Queensland Cup

The Hunters are coming off a loss but will take plenty of confidence from their performance in Round 7, which saw them push the defending premiers Norths Devils right to the siren.

Despite having almost half as much time in possession as the Devils and losing halfback Jamie Mavoko to a HIA just seven minutes into the game, the Hunters still managed to miss less tackles, run for more post contact metres and all but match Norths in average metres per set.

From the kickoff it was clear the Hunters had a point to prove, defending their line for  consecutive sets and denying Norths on both edges before forcing them to find points with a kick to Brendan Frei in the 3rd minute. 

The Hunters would react convincingly, again turning Norths away on their own line before defending a second attacking kick. Hunters’ winger Terry Wapi would make a superb defensive catch to take possession for the Hunters before getting them 50m upfield with a clever run down the touch line. 

The Hunters have endured a difficult start to the 2022 season, facing four of the top five sides across the opening six rounds of the competition.

With a young squad and skipper Ila Alu in the casualty ward, the Hunters have had to learn the hard way and there is a belief in the group that they are building towards something promising.

The Devils are coming off a shoot-out win over Ipswich in Round 5 where a combined 68 points were scored. Norths entire backline crossed for a try in that game and shape as an area of strength again for the Devils in Round 8.

As part of a regular review of the Hunters’ progress, SP PNG Hunters Chairman Stan Joyce CSM and Director Jeremy Edwards have met with CEO Scott Barker and Head Coach Matt Church to discuss the Hunters’ performance.

It was also an opportunity to ensure the club’s long-term strategic plan remains on track and that agreed targets are being met.

The meeting acknowledged that this season’s results have not met the expectations of the club, which tasted premiership success in 2017.

The Burleigh Bears started their 2022 campaign with consecutive wins over Wynnum-Manly, Townsville and Redcliffe before falling short to the Tweed Seagulls in Round 4.

After a week off over the Easter long weekend, the Bears will be looking to bounce back from that loss with a strong showing on Monday.

The PNG Hunters are looking to add to their Round 1 win over Mackay after a string of tough losses to three of the competition heavyweights in the opening month of the season.

The Hunters have made a fair start to the 2022 season, winning their opening game before going down in tightly-fought contests in the last two weeks. In both losses, the Hunters finished strongly to win the second half and the focus is now on starting well against the Falcons this week.

The Tigers found the scoreboard early, making the most of some early field position to score through centre Bernard Gregorius.

The Hunters responded well, applying pressure with their defence and working upfield effectively through the middle. On the back of this, in the 17th minute and in his debut appearance for the Hunters, halfback Jamie Mavoko orchestrated PNG’s first points with a perfectly weighted grubber kick that Rodick Tai would fall on to score.

The SP PNG Hunters have fallen short to a fast-starting CQ Capras side 26-16 in Round 2 of the Hostplus Cup at Browne Park, Rockhampton.

The Capras were on from the kick-off, working their way up-field in the opening set to launch an attacking kick skyward on the last. The Hunters couldn’t field it cleanly and Capras’ winger Brandon Roberts was the beneficiary, diving on the loose ball to open the scoring.  

Backrower Ethan O’Neill was next to score for the Capras, latching onto a perfectly weighted grubber from five-eighth Raedean Robinson to score next to the posts.

The middle forward from Rabaul in Papua New Guinea has played the past three seasons for the PNG Hunters in the Hostplus Cup.

The 24-year old has also represented Papua New Guinea at the Commonwealth Championships Under 23s Nines competition in 2018.

Seagulls Coach Adam Brideson says he is excited about what Kapinias can offer the club this season.

“Epel is an experienced middle forward at Hostplus Cup level,” Brideson said.

“He is a strong athlete with good skills and will add a lot to our forward pack.

The Hunters wrapped up a grueling preseason with a promising trial win over the West Brisbane Panthers A-grade side last week.

The Mackay Cutters went down 22-18 to the CQ Capras in their preseason trial game and were midway through a match against the NQ Cowboys Young Guns before extreme weather saw the game called off.

The last time these two sides met was in Round 12 last year when Mackey narrowly beat the Hunters 40-30 in a high scoring contest. The Hunters flew out to an early lead in that game but could not hold off a fast-finishing Cutters outfit.