SP PNG Hunters

The Paul Aiton side will travel to Brisbane this Sunday for their return match against Ipswich Jets, at the North Ipswich Reserve.

The last time the two teams met this year was in Rd 10 with PNG getting up 36-18 at the Santos National Football stadium.

Hunters Coach Paul Aiton won’t be expecting anything less  than a strong performance from his boys on Sunday, given majority of the 17  have had good runs with their respective franchise clubs during the bye weeks which was a positive for match fitness.

While having consecutive byes would be seen as a setback, from a professional viewpoint the Hunters are embracing the challenge and sticking to their normal training process with a positive mindset.

While it may seem ages ago since they played their last game against Western Clydesdales, the Hunters are back at training after breaking camp for the King’s  birthday week.

At today’s training session, Coach Paul Aiton, said it was good to see the boys back refreshed and bringing new energy to training.

This collaboration marks an exciting development for both organizations as they join forces to enhance opportunities both on and off the field.

"We are incredibly excited to announce our partnership with K92 Mining," said Hunters chief executive officer, Scott Barker.

"As we embark on the business end of the 2024 Hostplus Cup season, this collaboration presents a wealth of opportunities for our team and supporters alike. K92 Mining's commitment to excellence and community aligns perfectly with our values, and we look forward to achieving great things together."

Per the 2024 QRL Cup master draw, the Hostplus cup competition was on recess last week due to the King’s birthday long weekend. Round 15 resumes this week which is a normal bye round for the Hunters, Jets and Tigers.

With everybody back on deck this week, PNG Hunters Coach Paul Aiton expects his boys to be injury-free, refreshed and ready to rip in, back to their normal training process.

After their round 14 defeat of Clydesdales 28-22 in Toowoomba, the Hunters sit on the 11^th spot on the QRL points ladder.

The Hunters prop, who’s had a seemingly up and down start to the season due to niggling injuries is determined to stay injury-free and finish the season on a good note.

The Hunters have recorded three convincing wins from four of five home games to start the year before going down to the Mackay Cutters in a game of two halves 26-40 in Mackay last week. 

Hunters Coach Paul Aiton nevertheless praised his boys for a strong start to close out the first half with a comprehensive 20-10 lead only to give away the game in the second half.

The young Hunters playing group will always take their losses as a learning curve to build their confidence and further develop their game as they continue to build on their season.

Hunters Coach Paul Aiton remains level headed and will not be drawn away from their process and refocus mentality after last week’s tough win against Ipswich Jets.

While there’s a few injury issues in the Hunters camp this week, Aiton remains confident on fielding a strong side to meet  Cutters on Sunday in Mackay.

With 5/8 Josh Lau and middle forward Whallan Tau Loi out injured from the Jets game, coach Aiton would be looking to promote Finley Glare to take No. 6  jumper and Weiyah Koi from the extended bench likely to come in for Tau Loi in the back row.

According to PNG international and Hunters utility back rower/ centre Benji Kot, some tweak and adjustment to the team’s training routine, has brought back some balance, between workouts and rest days,  for the body to recover and  refresh their mindset for game day.

Hunters centre Benji Kot has attributed the Hunters current winning form to a change of attitude and mindset brought about by certain adjustment done to the team’s training program over the past three weeks, with some consideration of player recovery , especially after a heavy training session.

The 24-year-old Simbu native who possesses incredible rugby league talent and skill in his game has been a revelation for the Paul Aiton-coached side since making his debut against Tweed Heads in Round 4 and has never looked back.

From only six appearances, Alex has been nothing short of impressive with four tries so far in his debut season.

Against Townsville Blackhawks in in Round 8, Alex scored a hattrick, ran for 260 metres, made four line breaks, six tackle busts and was a top performer in the Hunters 52-16 win.