2017

Wawa to make debut in round three clash

In announcing the 20-man squad, Hunters coach Michael Marum said Stargroth Amean will start at fullback in place of Bland Abavu, who has been rubbed out by the Queensland Rugby League Judiciary for one game for tripping.

The enforcer, David Loko, has been cleared to play this weekend after he was cited for a dangerous throw after taking an early guilty plea.

Marum added that versatile forward, Lawrence Tu’u gets a start in the back row with Watson Boas, Junior Rop and Radley Brawa, named in the extended 20-man side.

Walker, Johnston star for revamped Rabbitohs

After blowing Manly away late in a runaway 38-18 win at Lottoland on Saturday afternoon, the two best pieces of news for Souths fans were the reinvigorated forward pack – which seemed to benefit from the return of George Burgess despite one costly error – and the immediate spark generated between fullback Alex Johnston, five-eighth Cody Walker, halfback Adam Reynolds and dummy-half pair Robbie Farah and Damien Cook. 

No excuses for rueful Raiders

Canberra appeared to run out of energy in the second half as the defending premiers piled on five unanswered tries before Jack Wighton pegged one back in the dying stages.

Broncos' Hunt happy with improvement

Hunt's heroics were not enough, with the Broncos falling 21-20 to the Cowboys in another exhilarating golden point contest at Suncorp Stadium. 

Despite the loss, there are positive signs for Brisbane and their fans, with Hunt putting in an inspiring 80-minute performance. 

After receiving a lot of criticism during the week about his poor kicking performance in Round 1, Hunt bounced back in a big way and sent a message to his critics. 

Wellington Albert eager for game against Tigers

Returning to the side from an injury that saw him miss the opening game of the season last weekend, Albert will become Hunter #50.

“I couldn’t sit down and watch the game last weekend. I was uncomfortable watching from the bench because I trained so hard over the pre-season.

“Unfortunately I didn’t play; but my chance has come now.

“I was very proud to be named in the team for tomorrow’s game. I’m looking forward to making my debut. I can’t wait and will give it my best,” said Albert.

POMNA starts first weekend of trial matches

Vice treasurer of the POMNA, Christabella Amona said the trial matches will run for three more weekends with the season proper scheduled to start next month in April.

She said today saw a slow start with a number of forfeits across the eight divisions (1-8) in the competition.

She added that things should pick up by next weekend, and that the POMNA is anticipating an increase in the number of teams that will take part this season

Over K500,000 raised from Trukai auctions

The auction on Wednesday night at the Lae Royal Yacht Club saw 21,405 T-shirts sold, amounting to K214,050.

A further K3,500 was raised from the sale of a framed official North Queensland Cowboys NRL jersey.

The top five bidders for the night:

  1. Ramu Agri Industries
  2. Traisa
  3. Trukai Industries Ltd
  4.  Seeto Kui
  5. Papindo

The Port Moresby auction at the Royal Papua Yacht Club beat the one in Lae, raising K312,000 from the sale of 31,200 T-shirts at the Royal Papua Yacht Club last night.

Roosters edge Bulldogs in a thriller

It took nine rounds for the Tricolours to register two wins in 2016, but last year's strugglers have already equalled that mark a fortnight into the new season. 

The halves pairing of Luke Keary and Mitchell Pearce picked up from where they left off on the Gold Coast with the duo playing a part in almost all of their side's five tries. 

There were plenty of positive signs for the Bulldogs who started and finished the game on fire despite being ravaged by injuries throughout the contest.  

Albert, Wera named in 20-man squad

Furthermore, the experienced Adex Wera makes a return to the side that will take on the Easts Tigers at home at the National Football Stadium this Sunday at 3pm.

These are the only two changes in the 20-man extended squad for the round two clash that was named this afternoon by SP Hunters assistant coach, Nigel Hukula.

“Wellington will make his debut in the SP Hunters colours for the first time this weekend. He comes in place of Ismael Balkawa,” said Hukula.

Stats that matter: Round 1

The Saints are coming 

What a time to be alive for Dragons fans. Saturday's 42-10 win over the Panthers sent shockwaves through the competition and forced rugby league scribes to update their record books. The 32-point win eclipsed their previous biggest wins over Penrith (42-14 in 2001 and 38-10 in 2009), while Gareth Widdop's 22-point haul equalled the club record for most points in a game, tying Amos Roberts's effort from 2000 and Jamie Soward's day out against Canberra in 2007.

Hat-trick heroe