sp hunters

Hunters with a clear lead in first place

From 17 games, the Hunters have won 14 games, lost three and had the one bye.

They have a points for and against of 166.

The Hunters will have their second bye of the season this weekend in round 19.

Hunters coach, Michael Marum said the bye will do a lot of good for the team.

“It will be good to have the bye. The boys can rest up and go see family and come back.

Marum: Good effort from the team

“There were a lot of errors but a win is a win. But still have a lot of work to do. We need to play like a top side in the competition.

 “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy in the second half but we were prepared to work extra hard to win. It was a good effort from the team,” said Marum.

The Hunters will have the bye in round 19.

“The good thing is we now have a bye so can come back fresh and finish off the season strongly,” said Marum.

Hunters victorious over Bears

The home side hit the front after eight minutes when quick hands allowed an unmarked Paul Wawa to dive over on the wing.

An error by the Hunters in their own half cost them.

The Bears made them pay through hooker Patrick Politoni who caught the defence napping and burrowed his way over the line to score.

Jamal Fogarty added the extras to put his side in the lead at 6-4 after 16 minutes.

The Bears further extended their lead in the 23rd minute courtesy of Matt White's barnstorming run to the try line carrying over four defenders with him.

Hunters maintain top spot

The Hunters have accrued 26 competition points from 12 wins, three losses and one bye. The Hunters have a points for and against of a 138.

The top six teams (after 16 rounds) are as follows:

1)SP Hunters (26), Sunshine Coast Falcons (25), Redcliffe Dolphins (24), Easts Tigers (21), Townsville Blackhawks (20), Souths Logan Magpies (20).

Round 17 will see the Hunters play the Central Queensland Capras this Sunday at the National Football Stadium. The game will get underway at 3pm.

Wellington Albert out, Muka Peter Kulu in

In his place for tomorrow’s round 16 clash against Northern Pride in Cairns, coach Michael Marum has named 20-year-old Muka Peter Kulu in the starting line-up.

Kulu made his debut off the bench as Hunter #53 last Saturday.

Captain Ase Boas returns to his five eighth role while Wartovo Puara Jnr moves back to hooker.

Marum said Enock Maki has been ruled out with an ankle injury while David Loko has been omitted.

Ismael Balkawa and Noel Joel have been released to their clubs.

Hunters still on top

From 14 games played, the Hunters have won 11, lost three and had one bye. This has put them on 24 competition points. The Hunters have a points for and against of 134.

“We just need to play smarter football. That’s what we need,” said Hunters coach, Michael Marum.

“We can play better if we control our football better.

“We got a lot of positives out of the game. The Townsville Blackhawks beat Sunshine Coast Falcons so we’re still up on top of the points ladder. That’s some good news for us.”

Marum: The better team won

“It was a tough game. They were hungrier for the points. They deserved the victory.

“Our boys didn’t play well. We really need to sit down properly and look at our game heading forward. We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Marum.

Marum added the absence of captain and five-eighth Ase Boas was not a contributing factor to the loss to the last-placed Seagulls.

“From the start, we didn’t stick to our game plan. It’s not an excuse missing the skipper. We had 13 boys who are all capable of playing.

VIDEO: Wellington Albert in doubt

Meantime Coach Marum has included Paul Wawa to the starting line -up for Saturday's Round 15 ISC clash against Tweed Heads Seagulls at the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.

 

Sophie Yaruso reports 

Hunters and Seagulls game on Saturday

CEO of the PNG Rugby Football League, Reatau Rau, explained the change of dates, from Sunday to Saturday, was due to high demand from fans in Port Moresby.

“The QRL recently gave its endorsement of our request to play the round 15 game against Tweed Heads Seagulls on a Saturday, with kick off at 5pm. The Seagulls have agreed to this arrangement.

“This follows the success of a Saturday match in Round 9 which the Port Moresby fans thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed at the National Football Stadium,” said Rau.

All about defence: Hunters

The Hunters had to fight off a late surge from the Magpies to pick up two competition points from the round 14 clash.

“In the first half, we didn’t complete all our sets and kept defending. The Magpies had a lot of football. Second half was the same thing. Our defence got us to the end. It got us through.

“At half time, I just basically told the team to stick to the game plan. We knew the Magpies were going to back really hard on us and the result showed that.

“In terms of attack, we have a lot of work to do. We’re looking forward to this weekend,” said Marum.