Nadera Panthers still Number 1 Sun Sep 26, 2:58pm (NSW) Written by: Peni Musunamasi Source: Fiji Times NATIONAL rugby league coach Vula Dakuitoga was the stabilising factor for his Nadera Panthers outfit as he helped them beat Nabua Broncos 24-16 in the Fiji National Rugby League grand final yesterday. Dakuitoga played an instrumental role in his side's two penalties and four-try romp over the Broncos' four unconverted tries on a slippery Fiji College of Advanced Education ground in Valelevu. Dakuitoga heaped praises on his young brigade saying that they had stuck to their game plan all day and defended like they have never did before. "Last week we conceived four tries in our semi-final so we really got to work with our defence during the week and it worked wonders in the final." Said Dakuitoga: "I decided to play in this game just to give the boys some confidence as this is relatively a very new and young side," the former national reps said. This is the ninth time that the Panthers have won the grand final from 12 attempts since the Sport's inception in Fiji in 1992. Broncos coach Shane Morris said his boys lost to a better team adding that poor ball handling was his side's main downfall. "We just could not hang on to the ball whenever we had possession and that killed our game altogether" "The boys are pretty upset with the results but we have got ourselves to blame, all in all I think we lost to a team that defended and attacked exceptionally well" Morris said. FNRL secretary Tomi Finau said the game was a fitting climax to the season's end and applauded both teams for their efforts. "Dakuitoga was the organiser in the Panthers side and he read the Broncos attacking pattern well to plot a good defensive game for his boys" Finau said. Dakuitoga attributed the win to team-mate Asaeli Saravaki's mother a staunch supporter of the Panthers who past away earlier this year. We are looking for a stronger competition next year and are hoping that we could launch an overseas tour to reward these players after the season next year said the Club Manager Peni Musunamasi who is also the FNRL eputy Chairman.