Gurias clip Eagles

The ENB Agmark Gurias outclassed the Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles with a 42-22 victory in the Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup Semi Final clash on Sunday, 30 August 2026, at Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby. 

Gurias, who have beaten the Eagles twice in the regular season, entered the match with confidence and maintained their perfect record against the Western Highlanders with a 20-point winning margin. 

The Eagles capitalized on the Gurias’ error straight after the kick off and scored the opening try in the 5th minute through Eliza Peter. Sakias Peter converted the difficult kick with ease, leading the Gurias 6-0.

Six minutes later, the Gurias responded with three tries and dominated the first half. Fullback Ephrom Achim started the attacking raid, followed by Emil Benjamin’s try and William Tirang’s 4-pointer, with the Gurias taking an 18-6 lead at the break.

The East New Britain men continued their attacking onslaught in the second half, scoring back-to-back tries through Ephrom Achim and Gabriel Silik, increasing the lead to 30-6 after 10 minutes of the second stanza.

With 19 minutes remaining before full-time, the Western Highlanders scored consecutive tries through Benji Kot and Sakias Komati, reducing the deficit to 30-16 and hoping for a comeback to stun the Gurias.

However, the Gurias returned the favor through dummy-half Emmanuel Alfred. Following Alfred’s try, the last 10 minutes turned into a tug-of-war, with the Eagles bagging their fourth try through Benji Kot and the Gurias hitting back through William Tirang to ice the game. 

Gurias’ captain, Terry Wapi, said after defeating the Kroton Hela Wigmen in the elimination final last weekend, they went back to the drawing board and prepared themselves against the Eagles. 

“After defeating the Wigmen in the elimination final last weekend, we trained the whole week and prepared ourselves well to take on the Eagles, knowing that they would come hard,” Wapi said.

Wapi admitted that despite dominating the game against the Wigmen, they showed lapses in concentration in the second half, which the team worked hard during the week, and imposed their presence against the Eagles.

The skipper praised young fullback Ephrom Achim for his outstanding performance, saying that the rookie has been solid throughout the season and deserves his spot in the starting lineup. 

Wapi thanked the fans, urging the East New Britain community to continue their support as the Gurias prepare to meet the Kandes RLC in a do-or-die match, with the winner to square off against the PRK Mendi Muruks in the decider on September 13th.