Papua New Guinea were too powerful again, taking home the Austhai Geophysical Men’s Division 1 trophy once again at the ATG 2023 Asian Championships.
The PNG Muruks saluted for a three-peat in Division 1, with a dominant second half display against a fearless Indonesian Volcanoes outfit, who played their hearts out. The mighty PNG Muruks flexed their muscles at ground level and added too much polish and scoreboard pressure during a crucial phase when the game was on the line, whilst the Indonesian Volcanoes were overrun and ran out of fit players when it mattered the most.
PNG Muruks claiming the Division 1 trophy for the third time.
The pre-tournament favourite-Muruks went 3-0 during the preliminary games and injected a new generation of PNG youngsters into their squad, who showed that they could match it at the level and dominate on the big stage.
The Indonesian Volcanoes went 2-1 and were super impressive with their quick transition game plan out of defence and hitting up their potent forward Peter McFarlane, who truly deserved his All-Asian honours, as well as Leading Goal-Kicker and Best Player medals.
The Volcanoes and Muruks battle it out in the Div 1 Grand Final.
The Vietnam Swans went 1-2 and left nothing in the tank, with a gut running victory against the Singapore Wombats (0-3) and put in a spirited performance against the Muruks before agonizingly going down by 3 points in their final game of the tournament.
Swans players in action at the 2023 Asian Championships.
As expected the Singapore Wombats were spirited in defeat during their games and battled away to the best of their abilities and ensured their opponents earned their victories against their proud club.
Singapore Wombats player wriggling away from the contest.
