Comp to investigate Eagles,Dabaris clash in Minj

THE Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition (PNGNRLC) is currently investigating an incident that allegedly occurred during the Digicel ExxonMobil Cup round four match between Mt Hagen Eagles and Central Dabaris on Saturday.
The match at Jonah Ambane Oval in Minj, Jiwaka ended with 18-18 draw, with allegations an Eagles player who was sin-binned by the referee during the game had refused to leave the field.
The referee resumed play with the player staying on to complete the game. PNGNRLC general manager Leith Isaac confirmed receiving reports from their staff on the ground in Jiwaka.
However, Isaac told The National they would reconfirm these reports and take necessary actions upon the completion of an investigation following Saturday’s match in Jiwaka.
“We’ve received some reports from the referee, ground manager and the competition manager who were all in Minj for the game,” Isaac said.
“However these reports have to be verified first. We will download the videos tonight (yesterday) and have a look. We can only determine the penalties based on the footage.”
Dabarais were down to 11-men in on stage of the match as they played with two players in the bin.
However, the Eagles did not surrender to the referee’s ruling when their player was sin-binned.
Attempts to reach Dabaris coach Steven Gunua for comments were unsuccessful.
However, the team said on Facebook the situation with the player refusing to accept the sin bin penalty was highly irregular and they await the PNGNRLC match review committee’s decision.
A similar incident happened in June last year when Goroka Lahanis player Roger Kenny refused to go off the field after being penalised for 10 minutes against Mendi Muruks at the Lae Rugby League Ground.
Kenny was banned for seven games after being found guilty by the match review committee.
PNGNRLC judiciary could follow the precedence if the reports are verified.