OUR top sporting performers in 2013 were Toea Wisil, Theresa Tona and Steven Kari.
Netball, cricket and volleyball were the best performed teams sports in a year that rugby league fell short.
Track star Wisil won the 100m and 200m events at the Melbourne Track Classic in April giving her the distinction of being the fastest woman in Australia.
Theresa Tona, a two-time Olympian, won her first gold medal in taekwondo at the Pacific Mini Games in Wallis & Futuna in September. Before that, Tona competed in an Australian tournament winning her 48kg division.
Kari produced a powerful performance at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Penang, Malaysia, last month. He won the junior and senior 94kg divisions, breaking the junior record in the process.
These three athletes showed they belong on the world stage with their efforts.
Wisil would also go on to qualify for the World Championships in Russia off her Australian performances.
Kari is assured a medal at next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. And Tona is a favourite for the gold medal at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby.
In team sports, our biggest let down were the Kumuls who never got off the ground in 2013 in spite of the time, money and resources put in by coaches, players and administrators.
Their short-comings (in playing and coaching class) were exposed at the Rugby League World Cup in the United Kingdom in October-November.
The side only managed a single victory in 2013, a win over Scotland in a pre-World Cup warm-up. Outside of that performance everything else was decidedly under-whelming.
The only positives for league in 2013 were the subsequent signing of several Kumuls to British Super League clubs and boom youngster Wellington Albert earned a National Rugby League contract with the Penrith Panthers.
The announcement of a national side in the Queensland Cup was also cause for celebration in league circles.
But Kumuls could not match what the Pepes in netball and Barramundis in cricket achieved over the year.
Netball’s resurgence was in large part due to a revamped administration under national federation president Julienne Leka-Maliaki.
The Pepes showed they could match it with regional heavyweights Samoa and Cook Islands when they defeated both sides, somewhat surprisingly, at the Pacific Netball Series in Samoa earlier this year. A third place finish at the Nations Cup this month capped of a solid 2013 for netball.
In cricket, PNG’s reputation as a genuine competitor at the second tier of international cricket was demonstrated at the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in the Untied Arab Emirates last Month.
Led by batsman Tony Ura, the Barras got to with one game of qualifying for the T20 World Cup. Although they finished eighth in the 16-team tournament, they gained the respect of the best second tier nations such as Ireland, Netherlands, Afghanistan and Kenya.
The other sport to win on the road was the Amoa, the men’s national volleyball side. PNG came from two sets to one down to stun hosts and Pacific Games champions Wallis and Futuna in the men’s volleyball final in a five-set thriller at the Mini Games.
Soccer had a strong domestic season with the National Soccer League, Besta Cup and the various major competitions staging successful seasons.
Softball was another sport that had a solid domestic season.
Rugby union had a year that yielded little from the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions Cup and the sevens circuit.
AFL juniors continued to carry the national flag with the Binatangs competing well at the Queensland championships.
Hopefully those sports that under-performed in 2013 can pick up their game in the new year while those that reached great heights can carry the form forward into 2014.
Netball, cricket and volleyball were the best performed teams sports in a year that rugby league fell short.
Track star Wisil won the 100m and 200m events at the Melbourne Track Classic in April giving her the distinction of being the fastest woman in Australia.
Theresa Tona, a two-time Olympian, won her first gold medal in taekwondo at the Pacific Mini Games in Wallis & Futuna in September. Before that, Tona competed in an Australian tournament winning her 48kg division.
Kari produced a powerful performance at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Penang, Malaysia, last month. He won the junior and senior 94kg divisions, breaking the junior record in the process.
These three athletes showed they belong on the world stage with their efforts.
Wisil would also go on to qualify for the World Championships in Russia off her Australian performances.
Kari is assured a medal at next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. And Tona is a favourite for the gold medal at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby.
In team sports, our biggest let down were the Kumuls who never got off the ground in 2013 in spite of the time, money and resources put in by coaches, players and administrators.
Their short-comings (in playing and coaching class) were exposed at the Rugby League World Cup in the United Kingdom in October-November.
The side only managed a single victory in 2013, a win over Scotland in a pre-World Cup warm-up. Outside of that performance everything else was decidedly under-whelming.
The only positives for league in 2013 were the subsequent signing of several Kumuls to British Super League clubs and boom youngster Wellington Albert earned a National Rugby League contract with the Penrith Panthers.
The announcement of a national side in the Queensland Cup was also cause for celebration in league circles.
But Kumuls could not match what the Pepes in netball and Barramundis in cricket achieved over the year.
Netball’s resurgence was in large part due to a revamped administration under national federation president Julienne Leka-Maliaki.
The Pepes showed they could match it with regional heavyweights Samoa and Cook Islands when they defeated both sides, somewhat surprisingly, at the Pacific Netball Series in Samoa earlier this year. A third place finish at the Nations Cup this month capped of a solid 2013 for netball.
In cricket, PNG’s reputation as a genuine competitor at the second tier of international cricket was demonstrated at the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in the Untied Arab Emirates last Month.
Led by batsman Tony Ura, the Barras got to with one game of qualifying for the T20 World Cup. Although they finished eighth in the 16-team tournament, they gained the respect of the best second tier nations such as Ireland, Netherlands, Afghanistan and Kenya.
The other sport to win on the road was the Amoa, the men’s national volleyball side. PNG came from two sets to one down to stun hosts and Pacific Games champions Wallis and Futuna in the men’s volleyball final in a five-set thriller at the Mini Games.
Soccer had a strong domestic season with the National Soccer League, Besta Cup and the various major competitions staging successful seasons.
Softball was another sport that had a solid domestic season.
Rugby union had a year that yielded little from the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions Cup and the sevens circuit.
AFL juniors continued to carry the national flag with the Binatangs competing well at the Queensland championships.
Hopefully those sports that under-performed in 2013 can pick up their game in the new year while those that reached great heights can carry the form forward into 2014.
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