Paula DAVID

The SP PNG Hunters travelled to Totally Workwear Stadium to take on the Brisbane Tigers in Round 19 of the Hostplus Cup but couldn’t build on their early 12-0 lead, falling 32-18 after 80 minutes. A poor end to a Tigers set ended with the Hunters hot on the attack and with the first real opportunity to produce points. Passing and offloading, a sweeping Morea Morea played Jamie Mavoko through a flimsy Ryley Jacks tackle before the halfback sent Rodrick Tai over for the opener. With a chance of their own to attack the Hunters line the Tigers again looked in the direction of Lehmann but a superb solo effort from Wane put an end to a sure-try for the visitors to keep their 12-0 lead through the first quarter of the match. Coming back, the Hunters continued to build pressure by turning the ball over in the right parts of the field. That pressure forced loose passes from the Tigers as the home side desperately looked to flip the momentum. An error in defence from Henry Wan Noki saw the veteran forward marched to the sin bin in the 36th minute in what proved to be a pivotal moment in the match. With the extra man, the Tigers went to where they’d found previous success and scored through Solomona Faataape down the left edge. Despite starting strong and refusing to concede while the starting middle rotation rested on the bench, another late blemish saw the Hunters’ lead cut to eight by the break. The Hunters started the second half with six minutes still to play with only 12 men but didn’t get through one before conceding again. Geyer spotted Lau late to the short side and targeted the five-eighth to crash over the line. What looked to be a strong yardage set in response ended with an error as the Hunters again gave up cheap field position to the Tigers. Another penalty kicked the Tigers further up the field and inside the Hunters’ 30-metre line. Finally, the pressure turned into points as Jennings made no mistake on his second crack at the line for the Tigers to take a 14-12 lead in the 57th minute. With all the running, the Tigers cruised into the final 20 minutes of the match 18-12 in front. On top and with the lead, former Hunters coach Matt Church looked to keep his side moving forward while Stanley Tepend responded with the reintroduction of Rop and Alu. Another Lehmann try and a third lifting penalty saw the Hunters chasing a 26-12 deficit heading into the final ten minutes. Leaving no stone unturned, Alu went close to crashing over in the middle and Tai threw his opposite man away with the line in sight shortly after. But it was Benji Kot scoring his seventh try of the Hostplus Cup season who gave life to the idea of a late comeback. Alu’s captain’s knock continued with two strong carries in three tackles as he finished with a team-high 180 metres. However, a clunky end to the set after points saw Alu’s effort go unrewarded before an 11th penalty conceded saw Corey Thompson and the Tigers put the game beyond doubt. The Hunters now prepare to take on the 4th-placed Redcliffe Dolphins at the Santos National Football Stadium in Round 20.

In the month of July, Gulf and EHP governments both formally appointed the PNG St John Ambulance, a PNG civil defense organization, to operate its emergency ambulance service in the province. This marks the 8th province to appoint St John with this imperative role. Plans and discussions are underway for East Sepik, Madang and Western Highlands Provinces to also engage such a vital emergency service for its people. These partnerships will ensure integrated emergency services will be available in the provinces, ensuring swift and effective emergency response for the people. Last year St John attended to 21,500 emergency cases and that’s from the ambulance stations in Port Moresby, Lae, Kokopo, Kundiawa and the substations of Kupiano and Bereina in Central. With the new partnerships, more people will be reached. One of the great benefits of St John is St John’s fundraising. This year, the ambulance service expects to fundraise around K6m which is in addition to any grants from the government to the ambulance service. This vital fundraising is achieved in a couple of ways. Donations from individuals and businesses are one. Another is the first aid training that workplaces engage St John to provide, along with the first aid kits and equipment businesses buy from St John. All these come together to ensure vital funds can be raised which benefit services for the public. As an entirely not-for-profit Papua New Guinean emergency service charity, every toea raised is used to benefit people and ensure entirely free services for the vulnerable and those most in need. St John welcomes partnerships with the provincial administrations to establish ambulance stations and substations making emergency medical services accessible to the people and strengthening the prehospital care system.

The “Public Island Society” brand in Australia will feature at the 2023 PNG Fashion and Design Week runway on the 19ht of Aught 2023. Australian born Tongan fashion designer and founder of the Public Island Society brand, Iki Haangana, will this year showcase his designer collection at the 2023 PNG Fashion and Design Week (PNGFDW) Runway. CEO of the PNGFDW Runway 2023, Mrs. Janet Sios said she’s excited to see how this runway, over the years, has been able to inspire a lot of great talent and creativity by designers not only in PNG, but also abroad. She pointed out how important it was to have international designers on their platform each year and how collaborations and networking can also assist many of our local designers as well, at different levels. For Iki Haangana, it all began with him growing up surrounded by sewing machines his whole life, he comes from a long line of seamstresses. His mother learnt how to sew from her grandmother, who had in turn learnt from her mother. “My grandmother told me how her mother taught her to sew using the treadle sewing machine which is powered by a foot pedal that is pushed back and forth to run the needle.” However, growing up he had no interest in these machines or in becoming a fashion designer, he turned to showing more interest in becoming an artist like his grandfather. Iki was always seen with a sketchbook in hand and in Year 12 topped the school in visual Arts. It was not long after he won a $5000 shopping spree from his artistic hands that he really turned his attention towards the fashion industry. He fell in love with everything, creativity, the fashion shows, the cut throatiness of it all, the runway productions, but most of all the clothes. Since then, Iki has gone on to work and showcase with Pacific Runway, Pacific International Runway, Westfield’s, Western Sydney Fashion Fest, Global Indigenous Runway, Australia’s Next Best Designer and many more. Public Island Society is a co-ed ready-to-wear brand that blurs the lines of high-end fashion and streetwear creating a vibrant and over the top & off beat elegance. Its rebellious, it’s playful and its main aim is to make a humble mark in the fashion world while creating a fun new niche-like sub-culture, one of creativity and inclusivity. Iki added it’s more than just t-shirts and pretty dresses, it’s about journeys, relationships, ideas, and cultures. “It’s about storytelling and our history.” “it’s also about creating a different world with a different society, a Public Island Society.”

The Titans have put an end to North Queensland's six-game winning streak by beating their rivals 22-13 at Cbus Super Stadium on Sunday. In a see-sawing Queensland derby, the Titans took a unique nine-point lead shortly after half-time through tries to Jayden Campbell and Alofiana Khan-Pereira after the Cowboys led 13-10 at the break. Both sides had their chances in the final 35 minutes but neither team could get over the line for the remainder of the second half with the Cowboys' loss putting a dent in their finals hopes with the Knights and Sea Eagles hot on their heels. For the Titans, it was a crucial win after four straight losses of their own with David Fifita and Jayden Campbell strong while Phil Sami caused havoc with eight tackle busts and over 209 metres. The Titans crossed early through AJ Brimson but the fullback was taken after the field shortly after with a torn abdominal muscle - an injury he was able to return with after a pain-killing injection during the first half. North Queensland went over twice in Brimson's absence with Semi Valemei crossing on the right edge through a Scott Drinkwater pass before Coen Hess outleaped Titans defenders to score under the posts off a Chad Townsend kick. Cowboys centre Valentine Holmes found himself in the sin-bin for a second time in a fortnight after collecting Campbell high which is likely to come under scrutiny from the Match Review Committee. The Titans took just two minutes to take advantage of the overlap with Sami crossing out wide. Townsend put the Cowboys ahead by three before half-time with a standard field goal on the siren but that proved to be worth little when Campbell crossed just 30 seconds into the second half. The Titans were in again five minutes later when David Fifita got into some space to send Khan-Pereira over the line for his 18th try of the season in as many games. North Queensland came home strong with a weight of possession in the final 15 minutes but unlike the trend of their second halves this season, the Titans aimed up in defence to deny the Cowboys including an effort on Jake Granville late. Source: NRL.Com

The Bulldogs survived a late comeback from the Dolphins to claim a 23-22 win on Sunday afternoon in Bundaberg. Up 23-18 with two minutes to play, the Bulldogs leaked a try to Anthony Milford and had to watch nervously as Jamayne Isaako – the NRL's leading point scorer – pushed what would have been the game-winning conversion across the face of the posts from out wide. In the end it was a Matt Burton field goal in the final minute of the first half, which had appeared strange at the time given it stretched his side's lead to three points, which was the difference and gave Canterbury-Bankstown their seventh win of the year. It means the Bulldogs pull further clear of the Wests Tigers at the bottom of the ladder, ahead of a bye in Round 23, while for the Dolphins the result may have killed off their faint hopes of making the top eight in their inaugural season. Boosted by the return of five frontline players, the Bulldogs overcame an early eight-point deficit which came via a penalty goal and converted try from Isaako. Star off-season recruit Viliame Kikau made a noticeable difference in his first game back from a pectoral injury which had sidelined him since Round 4, scoring his side's first try and adding some much-needed variety to the Bulldogs' attack. After Kikau crashed over and centre Braidon Burns – himself back from time out injured, torched his marker down the left – the Dogs had a two-point advantage, with Burton's field goal making it 11-8 at the break. After missing out on a potential try when Jacob Preston fired a wayward pass at him following a line break early in the second half, Jake Averillo got over in the 53rd minute to stretch the lead to nine. But it was quickly cancelled out by a strike from Anthony Milford, whose 56th minute effort was followed up by a barnstorming run from Valynce Te Whare that saw him reach out and add a third for his side. What could have been the game-deciding try from Isaako was rubbed out for obstruction in the lead up and instead the Bulldogs went down the other end and sent Blake Wilson over for the ninth try of his rookie season. The game remained in the balance right up until the flags stayed down on Isaako's conversion in the dying seconds, after Kodi Nikorima put Milford over for his second out wide. Source: NRL.Com

Storm stars Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant produced an attacking masterclass to lead Melbourne to a commanding 46-16 victory over the Eels on Friday. With Grant bagging a double off some brilliant running from the ruck and Hughes chalking five assists, three line breaks and a try of his own, the Melbourne duo controlled proceedings at Marvel Stadium after being upset by the Knights in Newcastle last week. Buoyed by the occasion of Old Boys' Day, Craig Bellamy's side well and truly staked their claim as 2023 premiership contenders, putting last year's grand finalists to the sword at home and securing their place in the top four. The Eels struck the first blow in the fifth minute with Mitch Moses and Clint Gutherson combining with a slick play to put winger Sean Russell through with an acrobatic finish in the corner. But after 12 minutes Grant took matters into his hands and went back-to-back, scooting from dummy-half to score in the 11th minute before combining with Hughes from close range in the 22nd minute and put the home side out to a 12-4 lead. Come the 27th minute, momentum was all behind the Storm and Grant returned the favour for his halfback, scooting from dummy-half to split the Eels markers and passing across the grain to Hughes who sliced through the line and ran 30m to score next to the uprights. Eels forward J'maine Hopgood got one back for the visitors in the 32nd minute, receiving a no-look pass from Eels utility Ryan Matterson before carrying Nick Meaney and Eliesa Katoa over the line to score. Moses' conversion reduced the deficit to ten. But just two minutes before the buzzer the Storm restored some breathing room when Hughes bagged his second assist for the night, putting Katoa through with a short ball from close range and the Storm took a threatening 24-10 win into the sheds. Three minutes after halftime and Melbourne had Brad Arthur shaking his head when Grant and Hughes continued their masterclass, combining again to put Josh King to cross under the sticks. Come the 58th minute and Hughes was starting to show off in front of the old boys in the stands, with an impressive line-break carrying the home side downfield and the halfback put Marion Seve through on the next play. Meaney's conversion made it 36-10. Sticking to their guns, Luca Moretti dived over to score his first NRL try in the 63rd minute but it was all too little too late for the visitors. The Storm put the finishing touches on the victory when Cameron Munster got in on the action in the 67th minute, darting and weaving his way through Eels defenders to score before Hughes put an exclamation mark on a dominant performance when he set up Will Warbrick for Melbourne's eighth try of the night. Source:NRL.Com

An Alex Johnston hattrick led the Rabbitohs to a gutsy 32-18 victory over the Wests Tigers in Tamworth on Friday night. After a disappointing loss to the Broncos last week, South Sydney bounced back in style at Scully Park, with Johnston's 12th career hat-trick cementing the lead which put the Rabbitohs back in the top eight. The Wests Tigers were gallant in their defeat, with a second-half surge bringing them within two-points of the Rabbitohs' lead but the Round 22 defeat was costly for the home side with Shawn Blore (head knock) and Dane Laurie (knee) failing to finish the match. Returning for his first game since Round 12, Latrell Mitchell also made his presence felt at fullback with 169 run metres and 11 tackle breaks in his 80-minute performance. The Rabbitohs fired the first shot thanks to an Johnston intercept, capitalising on a no-look pass from John Bateman and racing 70m down Scully Park to score in the opening minute. The Tigers hit back in the ninth minute when Cody Walker fumbled a Luke Brooks kick in-goal and hooker Api Koroisau dived on the ball to score under the posts. Koroisau converted his own try to level the scores 6-6. But the Rabbitohs kicked into gear midway through the first-term on the back of some nice lead-up work from Cody Walker and Mitchell down the left-edge, setting up Tass at centre and Johnston for a double. Come the 27th minute and halfback Lachlan Ilias put his stamp on the match with a deft kick to the right, which sat up perfectly for barnstorming backrower Keaon Koloamatangi to extend South Sydney's lead 20-6. The Wests Tigers rallied in defence in the back end of the first-half, with the Rabbitohs squandering several opportunities on the line but Jason Demetriou's side still dominated field possession and held onto their 14-point lead at halftime. After a rev up at half time, the Wests Tigers came out firing in the second term and thanks to some nice lead up work from fullback Jahream Bula and Koroisau before the hooker grubbered through for Isaiah Papali'i to score and reduce the deficit 20-12. Tim Sheens' side looked set to go back-to-back in the 54th minute but the Scully Park hill were brought to their feet when Mitchell won the footrace and laid on a superb trysaver. But the Wests Tigers were on a roll and finally capitalised in the 57th minute with lock Fonua Pole running over three Rabbitohs defenders to put his side right back in the match with only two points the difference. But Soth Sydney fans could breathe a sigh of relief when Johnston laid his third try in the left corner to cap a memorable night in the north-west. A try to Cameron Murray in the 75th minute well and truly put the game to bed and the Rabbitohs climbed back to seventh position on the ladder after recording their 11th win of the season. Source: NRL.com

Pat Carrigan has broken the longest try drought in the NRL as the Brisbane Broncos turned on a 32-10 win over the Roosters at The Gabba to consolidate their spot in the top two. Carrigan provided a huge highlight for the night with his first try in his 78th first grade game while also racking up 115 running metres, five tackle breaks, three offloads and 26 tackles for a Brisbane side proudly playing in the club’s City Jersey. Carrigan was ably abetted by Payne Haas with 163 running metres, Herbie Farnworth with eight tackle busts and a try, and Billy Walters who was great in attack and defence all night. Farnworth crossed for his 12th try of the season to open the scoring for the Broncos in the 4th minute when he showed determination to scramble across the line on the end of some good ball movement to the left. Reynolds converted for a 6-0 lead. Brisbane were then forced to absorb repeat Roosters attacking sets and turned away the danger with some staunch defence before working their way up field and extending their lead in the next set. Reece Walsh produced an audacious cross kick from the right towards the uprights with the ball bouncing up for Ezra Mam to dive and catch mid-air for a try under the posts. Reynolds converted to make it 12-0 after 16 minutes. The lead was extended further when Reynolds knocked over a penalty in the 25th minute after Haas copped a high shot from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves right in front of the posts. The Broncos were playing with confidence and the crowd were in raptures on the 34th minute mark when Carrigan rumbled across for his maiden try in his 78th NRL game much to the delight of his teammates who mobbed him with a group pile-on. Reynolds knocked over the conversion for a 20-0 lead which they carried into halftime. The Broncos ground out the start of the second stanza and looked to have gone further ahead when Kotoni Staggs soared high to take a Mam cross-kick and touch down in the 53rd minute – only for the officials to call him offside. Tyson Smoothy was then denied a try of his own when the referee blocked his path to the line, knocking him over as he was about to score under the posts with 20 minutes to play. Billy Smith scored for the Roosters off a kick rebound out wide on the left but the Broncos struck back straight away when Staggs collected an errant pass from Brandon Smith from the restart and charged away to score. Reynolds kicked the conversion to make it five-from-five for the night before Daniel Tupou scored from another kick to make it 26-10 but the Broncos had the final word when Mam picked up another loose ball and raced 80 metres to score. Source: brisbanebroncos.com.au

The much anticipated Believe PNG events for the month of August will soon hit our shores as the team prepares to also feature the all-time contemporary worship music band “Planetshakers”. Kimberley Smith from the Believe PNG team said, they are excited to come back and host “The Believe Events”, because these events are different from the previous events hosted in the country. The Believe NEW ERA SUMMIT 2023 is an annual event and is open for all who aspire to be better leaders especially high school and university students. This will be held at the New Lecture Theatre at UPNG from 9am - 5pm on the 25th of August 2023 and the Believe Events will be held at the Sir John Guise Indoor complex on the 25th-26th August and is organized into 2 focus: • Believe NXT GEN Events 25 & 26 Aug, Youth Focus • Believe Family Fun Day 26 Aug, Family Focus She said, due to experience, they will be hosting day-time events for the first time at the Sir John Guise Stadium indoor complex. “We’ve heard and responded to the feedbacks, and we understand that sometimes night events in Port Moresby are not ideal and that’s why we’ve decided to go with a different route.” “We will be hosting the events at the Sir John Guise Indoor complex to allow for more security and a controlled flow of people during the night.” All who wish to attend must purchase their tickets at the UPNG Student Services Desk and will be issued a coloured band during the night to control the crowd. She said, leading up to their main evets which is the Believe NEW ERA Summit 2023 and the Believe Events, they will visit schools, hospitals and also the marketplaces to pray and encourage people. “So, in August from the 21st-29th, we will be bringing a couple of hundred missionaries.” “We are also excited to be running programs throughout schools, marketplaces and hospitals where we will be encouraging people, praying with people and that will come together at the end of the week with our Believe events.” “We have 16 high schools and 14 primary schools lined up for our visits which we’re very excited to be part off and we just want to reach as many people as possible to spread the word.” Kimberley expressed much excited for their first ever Family Fun Day that’s open to all families and the public. “We’re inviting families to come along with their children and have a lot of fun.” “We’re going to face painting and games but also a concert with the Planetshakers Band that is family friendly, kid oriented so that it’s a fun and safe environment for everyone to come and enjoy.”

The Gulf Provincial Health Authority (GPHA) has finally launched its MEASLES RUBELLA, Polio & VITAMIN “A” SIA CAMPAIGN over the weekend in Kerema town. This was after a 2-day refresher training of 26 health care workers from the 21 health care facilities in the province to build their capacity around the Measles Rubella, Polio (OPV) and VITAMIN “A” Supplementary Immunization Activity (SIA) campaign. Gulf Province is the last province to launch its SIA campaign. Speaking to the health care workers at the launching, GPHA Acting CEO Dr. Alexander Maha acknowledged his hardworking team for ensuring the activity was finally launched and ready for implementation despite challenges. “We are the last province to kick off this campaign, but that doesn’t mean we are not going to do it, and we are not going to do it well”. It has been a struggle for all of us, we’ve had our battles to get this activity organized”, Dr. Maha said. He said the average life expectancy is low, many infants die before they reach the age of 5 years. “Most of these deaths are vaccine preventable, and activities like this is to help save our children’s lives. There is still a more important job to do, and this is the Routine Immunization, we really need to work hard to improve this”, he said. Furthermore, Kerema Family Health Services Coordinator Sr. Margaret Malaisa called on the national, provincial, district and the village levels to work together to achieve one goal and aim to immunize the children. “This campaign needs a collaborative approach from each and every one of us. The Key message here today is “WE MUST NOT LEAVE ANY CHILD BEHIND”, said Sr. Malaisa. She said that the SIA campaign is a national activity and is being implemented because immunization coverage nationwide, including the Gulf province, is at an all-time low. The goal of this campaign is to immunize at least 95% eligible children in the province against measles, rubella, and polio to increase immunity (Defence against illnesses). The target is to reach all children less than 5 years of age. That is 30, 000 children in the Gulf. GPHA MR-SIA Team Lead Sr. Mahu Boro sharing similar sentiments, urged all – parents, politicians, Faith Based organization, NGO’s, business houses, provincial government administration and public servants and ward councilors, to work together with the Provincial Health Authority to ensure all children under 5 years in the province get immunized. She thanked all hardworking health teams and partners in the province from Santos, Rotary against Malaria, UNICEF, World Health Organization and the National Department of Health, GAVI Program for the continued support to Gulf PHA.

The Dolphins have extended Tom Gilbert for a further three years, locking in the young forward until the end of the 2028 season. Already signed until 2025, the Queensland representative is set to form a big part of the Dolphins' future and has been earmarked for a senior leadership role. The 22-year-old's impressive season was cut short after suffering a major shoulder injury in the opening State of Origin game in May but has made a big impression on the Dolphins to secure an extension. “I am very happy to have my long-term future locked in with the Dolphins,” Gilbert said. “As a Brisbane boy, it has been a great experience to see an NRL team flourish in the region I grew up in. “You can see that the Dolphins are set up for a bright future and I want to be part of it.” Source: NRL.Com

Elon Musk tweeted on his official account on Sunday that Twitter would be changing its logo to an “X” and that all the birds will be disappearing from the platform. In a series of tweets, Musk said: “And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” In the same series of tweets, Musk posted “Paint It Black,” before launching a user poll to “Change default platform color to black.” “If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow,” he continued. “Like this but X,” he added above an illustration of the iconic bird silhouette but against a black background. One of the world’s richest men, Musk, once known for his innovative efforts through companies SpaceX and Tesla to launch rockets and build electric cars, now makes headlines for his antics and eccentric remarks on his personal Twitter account – often sharing conspiracy theories and getting into public spats on the social media platform. Musk overhauled the site after acquiring it for $44 billion in late October – drastically cutting staff and overseeing controversial policy changes which have led to frequent service disruptions and upended his own reputation in the process as tech watchers have noted. He has also repeatedly warned that Twitter could be at risk of filing for bankruptcy. This month he