Captain Waisea Lawaibuka says despite losing to Northland in the pool stages, the team believed they would meet again in the final, and made the most of their chance.

“The first time we met Northland in the pool games, we lost. I told the boys that we will face them again at the top, during the finals, and we did and I’m grateful that we worked towards what we had promised ourselves.”

Starting the season with just 15 players, Lawaibuka says the title and promotion are a reward for the team’s hard work and determination. They now shift their focus to the Farebrother Challenge before they also compete in the Skipper Cup Challenge.

“When the season started, we had nothing. When we started, there were only 15 of us in the squad. There wasn’t much support from our families. We started from nothing. We also struggled financially. But we are thankful to our management and coaching staff for footing our expenses from their pockets. It has been 28 years for since we last qualified for the Skipper Cup because we have always been in the Vanua Cup competition. This year, I told the boys that we will not wait for next year, because we didn’t come for the Elimination Rounds, if we want to qualify for Skipper, we will have to work hard.”