying Kroton-sponsored franchise registered another try through a second-man play, where Pokare dummied and assisted fullback Kaupa Sipa, extending their lead to 14-0.
The Eagles were on the backfoot and kept at bay for almost thirty minutes, because of repeated errors. The Wigmen Capitalised on Eagles’ mistakes and scored three tries to punish the error-riddled Western Highlanders.
However, with some ball possession, the Eagles finally crossed over the try line in the shadows of half time through a cheap kick from half-back Milex Winis, which found winger Wingti Raima, who jumped and caught the ball to break the deadlock, leaving the half time score at 14-6.
The second half was a replica of the first half, where the Wigmen ran a sleek second-phase play in the 51st minute and center Junior Igila assisted winger Siki Konden to put an acrobatic finish in the corner, extending the lead to 20-6.
Three minutes later, the Eagles returned the favor through an individual brilliance by five-eight Sakias Komati. Komati converted his own try and reduced the deficit, leaving the score at 12-20.
Following that try by Komati, the Eagles started to exert their dominance by gaining more ball possession and field territory, due to Wigmen’s ill-discipline and mistakes.
In the 61st minute, the Eagles ran a short-side play and center Levai Andrew offloaded the ball to winger Wingti Raima, but it ricocheted off Wigmen’s prop Murray Connors and Raima grounded the loose ball in the corner, leapfrogging the Wigmen for the first time with a 22-20 lead.
With five minutes to go before full time, the Eagles’ explosive center Levai Andrew swiftly picked up the ball from the ruck outside Wigmen’s ten-meter line and used his brute strength to score. Komati converted the try, giving the Eagles a gritty 28-20 win over the Wigmen.
When the game hung in the balance, five-eight Sakias Komati responded to the challenge and stole the limelight. The experienced playmaker scored a try, assisted a couple of tries, nailed four conversions, and walked away with the Man-of-the-Match, ultimately breaking the twenty six-year premiership hoodoo for the Western Highlands franchise.
Sakias Komati and captain Henry Wan steered the Eagles to the decider, and bagged the third title for the club after twenty six years. Though Komati and Wan are seasoned campaigners, this was their first premiership at the semi-professional competition, including a couple of their teammates.
Five-eight Komati said even though they did not give themselves a chance and were trailing behind, his teammates believed in their abilities and kept staying in the fight until the full time siren.
“We did not complete our sets in the first half and made a lot of mistakes, which made it very complicated for us to compete but the boys never gave up, putting in the effort and trying to play catch up footy," Komati stated.
“However, in the second half, coach Ray got really hard on us, so that’s when we started to play strong and complete our sets well, which has seen our game improve. It was through team effort that we were able to upset the Wigmen.”
Komati had played two grand finals previously with his former clubs, the Agmark ENB Gurias and Waghi Tumbe, but lost the two deciders. With so much at stake, he used his finals experience and made his presence felt.
“I’ve played two grand finals with the Gurias and Tumbe but lost both. I was put under pressure to deliver. If I don’t win the grand final now, I might never win it again. With that in mind, I put my body on the line and ended the drought for the Mt Hagen Eagles after twenty six years,” Komati expressed.
The Hagen Eagles won the Intercity Cup in 1997 and 1998. Since that back-to-back premiership successes, they struggled to play in the finals for almost a decade until 2008. During the 2008 grand final, the Eagles unfortunately lost to the PRK Mendi Muruks, who claimed their third consecutive title (2006-2008).
Incumbent Eagles coach, Francis Ray, was the captain of the Western Highlands flagship team in 2008. Sixteen years later, Ray led the Eagles to the big dance, this time as a coach. The club was in tatters in 2023, languishing at the bottom of the ladder and collecting the loathed wooden spoon.
With the signing of key personnel, coach Ray restored the lost pride and flipped the script, turning the fortunes of the Mt Hagen Eagles around from Cellar-dwellers to premiership glory, while breaking the club’s 26-year title drought.
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