SP PNG Hunters

Tyler is mixed East New Britain and New Ireland-Chinese, while his extended family lives in Namatanai.

The young stocky built New Irelander weighs 82kg and stands 172cm tall is a versatile and skillful playmaker. His favourite position is fullback/half but prefers playing at Fullback.

Tyler scored his first try on debut for the Hunters in their 30-16 Round 8 victory against Townsville Blackhawks two weeks ago.

It was an unreal moment for Tyler.

Coming off a big 42-20 win over the Townsville Blackhawks last Friday, the Hunters will take plenty of confidence into this weekend’s match up. Middle forwards Sylvester Namo and Emmanuel Waine were standouts in that win, combining for three tries, 264 running metres and 12 tackle busts through the middle of the field. 

This agreement will provide a genuine pathway for Papua New Guinean rugby league players beginning in the Digicel Cup competition, through to the Hunters and right into an NRL system.

The partnership is in alignment with the Hunters’ strategic plan to develop more Papua New Guinean players into the NRL competition by 2025.

Under the agreement, four Hunters’ players will attend a full pre-season with the Dolphins NRL squad, starting in 2023.

The Hunters were slow to start in the slippery conditions but scrambled well to defend an early Blackhawks’ linebreak through the middle of the field. They couldn’t defend the consecutive knock on, penalty and six-again infringements that came next though, with Townsville capitalising on the field position to open the scoring with a well weighted grubber into the in goal for Jaelen Feeney.

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 Hunters suffered their fourth consecutive loss under a wet weather threatened to dampen the historic annual match-up, but both sides adapted to the conditions to produce an entertaining 80 minutes.

Despite the scoreboard suggests, the Hunters earned their share of opportunities but the difference lay in Burleigh’s ability to capitalise on field position and weight of possession.

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.