Vipers blow Tumbe off the park

The Moni Plus NCDC Port Moresby Vipers thrashed the Asila Waghi Tumbe with a convincing 40-10 victory in Round 15 of the Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup on Sunday, 26 July 2026, at Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.

The Vipers put the pedal to the metal in the first half, scoring five unanswered tries through Benjamin Boas, Jeremiah Ben, Manase Watt, and Sebastian Benson’s double. Jeremiah Ben converted 3 goals out of five conversions, comfortably leading the Tumbe 26-0.

Playing with confidence and tremendous speed, the high-flying NCD side made a mistake inside its 10-meter red zone, and the Tumbe capitalized and scored their first four-pointer through Anderson Anape, trailing the Vipers at 26-6.

The capital men continued their attacking raid in the second half, with Manase Watt bagging his second try, and Tumbe’s winger Daniel Waine hitting back. Captain Benjamin Boas picked up his double, and Julius Yakopa ended the match with a try, leaving the full-time score at 40-10.

With the Vipers sitting 4th on the ladder, coach Wellington Albert said it was a crucial win to keep their finals aspirations alive: “The ladder is really tight at the moment, so we had to win this game with a big margin.”

The Vipers’ mentor explained that the competition had been tough with finals looming, noting that they needed to stick to the fundamentals and compete for 80 minutes every match if they wanted to be serious contenders. 

Albert has blooded a very young squad this season, blending youth with experience and having faith in the players to prove their worth in the country’s domestic top-flight competition.

Despite the commanding win, coach Albert admitted that there’s still room for improvement as the nation’s capital flagship team aims for its fourth consecutive victory when the capital lads travel to Lae to face the table-topping PRK Mendi Muruks on Sunday, August 2nd, at Lae League Oval.