The Gas Resource Central Dabaris are confident winning the 2025 Santos Cup grand final against the Goroka Lahanis on Sunday at the Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.
Dabaris coach Cathy Neap expressed her gratitude towards sponsors for the unwavering support towards the season 2024 and now 2025 as they approach the finals.
This year has been a roller-coaster for the Central Dabaris who lost most of their players from last year. Only seven players from last year returned to the team this year.
Neap said seven players from last year have returned and the rest of the 25 squad that we have are new.
“We have got five or six rugby union girls that are playing local rugby league as well and have come on board,’ she said.
“We managed to pull through finishing last and after round two we were at the bottom at sixth place and then working our way up into the third place and into grand final is a big achievement for the girls and the coaching staff.”
The Dabaris have identified their flaws in losing to Goroka Lahanis last year in the dying minutes of the grand final and have addressed that to face the same opponent on Sunday while preparing the players for the full 70 minutes.
“The girls play with their heart. The sister hood and the bond that they have with each other, supporting each other has been the driving force for the successful season,” she said.
With the inclusion of Rugby Union girls, the Dabaris have the skills and the strength to display on Sunday.
Coach Neap said the girls have the potential to win the competition but it was the silly mistake that cost their game last year.
“It showed that we are a better side, but we just needed to work on our mistakes and work together as a team. I as the coach has to find the right combination and position so they can do their best,” she said.
Dabaris co-captains Julianne Yallon and Joanne Logona said that the team’s preparation is going well and the focus is set for finals on Sunday.
“For our team’s preparation we are just focusing on the defense and our attack. We lost some of our players from last year but we were fortunately enough to have some Union players coming in and joining us,” she said.
“We are looking forward for the weekends game this Sunday. We are well prepared and actively participating in our training with all our focus on the grand final.”