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Panthers insist hunger remains despite Cleary doubts

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Penrith Panthers players insist their desire for a fourth consecutive premiership has not waned despite suggestions from coach Ivan Cleary the Panthers are lacking hunger on the run to NRL finals.

Saturday’s surprise 22-18 loss to Canberra marked Penrith’s first back-to-back defeats since April last year, the Panthers struggling for cohesion without injured halfback Nathan Cleary.

The timing of the slump is unfortunate for the triple reigning premiers, who now sit fourth on the ladder – lower than at any point in the second half of a season since 2019.

Penrith are at serious risk of forfeiting the top-two finish that appeared a formality only a fortnight ago. With another loss, they could fall out of the top four altogether.

The elder Cleary said on Monday there was “probably a question mark” around Penrith’s desire to keep their winning ways going, but players refuted that claim on Wednesday.

“I’m not satisfied with what we did last year, I definitely want to win again this year,” said second-rower Luke Garner, who plays his 100th NRL game against South Sydney on Friday.

“The hunger is still there, I think it is with all the crew. We’ve just got to maybe change a few things and hopefully we’re on the way to being there at the end of the year again.

“We’re still a good team. We’re still in the top four. I think if we can gain some momentum in the next two games, hopefully the finals can look good for us again.”

Prop Lindsay Smith said it was “disappointing” the Panthers could not win their first game since co-captain Cleary aggravated his shoulder injury in the round-24 loss to Melbourne.

But he remained confident in their premiership credentials.

“Obviously it’s not great to ever have two losses in a row at any stage of the season, whether it’s the start of the season or the end of the season but there’s obviously learnings there,” he said.

“People will be externally questioning our belief but I think internally we’ve got all the belief in the squad that we’ve got.”

The Panthers have made three changes for their penultimate match of the regular season, welcoming Mitch Kenny back from suspension to replace Luke Sommerton at hooker.

Sunia Turuva returns to the right wing after two weeks working on his defence in NSW Cup, with Paul Alamoti back from a broken arm to replace rookie Casey McLean at left centre.

Right centre Izack Tago, below his best in recent weeks, felt Turuva’s recent axing was a wake-up call for the rest of the Panthers.

“Everyone here is a professional athlete so it’s pretty hard,” he said.

“Everyone’s pushing for a spot and it’s just the way things worked out. I’m sure Tito’s grateful to be back in. It’s well-deserved.”

Written By: Jasper Bruce_AAP ©

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Stuart: Horsburgh could still play for Raiders in NRL

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Ricky Stuart needs all hands on deck as the Raiders push for a finals spot. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

By: Jacob Shteyman (AAP)

Want-away prop Corey Horsburgh may have another chance to prove his worth at Canberra, with coach Ricky Stuart claiming the former Queensland State of Origin representative still has a job to do.

Horsburgh has this year failed to match the lofty heights of his impressive past two seasons.

The Raiders enforcer has made just two NRL appearances off the bench in an injury-disrupted 2024, with the majority of his football limited to reserve grade.

It was playing in the NSW Cup that the 26-year-old received an ignominious three-game ban for headbutting and punching Warriors forward Jacob Laban in June.

Since his return from suspension Horsburgh has remained on the outer, with Stuart preferring 23-year-old Simi Sasagi on the bench against Manly on Saturday in place of the injured Zac Hosking.

Ricky Stuart needs all hands on deck as the Raiders push for a finals spot. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)
Ricky Stuart needs all hands on deck as the Raiders push for a finals spot. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Horsburgh, who has been given permission to speak with other clubs despite being contracted to the Raiders until the end of the 2027 season, has been named only on the extended bench.

But Stuart said he still saw the former fan favourite playing a role in the NRL this season.

“Yeah I do. We need everybody available, fit and healthy,” he said.

The Raiders could do with reinforcements, likely needing four wins from their remaining five matches to make the finals.

Horsburgh has impressed in the NSW Cup – brawling notwithstanding – and could be a handy addition to the side after Hosking was ruled out for the season.

Hosking will undergo surgery next week after re-injuring his shoulder in the Raiders’ 22-18 loss to Canterbury on Sunday.

It was a disappointing blow for the rangy second-rower after only recently returning from a long-term injury lay-off, Stuart said.

‘He’s a new boy to the club, started the season extremely well,” he said.

“And unfortunately, the injury early in the piece to his shoulder forced him into a really long, arduous rehabilitation campaign.”

Teen five-eighth Ethan Strange comes back into the starting line-up after he was rested from the Bulldogs match.

The promising playmaker has been forced to shoulder substantially more game time than Stuart had initially planned this season, in the absence of Jamal Fogarty.

But with the experienced halfback back in the squad, Stuart felt the time was right to give Strange a much-needed breather.

“It was something that you learn as a coach from experience in regards to how a young boy feels physically and mentally, too,” he said.

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Glare in for Mavoko

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Rugby player wearing orange and white SP PNG Hunters Jersey

Finley Glare is set to come into the SP PNG Hunters side as the replacement for Jamie Mavoko for this Saturday’s clash against the Northern Pride.

Finley is the younger brother of former SP PNG Hunter Warren Glare; the Lae City junior was the captain of the Junior Kumuls that played the Australian School boys last year in Port Moresby.

The young utility is a promising dummy half and has been at rake for the Hunters off the interchange bench.

The inclusion of Glare at halfback is a show of trust by Coach Paul Aiton who is currently short on halve pairings, with both Sakias Komati and Jamie Mavoko unable to take the field due to injury and concussion.

Glares inclusion comes after recently returned halfback Jamie Mavoko was stood down this weekend, after a failed category one (1) Head Injury Assessment (HIA), this happened during the team’s 52 to 16 win over the Townsville Blackhawks in round eight (8) last week.

Glare will partner fellow Lae Snax Tigers team mate, Joshua Lau in the halves.

The young duo will have a tough task ahead this weekend, however, Coach Paul Aiton says his side is preparing well for the clash this Saturday.

Coach Paul Aiton commended the teams dominating performance against the Blackhawks in Townsville last week which saw the Hunters score nine tries and Jamie Mavoko with the boot nailing eight out of nine conversions.

The performance by the SP PNG Hunters to dominate the Blackhawks has sparked new life into the team.

All along Coach Paul Aiton has been talking about sticking to their game plan and having trust in the players, but this weekend they face their biggest opponent yet.

For the Hunter, taking on competition leaders the Northern Pride at home is a huge contrast and challenge for the Hunters who are 10th out of 15 teams.

Coach Aiton added that the team are starting to grasp the systems and processes in their game plan and with the teams performance last weekend they look to maintain that consistency as they take on the competition leaders on Saturday.

“We were individually prepared, we are understanding our systems and processes a lot more, and the reduction of our errors and penalties we reduced that quite a lot, its about having faith in what we’re doing, don’t stray away from what we are doing, even though it looks like its not working it will work, we just have to stay with it.

“I am looking forward to it, I know the guys are looking forward to it as well, it will be a good measure for us the Northern Pride are right in front at the top of the ladder,” Aiton said.

(PHOTO FILE: Provided by SP PNG Hunters)

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First ever Women’s National Rugby League Competition to kick-off in July

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PNG Women's National Rugby League players wearing red black and gold team attire

To ensure the growth of rugby league in Papua New Guinea, the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition or PNGNRLC is introducing a women’s national competition.

The competition will be led by six participating franchises.

Taking a page out of the Women’s National Rugby League Competition in Australia, the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League with funding support from Kumul Mineral Holdings and other stakeholders are ensuring a strong and vibrant women’s competition takes place in Papua New Guinea.

The expansion of the Competition to include the women and juniors is part of the PNGNRLC five-year plan (2023 to 2027).

An ecstatic Chief Executive Officer of the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League, Stanley Hondina after making the announcement said the first premier women’s competition in PNG will be launched soon.

“We will for the first time have a women’s national rugby league competition, we are starting with six teams and the competition will be for seven weeks,” Hondina said.

The competition is slated for kickoff in July this year.

Out of the current 12 franchises in the Digicel ExxonMobil Cup; six franchises have been selected to field teams in the Women’s competition, and these franchises were selected following a Club audit of the 12 franchises in line with the Club Professionalism Pillar of the PNGRFL’s PNGNRLC five-year strategic plan (2023 – 2027).

In supporting the realization of the Women’s Competition the Kumul Mineral Holdings Limited has committed to giving K15 million over five years to the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League.

The funding package will run from 2024 through to 2028 and part of this funding will go towards boosting the Digicel ExxonMobil Cup and the new Women’s Competition.

KMHL made a cheque presentation of the first K3 million to the CEO and Directors of the PNGRFL in Port Moresby last week Friday; Chairman of KPHL Dr Ila Temu said KPHL was more than happy to make the commitment.

“We are committed to and excited to partner with the PNGRFL for the first time as it continues to build the domestic competition, this provides a great opportunity for our women and girls,” said Dr Ila Temu.

CEO of PNGRFL Stanley Hondina says that the funding was timely and would provide the seed funding for the Women’s Competition to get off the ground.

“We actually set 2025 to start the National women’s Competition but we’ve managed to bring it in a year early due to the great cooperation with the franchises and among other factors this support from KMHL will really assist us,” Hondina added

The PNGNRLC is responsible for the Digicel ExxonMobil Cup, which is the men’s premier rugby league competition in Papua New Guinea.

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Super Rugby: playoffs picture clears but system raises questions

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Super Rugby

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The playoffs picture in Super Rugby has cleared a little after the weekend’s ninth round of games but has again raised question of whether the playoff system is too liberal.
The top eight of 12 teams, or 66% of all teams, contest the Super Rugby quarterfinals and, after nine rounds this season, the price of admission to the top eight is only three wins or 13 points.

Last year the Queensland Reds squeaked into the top eight with five wins and 24 points from the full 15 rounds of the regular season. In 2022, the Dunedin-based Highlanders qualified with four wins and 23 points, four wins and 12 points behind the seventh-placed Reds.

With six rounds left in the current season, Moana Pasifika are on the fringe of the playoffs in eighth place with three wins and 12 points, one win and one point ahead of the New South Wales Waratahs.

All 12 teams technically are still in with a chance of making the playoffs, even the defending champion Crusaders who have won only one of eight matches. The Christchurch-based Crusaders suffered one of their worst defeats this season on Saturday when they went down 37-15 to the Western Force.

On the current reckoning, the top three teams — the Wellington-based Hurricanes, Auckland-based Blues and ACT Brumbies — are already safe in the playoffs. The fourth placed Melbourne Rebels and Hamilton-based Chiefs are on the margins.

The financially-troubled Rebels appear to have over-performed by winning five of their eight matches. But those wins have come over lower-ranked Australian teams, Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua. They have a tough run towards the playoffs with three matches against New Zealand teams, another against the Brumbies and a last-round match against the Drua in Fiji.

The Hamilton-based Chiefs have five wins and 23 points and are likely to make the playoffs, though they have to face the Hurricanes and Blues in their last two regular season matches.

The run-in will be critical in the last weeks of the season. Moana Pasifika have a tough finish with matches against the Drua in Fiji, then the Highlanders, the Chiefs, the Hurricanes, the Waratahs and the Crusaders.
The Waratahs have an even tougher run in with matches still to come against the Chiefs, the Hurricanes, the Blues, the Brumbies and the Reds.

In each case, the run-in will help determine final placings and quarterfinal match-ups. The question remains whether the first round of playoffs can provide compelling competition when the top teams will be drawn against sides which at best have won half as many matches.

Super Rugby has struggled to attract crowds in Australia and New Zealand this season — not in Fiji where 15,400 filled the national stadium to watch the Drua play the Hurricanes on Friday.

A system in which twice as many teams make the playoffs as miss out may not help attract fans, though it prolongs some teams’ involvement.

In Australian soccer’s A-League, six out of 12 teams make the playoffs. The Australian National Rugby League has eight playoff qualifiers out of 17 teams and uses a weighted system which advantages the highest-placed teams.

Super Rugby’s too generous system may need reappraisal, given than no team has won the tournament from further back than fourth place after the regular season.

By STEVE McMORRAN AP Sports Writer

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Associated Press ©

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Hurricanes overcome yellow cards to beat Fijian Drua 38-15 in Super Rugby Pacific

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Super Rugby Pacific

SUVA, Fiji (AP) — The Wellington-based Hurricanes overcame a poor second half in which they incurred three yellow cards to beat the Fijian Drua 38-15 in Super Rugby Pacific on Friday, stretching their winning start to the season to eight matches and ending the Drua’s unbeaten record at home.

The first-place Hurricanes were impressive in the first half, scoring four tries to lead 28-7 at halftime.
But their game started to fall apart in the second half and they spent almost 10 minutes with 13 men when DuPlessis Kirifi and Isaia Walker-Leawere were sin-binned in the 64th and 65th minutes. Replacement prop Caleb Delany also received a yellow card two minutes before fulltime.

In the other match Friday, the Queensland Reds beat the Dunedin, New Zealand-based Highlanders 31-0 at Brisbane. Coming off three losses in a row and missing four frontline players in Tate McDermott, Fraser McReight, Josh Flook and Seru Uru, Queensland dominated the match with Hunter Paisami, Ryan Smith, Lawson Creighton and Suliasi Vunivalu scoring tries in a bonus-point win.

The Drua were unable to get into the game in the first half because of errors, turnovers and penalties. That situation was reversed in the second half as the Hurricanes, tiring in the heat, couldn’t hold onto possession and were heavily penalized, though their defense mostly held firm.

The Drua reduced the Hurricanes lead with a try to scrumhalf Kitione Salawa early in the second half. But they were only able to score three points — a penalty to Kemu Valetini — when the Hurricanes were two men down.

Peni Matavalu was held up over the Hurricanes goal line in what might have been a pivotal moment.
Returned to full strength, the Hurricanes extended their lead with a penalty to Aidan Morgan. They finished with a try to Xavier Numia after the fulltime siren and while down to 14 men.

“It just shows that over here you’ve got to go the full 80 minutes,” Hurricanes captain Brad Shields said. “It was a good test of our character.

“We talked about it during the week, that it was going to be about the effort early. We didn’t think we were going to be down to 13. But it did show good character, the way we held it together on the line and connected on defense.”

The Hurricanes opened the scoring with a try after seven minutes to center Billy Proctor from a speculative in-field kick from Salesi Rayasi.

The Drua scored minutes later through young flyhalf Isikeli Rabitu to draw level. But the Hurricanes opened a 21-point lead by halftime with tries to backrower Devon Flanders, center Jordie Barrett and hooker James O’Reilly.

Salawa scored from a lineout drive in the 46th minute as the Drua began to get on top, bringing a crowd of 15,000 at the National Stadium to life. The Hurricanes grimly held on, even when outnumbered and gradually the Drua’s ascendancy faded.

The Drua have won three home matches this season in Lautoka. This was their first match in Suva and their first home defeat of the year.

They return to Lautoka next week for a crucial match against Moana Pasifika as they attempt to hold onto a place in the top eight playoff zone.

The Hurricanes suffered a major blow when they lost hooker Asafo Aumua to a knee injury.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Associated Press ©

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SP PNG Hunters Ready for Round Six

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SP PNG Hunters

After five rounds the SP PNG Hunters are two from two and a bye, this puts them at 10th spot on the Hotplus Cup Ladder.

The Hunters have only two wins at home, with two loses away in Queensland Australia, they have the opportunity to keep the wining streak going at home, but it wont be easy this weekend in round 6 of the Hotplus Cup.

The Hunters face the Redcliff Dolphins at the Santos National Football Stadium on Saturday the 20th of March 2024.

The Dolphins have been on a roll with a four from one record placing them on 2nd place after 5 rounds.

The Hunters poor defense and discipline has been a concern, but Coach Paul Aiton says the team is looking to keep a clean record at home.

The Hunters were hard at training this week perfecting their techniques in defense, Aiton said it was all about mindset for the team to get themselves in order.

“We have a good tackling technique we worked on it at preseason, we haven’t been disciplined on our technique.

“We have reduced our penalty count every week, the technique is alright I think it is all about mindset, As Coach Enock Maki says defense is about effort I think it is all about our effort,” Aiton said.

Saturday will also see the return of Jamie Mavoko who replaces Sakias Komati, Mavoko has been nursing an injury and as an experienced half-back is a welcome addition to the team, Valentine Richard and Robert Mathias both make their return to the side also.

For the Hunters that are not in the team this week, those that are signed to Digicel ExxonMobil Cup teams will play for their respective clubs.

But Paul Aiton says there are a couple of injuries that players are nursing and not all players are expected to play in the Digicel Cup, he added that priority should be the Hunters and not all players will be allowed to play in the Digicel ExxonMobil Cup.

“We are very selective and cant let everyone play, even though we want them to get match fitness, because its the best fitness you can get, we got to be very selective on who gets to play.

“We would like for them all to go back and play to get match fitness on timing and defense but its quite risky, we have to hold back on some players,” Aiton said

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Hunters Win in Round 3

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Hunters Round 3

Robert Mathias and Valentine Richard stood out for the SP PNG Hunters, in the team’s 22 to 10 victory over the Sunshine Coast Falcons at the Santos National Football Stadium.

The Duo scored a try each in the round three fixture of the 2024 Hotplus Cup season. Robert Mathias even helped to set up a try to Clent Lama after he made the initial break that led to the try. The Hunters didn’t have the services of Valentine and Robert last week. The two are still having issues with their Visas and are not able to travel to Australia. Possibly miss more away games before the issues are sorted.

Hunters Coach Paul Aiton did admit that the duo was missed during the second-round loss to the Capras in Central Queensland last weekend. But added that there are players who are capable of filling the spots of the two players.

“Valentine Richard is a Kumul and Robert Mathias is impressive. It was a very big loss for us last week without them in the team. But their not being in the team allows us to put in other players that can fill in their spots, and them missing the away games is going to happen again because of their Visas not being granted,” Aiton said.

Paul Aiton did not specify what the reason was for the duo’s visa troubles. Adding that it was not serious but it was a matter of the two players sorting themselves out. Confirming it was a personal issue and would be sorted out eventually.

The match against the Falcons started off slow for both teams. The Hunters suffering a sin bin in the 6th minute to winger Solo Wane.

The Hunters and Falcons played in overcast conditions. It was suitable for a great day of rugby league, but the crowds were kept disappointed by the home side. Countless errors especially poor ball security plagued the Hunters. The Falcons were also victims of poor ball handling, causing a meager flow in the opening exchanges of the half.

The Falcons had an opportunity to get an early two-point lead but were left disappointed when half-back Cody Hunter failed to convert the penalty conversion.

Hunters were camped in the Falcon’s half and finally cracked their defense in the 25th minute. A simply set play leading to a string of passes found fullback Sonny Wabo on the sidelines. Wabo giving an inside ball to Winger Brendon Nima to crash over for the Hunters first try.

A successful conversion by Clent Lama took the Hunters to a 6-0 lead. The Falcons responded with a try 4 minutes later. A cross-field bomb by halfback Cody Hunter from the left side of the field to the right, was caught in mid-air by the Falcons second rower Thallon Peters, who then scored the Falcons opening try.

Falcons Zacariah Miles missed the Conversion to trail 6-4 in favor of the Hunters, the scores remained 6-4 at halftime.

The Falcons scored first in the second half. A converted try to Falcons Kane Jackson pushing the visitors to a 10-6 lead.

But the Hunters managed to get themselves back in the game. A late surge in the final 20 minutes set in motion three tries for the classy win. Clent Lama crossed over in the 65th minute, followed by Robert Mathias in the 75th minute. Finally the win was sealed by Valentine Richard who muscled his way onto the try line in the 78th minute, ending the match 22 points to 10 for a Hunters second win on home soil.

Coach Aiton was happy with the result. Despite a slow start the team managed to turn things around in the final 20 minutes to surge home for the big win.

Recent: https://insidepng.com/glare-talin-and-kai-to-debut-for-hunters/

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Glare, Talin and Kai to Debut for Hunters

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Three to Debut

Three players will make their SP PNG Hunters debut on Saturday. This is after a thrilling win on home soil last weekend. The Hunters will travel to Browne Park, Rockhampton for round two of the 2024 Hotplus Cup, where they will take on the Central Queensland Capras on Saturday the 16th of March.

The PNG Hunters off the field share a bond with the Capras. But friendships aside, Paul Aitons men are determined to secure the valuable 2 points on offer.

“I got a good relationship with the Coach down at the Capras. We get on really well. We also had our video sessions and kind of predicted what they would do. I think for us we just play how we want to play. I’m comfortable with the team we have. The boys, they can score anywhere.” Aiton said.

The Hunters beat the Wynnum Manly Seagulls 36 Points to 22 in round one last weekend. But despite the win, Coach Aiton sees that there is more room for improvement.

It was a 14 point win but the Hunters were scrappy in patches of the match. With a total of 23 missed tackles and 12 errors, the team also gave away 13 penalties, to the Seagulls who gave the Hunters only 5.

Aiton said consistency is important. He added that despite the team being gifted with try scorers they still needed to get the little things right, and discipline was important.

“There was a high completion rate between the two teams. It’s not always good for us despite the win. We gave away a lot of penalties. First half of the season we focus on completing our sets and discipline,” Aiton said.

The Hunters are forced to drop two players due to Visa issues. Robert Mathias and Valentine Richard, will have to stay back in PNG while their Visa issues get sorted out before they are able to travel to Australia.

“Valentine Richard and Robert Mathias are unable to fly. So Junior Talin will step in for Robert and we have Manase Kai takes over Valentines spot. Tapia Solu was charged with a crusher tackle but we took an early plea so he will be out for a week only. So Finlay Glare will also make his debut. So in all three players will make their debut in tomorrows match,” Aiton said.

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Women’s Rugby Sports Development

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Womens Rugby League

Australia has announced more support for Papua New Guinea’s Women’s rugby league development through an investment of a $9.7 million.

Belinda Gwasamun a rugby player with PNG Orchids said she was privileged to travel and play in Australia and at a World Cup and had more dedicated consistency to the high-performance training through similar development program.

“I am excited to see more female athletes playing rugby league and to have more opportunities and exposure
through the support of our own domestic national competition. This is the way forward for the Orchids to be more competitive at the international level,” said Gwasamun.

PNGRFL CEO Stanley Hondina signs a document as Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea John Feakes looks on.

PNGRFL CEO Stanley Hondina said the investment is welcoming for the enhancement Women’s rugby league development in country.

“The last two years have started the phase for long term improvement in the game in PNG. Our female game is in its initial professional competition stage, and we are looking forward to getting it off the ground for the first time,” said Hondina.

The Australian support will see the establishment of a national women’s competition in PNG and support towards a women’s talent identification program.

The partnership expands to building the capacity and credentials of PNG Rugby League coaches, support staff and administrators, benefitting both the women’s and men’s game.

Australian High Commissioner to PNG John Feakes said Australia remains committed to promoting greater inclusion of women and girls in sport.

“Women’s rugby league in PNG has come a long way in a few short years. PNG Orchids’ debut performance in the 2017 World Cup and PNG now establishing a women’s national competition shows that barriers to gender equality are being broken down. I am excited to see where the game goes in PNG, there is so much
untapped potential in this country,” Feakes said.

“The QRL prides itself on being an experienced and responsible steward of the game in Queensland and we’re happy to share our knowledge and expertise with trusted partners,” said Ikin.

QRL Chief Executive officer Ben Ikin said it’s a privilege to partner with the Australian Government, PNGRFL and the PNG Hunters to help support the growth of rugby league in PNG.

L-R QRL CEO Ben Ikin, PNGRFL CEO Stanley Hondina and Australian High Commissioner to PNG John Feakes.

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