The top six teams remain unchanged after Round 16, but there have been notable shifts. The Eagles lead with 22 points, followed closely by the Mioks and Muruks with 21 points each. The Gurias hold fourth place with 20 points, while the Tigers and Dabaris are tied for fifth with 19 points each.

The competition for the minor premiership remains fiercely contested, with only a few points separating the top teams. The race for the 6th position is particularly close, with the Gurias, Tigers, and Dabaris all vying for the spot. The final three rounds of the season are expected to be crucial.

Currently sitting in 7th place with 16 points, the Waghi Tumbe face an uphill battle to break into the top six. They face challenging fixtures against the Eagles and Lahanis in the remaining rounds.

In the upcoming fixtures, the Gurias will face the Vipers and Isou in Rabaul, while the Tigers will meet the Lahanis and Muruks in Lae. The Dabaris will play the Wigmen and Mioks in Port Moresby.

The competition is set to proceed to the semi-final series for the top six teams following Round 18, with the first week of the semi-finals scheduled to begin on August 25.

Mt Hagen Eagles' captain Levai Andrew is in hot water after being hit with two grade three contrary conduct charges by the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition match review committee. The charges stem from incidents during the Eagles' round four clash with Central Dabaris at the Jonah Ambane Oval in Minj, Jiwaka.
Andrew, playing in the centre position for the Eagles, was found guilty of swearing at referee Bonny Bin and refusing to leave the field after being sin-binned during the match. As a result, he now faces a suspension of more than 10 weeks, pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.
Pathways and performance general manager of PNGNRLC, Tony Archer, stated that Andrew has 48 hours to respond to the charges before disciplinary action is taken. "The player is charged, and it depends on if the player pleads guilty and accepts the penalty," Archer explained. "The club has 48 hours to make a decision or make a submission."

Eagles head coach Francis Ray refrained from commenting immediately, indicating that the team management was set to discuss Andrew's charges in a meeting last night. "We knew of the committee’s decision on social media and will comment after our meeting tonight," Ray told The National.
Meanwhile, Central Dabaris released a statement on their Facebook page, expressing their expectation for a fair outcome from the disciplinary process. "We will allow that process to take its course and expect that a judicious outcome will be delivered, upholding the integrity of the competition managers and does not bring the game further into disrepute," the statement read.
In a twist to the saga, Archer admitted that referee Bin was at fault for changing his decision late in the match, which ended in an 18-18 draw. Despite the controversy, Bin has been stood down from officiating in this weekend’s round five matches. Further investigations into the actions of the club, its officials, and game day staff are underway.
Archer emphasized the importance of upholding professionalism and respect for match officials, stating, "Respecting the decision of a match referee and the correct application of the rules of the game are essential. We are driving hard in improving the professionalism of our game, and to have this incident occur is unfortunate and not to the standards we require."
As the rugby league community awaits the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings, the incident serves as a reminder of the ongoing efforts to maintain integrity and sportsmanship within the competition.
Also check out

• ​Digicel Cup : Round 5 Results

Next : Lae Snax Tigers Down Mendi Muruks To Book Grand Final Spot

The Lae Snax Tigers held of determined Muruks outfit  a convincing win with 14 - 10 score. The Tigers will have a week off and will meet the winner of the Mendi Muruks and Wahgi Tumbe game. 

By Emmanuel Eralia 
The mighty PRK Mendi Muruks have taken this year’s Digicel Cup competition by storm as they plotted 6/7 wins to sit on the second position. This is a great improvement compared to the past 6 seasons.
They are playing a more structured football and scoring good tries from set plays. If you are able to watch the highlight of their match against the Dabaris, you would see that. 
Head Coach Rodrick Puname is a strict man of discipline; always promote young players and emphasis on a more structured way of playing.  This is having a positive impact so far on the team.

MENDI Muruks kicked off their season with a 16-12 win over Enga Mioks in round one of the Digicel Cup at the Lae Rugby League Ground on Sunday.Played behind closed doors due to the semi-professional competition’s Covid-19 measures, the match was slow and riddled with errors as both sides struggled to gain the ascendency.The Muruks opened the scoring with an unconverted try through Abraham Wallace before Yaweye Dikala added another four-pointer to push his side out to an 8-0 lead.But refusing to back down, the Mioks pack forced the match into an arm-wrestle and were reward with an unconverted Owen Walis try off a penalty. 

​These are teh Digicel Cup Team Captains for year 2021 
1. Central Dabaris -  Adam Korave 
2. Goroko Lahanis -  Charlie Buka
3. Mendi Muruks   -  Wesa Tenza 
4. Hagen Eagles.    - Yambra Jul
5. Gulf Isou          -     Reiko Jimmy
6. Kimbe Cutters -    Jah Hogan 
7. Waghi Tumbes  -  Joe Frank 
8. Enga Mioks.    -      Sani Lipu
9.  Port Moresby Vipers - Thompson Teteh
10. Agmark Gurias  - Ade Rami
11. Lae Snax Tigers - Butler Morris
12. Hela Wigmen - Valentine Culligan 

Next : ​PNG Digicel Cup : Tigers Coach Tepend Shares Insights On Preparation