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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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Rugby League

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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Rugby League

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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Rugby League

SP PNG Hunters Ready for Season Opener

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Hunters Season Opener

Its crunch time again for the SP PNG Hunters, the 2024 Hotplus Cup season opener for the Hunters is on Saturday the 9th of March at the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

The Hunters with Head Coach Paul Aiton said they had a grueling and eventful preseason, the team named their final 30 men squad last week, the team had two trial matches against the Ipswitch Jets and the Central Queensland Capras, this ensured the team had ample time to work on possible combinations and structures for their season opener.

Ila Alu remains the captain of the team as he looks forward for his 7th season with the club since joining in 2018.

Coach Paul Aiton said Ila Alu continues to prove his leadership prowess on and off the field.

“Ila is the most consistent player in training and a leader outside of the game as well,” Aiton remarked

Hunters finished 10th in 2023 wining just nine and losing 10 matches, the team hasn’t been in the finals since 2017 the year of their maiden premiership win.

Captain Ila Alu says since joining the team in 2018 the level of football in the Hotplus Cup has greatly evolved, and with the addition of Paul Aiton as Head Coach their focus is on consistency in defense and attack.

“The finals are a long stretch away, Coach has bought in a lot of new ideas that fit into our game style, we know we can tackle hard and run hard, but there are some components that we have worked on especially for efficiency for longer periods in attack and defense.

“The game has evolved, especially the speed and technicality, if we can implement what we worked hard for in preseason, we can start off well in our hunt, the finals are a long way away, and we take each game as it comes and work towards the best outcome,” Alu said

Coach Paul Aiton started off with 50 plus players during preseason, among those players were promising talent from the Junior Kumuls that proved their worth against the Australian School Boys side during the Prime Ministers 13 weekend, three players from that side made the final cut for the 2024 Hunters side, Bruce Bawase, Finlay Glare and Gairo Voro, the three were standouts during preseason and Aiton at first didn’t think he would select these players for the final side but, they impressed him and wholeheartedly earned their spot in the team.

“I know these three are talented, they share similar qualities that the current players have and this can push these players as well to improve, I didn’t think I would select these players at the start of preseason but their efforts and humility was impressive and overall they are just great people”, Aiton said

Ila Alu was also impressed with the three young players, he said it was a tough competition among players during preseason, and it really pushed all the current contracted players to fight for their place in the side as well.

“Its good to have the young players coming in at preseason, they push us hard during preseason, its great to have competition amongst us players, these young players are talented and eager to learn, they have earned the trust of the majority,” Alu said

The Hunters have also involved former players in the side, with Wartovo Puara Junior and Enock Maki as assistant Coaches and Butler Morris as a trainer in the team as well.

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Hunters Desperate for Win at Home

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It will be the SP PNG Hunters second home game of the season, at the Santos National Football Stadium this Saturday, 29th April when they host the Mackay Cutters in Round 7 of the QRL Hostplus Cup. Kickoff is at 3pm.

The Hunters will have plenty to play for when they run out to a home crowd this weekend, having fallen short to the Burleigh Bears in Round 6 last week. The Bears ran out to a big early lead having played with 90% of possession in the opening stages of the match. Starved of possession and field position, the Hunters had no chance to answer back as Burleigh dominated proceedings.

The Hunters had just three sets in the first quarter of the game, highlighting the lopsided nature of the contest. As the possession stat balanced out, the PNG side showed they can match it with anyone in the Hostplus Cup competition. They made the most of their rare opportunities in attack to score four well-worked tries against a highly experienced and confident Burleigh outfit.

The Hunters will be without suspended five-eighth Sakias Komati this week but will be confident of returning to the winners circle against the 14th placed Cutters. The last time these sides met was in Round 20 last year, when the Hunters produced one of the performances of the season. Down on the scoreboard with just minutes remaining, a length of the field try in the 77th minute clinched the result for the Hunters to ensure they finished the 2022 season on a high.

Current Hunters players Rodrick Tai, Judah Rimbu, Ila Alu and Brandon Nima were instrumental to that result and shape as key players for PNG again, this week.

The Cutters will travel to Port Moresby for Saturday’s match on the back of a 42-16 thumping at the hands of Norths Devils. Two sinbins to Cutters players Kyle Schneider and Sean Mullany made the task all too difficult for Mackay in that game as Norths ran in seven tries against a depleted defensive line.

Mackay have made a host of changes to their Round 6 losing side and will be desperate to get their season back on track with a win this weekend.

Player to Watch

Epel Kapinias might’ve finished on the wrong side of the scoreboard last week but he played out a career game himself to be one of the Hunters best in Round 6.

Starting in the middle at prop, Kapinias played 75 minutes straight for Head Coach Stanley Tepend and refused to take a backwards step in the face of a red-hot Burleigh Bears side.

With an engine that belies his hulking frame, Kapinias was a force on both sides of the ball as the Hunters chased a miracle comeback.

His strength through contact in yardage is evident with Kapinias registering half his total running metres from that game in post-contact. He busted five tackles and broke the line once on his way to his first try of the season and his fifth in his Hostplus Cup career. Kapinias also made 24 tackles with just one miss to show his worth in defence, too.

At just 24 years of age and approaching 50 games in the Queensland Cup, Kapinias’ best football is still ahead of him. The experience he is getting as a leader in the Hunters forward
pack will hold him in good stead as he finds his feet in the Hostplus Cup competition.

Coach’s Comments

Head Coach Stanley Tepend was understandably disappointed with last week’s performance and is looking forward to a response on Saturday.

“It’s obviously been a disappointing last few weeks,” said Tepend.

“Full credit to Burleigh who played a great game, but we just lacked energy and intent right from the kick off. We just weren’t there last week but the boys are learning quickly that in this competition you have to be ready to turn up every week.”

Tepend said his side has focussed on being accountable for individual performances this week.

“We’ve had a look at our individual preparation – what we do throughout the week, on gameday, how we’re preparing ourselves for the game. We need to be accountable for our own actions and make sure we’re all on the same page.”

“We’ve focussed on staying in our systems and being more resilient when things don’t go our way. We know we’ve got points in us but we just need to not panic and trust our defensive systems.”

Team List

  1. Morea Morea
  2. Siki Konden
  3. Brandon Nima
  4. Rodrick Tai
  5. Solo Wane
  6. Joshua MIre
  7. Jamie Mavoko
  8. Junior Rop
  9. Wesser Tenza
  10. Epel Kapinias
  11. Sherwin Tanabi
  12. Julius Yakoba
  13. Ila Alu (captain)
  14. Judah Rimbu
  15. Tom Moide
  16. Henry Noki
  17. Koso Bandi
  18. Benji Kot
  19. Sanny Wabo
  20. Trevor Solu
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Sport

Hunters lose to Tigers in first home game of 2023 season

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The SP PNG Hunters were handed their first loss of the 2023 Hotplus Cup season in front of their home crowd at the Santos National Football Stadium on Saturday.

Hunters took an early lead 20 minutes into the match but were playing catchup towards the back-end of the game.

In a similar fashion to last weekend’s clash against the Souths Logan Magpies, the Hunters fell short in their try conversions.

Despite having scored seven tries on the day, they managed only four out of seven kick conversions.

Their opponents, the Brisbane Tigers, managed six tries and converted five out of six while an additional two penalty conversions helped them to a 38-36 victory against the Hunters.

It was a valiant effort at best.

Despite the high scoring match, Hunters started with 12 men in the opening 12 minutes after a sin bin to Sherwin Tanabi; and towards the end of the first half, Sakias Komati was given 10 minutes in the sin bin.

Both men penalized for a professional foul.

The Hunters scored first in the 5th minute through Solo Wane, but a missed conversion by Sakias Komati held the hunters at 4-0.

The Brisbane Tigers replied through a four pointer from Brayden Torpy, a successful kick conversion got the tigers in front 6-4.

The Hunters snatched back the lead in the 18th minute through fullback Morea Morea his conversion from the kick stretched their lead to 10-6.

Two more tries to Brandon Nima and Julius Yakopa and a failed conversion by Morea Morea left the scores at 18-6 in favor of the Hunters.

Tigers Max Lehmann scored in the 34th minute, a successful conversion bought the score to 18-12 Tigers,.

Tristan Hope’s converted try in the 37th minute tied the score at 18-18 before a Tigers penalty conversion took the lead from the Hunters 20-18 in to the half time break.

Both teams took charge in the second half exchanging tries at each end of the field. George Jennings opened the scoring in the second half for the Tigers with an unconverted try for a 24-18 lead.

Morea Morea scored his second try in the 51st minute this time a successful conversion by Morea leveling the scores at 24 all.

Max Lehmann scored his second converted try and the Tigers again took the lead 30-24 in the 64th minute.

A converted try by Captain Ila Alu in the 68th minute once again levelled the scores 30-30.

Max Lehmann with his hat trick converted try in the 71st minute snatched back the lead for the Tigers 36-30, a penalty conversation by Tristan Hope in the 76th minute extended the teams lead to 38-30.

With just over a minute to go before full time Morea Morea unleashed another individual brilliant effort, breaking through unscathed for the hunters final try; his hat trick met with a standing ovation but despite his kick conversion the team fell short by two points ending the match 38-36.

The Hunters going down 38-36 to the Brisbane Tigers.

In his post match interview, Hunters Coach Stanley Tepend, described the match as high scoring however, admitting that the hunters had a problem one the defense and conversions.

“It was a high scoring match but the Hunters managed to play right through to the end, but we still have a lot of work to do we still need to tighten up in defense and discipline as well.

“We played with 12 men in the first half and towards the second half; we have a bye next week and we can regroup, but I will bring the loss down to discipline, we are playing well, we were looking sharp but we need to tidy up our discipline,” Tepend said.

Depite an early awareness by supporters on the shorfalls in goal kicking, Tepend says his goal kickers need more practice.

“Goal kicking and errors, we need to spend more time on it in training, we have been scoring tries enough for a win but we need to work on our discipline,” Tepend said.

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