Vipers shrug off Wigmen in an extra-time thriller

The Moni Plus NCDC Port Moresby Vipers broke their five-year finals’ drought to book a Semi-final spot after edging the Kroton Hela Wigmen with an 18-12 extra-time nail-biter in the Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup Elimination Final on Sunday, August 24th, 2025, at Santos National Football Stadium.  

The Vipers Board & Management took a gamble in the off-season by scouting emerging players and rookie coaching staff to turn the fortunes of the club around in the 2025 DEM Cup campaign. The risk paid off when the metropolitan city’s flagship team snapped their five-year finals’ hoodoo yesterday (24th August). 

With both the Port Moresby Vipers and Hela Wigmen desperate to survive the elimination final, the two sides brought their best game and left everything on the pitch. The Vipers were first to score in the opening 10 minutes of play and took a 2-point penalty goal, taking an 8-0 lead. 

Undone by the 8-point buffer, the Wigmen responded in the 35th minute with an unconverted try, but the Vipers bagged another 6-pointer right in the shadows of half-time, leaving the score at 12-4. 

The Kroton-backed Wigmen took a penalty conversion in the 45th minute of the second half, reducing the deficit to 6 six points (12-6). The unpredictable Wigmen scored an unconverted try in the 59th minute and took a penalty goal in the 64th minute, equalizing the score at 12-12. 

The remaining 16 minutes of the contest reached another level as the two teams went full throttle and emptied their tanks. A couple of try-scoring opportunities and field-goal chances came begging, but neither side failed to put the game beyond doubt, locking the full-time score at 12-12.

An extra 10 minutes were given to decide the outcome of the game, with 5 minutes granted for each half. The first 5 minutes went without any points. However, with the game hanging in the balance, the Vipers scored a match-winning try in the dying minutes to seal the deal.

Vipers’ coach, Brendon Gotuno, praised his men for their gritty victory and credited the Wigmen for putting up a spirited fight, which saw the match go to extra time to decide the ultimate winner.

“I was confident with my boys. I believe they would deliver today, and they did. During the game, they made some errors, which saw the Wigmen pick up their momentum and almost got us, but I’m happy with the win,” said Gotuno.

“They (Wigmen) dashed our hopes in the semi-finals three times, so this win is very special. It feels good to finally defeat them.”

The Vipers will face the Gurias this Sunday (31st August) in the semi-final, with coach Gotuno stressing about confidence and improving in a couple of areas. 

“We have been telling the boys to keep our game simple, believe in themselves, and go out there and execute what we told them to do,” Gotuno said. 

“We have to polish up on our weaknesses and work on our attack and defence. We have three injured players, but we will reshuffle the team and try to get the combination right.”

The Port Moresby Vipers’ last premiership success was in 2013. The new-look Vipers outfit under the mentorship of rookie coaches, Brendon Gotuno and Albert Welling, are aiming to end the club's 13-year premiership drought this year.