Five debutants have been named in the 20 man SP Hunters squad that will travel to Cairns, Australia to take on Northern Pride in a trial match this Saturday.
Karo Kauna, Nixon Put, Moses Meninga, Radley Brawa and vice-captain Wellington Albert are the five that coach Michael Marum has named as he looks to use the trial match to test out his new combinations.
“We have Willie starting in the centres with Karo and Stargroth at fullback while Bland starts off the bench.
“This is our only pre-season trial game and I will be trying out some new combinations with all 20 players,” said Marum.
Marum said both Adex Wera and Wartovo Puara Jr. were omitted from the squad due to injury while David Loko, Anderson Benford, Noel Joel and Junior Rop have joined the Lae Snax Tigers for the Melanesian Cup contest in Fiji.
“Eddie Dafa and Paul Wawa have been training really well and were unlucky to miss this trial match. We have released Edward Goma from the club for personal reasons,” said Marum.
On preparations, Marum said the team has undergone nine weeks of pre-season training and just need to stick to getting the basics right.
“We know Pride has a really big forward pack, but our game plan stays the same, we just need to work hard in defence and attack.
“The team is in good spirits and I can’t wait to see them play,” said Marum.
The squad:
1. Stargroth Amean
2. Butler Morris
3. Karo Kauna
4. Willie Minoga
5. William Aquila
6. Israel Eliab
7. Ase Boas
8. Henry Wan
9. Sailas Gahuna
10. Wellington Albert
11. Ismael Balkawa
12. Nixon Put
13. Stanton Albert
14. Watson Boas
15. Enock Maki
16. Lawrence Tu’u
17. Bland Abavu
18. Moses Meninga
19. Radley Brawa
20. Esau Siune
Saturday’s match will kick off at Kangaroo Oval at 6:15pm.