Wigmen Brailing Eagles

A highly-anticipated rematch of the 2024 grand finalists saw the Kroton Hela Wigmen exact a 24-4 revenge on the Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles in round 1 of the Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup on Sunday, April 13th, 2025, at Santos National Football Stadium.

This match was tipped to be a competitive game of the opening round, given their recent rivalry, but the Wigmen proved too strong against the Eagles and sent an early warning to the competition.  

A few minutes after the kick-off, the Eagles gave a penalty inside their 10-meter line and the Wigmen opted for 2 points, and in the tenth minute, lock-forward Francis Takai gave a shot pass to prop Manu Kame to score an untouched try, giving the Wigmen an 8-0 lead.

Following the try by Manu Kame, the match turned into a tug-of-war. With a bit of possession in the 27th minute, the Eagles half-back Milex Winis made a flat pass to Nickson Waki, who ran through a gaping hole to score the four-pointer to trail the Wigmen 4-8 at half-time.

Despite a sloppy start in the second half, the Wigmen found their groove in the 46th minute when captain Solomon Pokare did a show-and-go to extend the lead, followed by Kaupa Sipa’s try, and Woods Kawage’s brilliance put the nail in the coffin. 

Five-eight Lote Kuman was instrumental in the Wigmen's big win, slotting four conversions from five attempts and scooping the man-of-the-match award. 

Coach Ian Yaro stressed that his men struggled a bit in the second half but won the match convincingly, giving credit to the Eagles for delivering a good challenge against the Kroton-backed outfit. 

“Obviously, the first hit was a learning point for us. We can’t take anything away from the Eagles. They are a champion side who put effort today against our team but eventually, we came on top of the game,” Yaro said.

“There are a few areas that we need to work on. Our second half was a bit shaky, but we will work on that and fix it up in our next match."

Mt Hagen Eagles rookie coach Ruben Ruing mentioned that they made a lot of errors, which made them pay the price, but they would work on improving in their next game.

“We made a lot of mistakes, which cost us the game. We will work on our marker and ruck area to put up a competitive game in round 2,” Ruing said. 

“We were well-prepared to take on the Wigmen but unfortunately, we lost the game. We will go back and work hard to improve our game in Minj when we host the Mioks."

The Kroton Hela Wigmen will meet the Gas Resource Central Dabaris (round 2) at the Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby (April 20th) while the Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles will face the KMHL Enga Mioks at John Ambane Oval in Minj, Jiwaka (April 19th).