Papua New Guinea Hunters

Papua New Guinea Hunters
Club information
Full name Papua New Guinea Hunters Rugby league Football Club
Nickname(s) The Hunters
Short name PNG Hunters
Website www.pnghunters.com
Colours      Red
     Black
     Gold
Founded 2013
Current details
Ground(s)
CEO(s) Bob Cutmore
Chairman Graham Osborne
Coach(s) Michael Marum
Captain(s) Adam Korave and Noel Zeming
Competition Intrust Super Cup
Records
Premierships 0
Runners-up 0
Minor premiership 0

The Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Hunters) are a professional rugby league football club based in PNG. They were formed in 2013 and currently compete in the QRL's Entrust Super Cup which is the second tier of Rugby League in Australia, although there is no direct promotion to the National Rugby League (NRL).[1] The Hunters are the second Papua New Guinean side to enter the Entrust Super Cup following the Port Moresby Vipers who competed for two seasons in 1996 and 1997. Every Hunters match is shown live on national free to air television. The Hunters' home ground is the Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby and their team colours are red, black and gold.[2]

2014 Season

On 12 December 2013 head coach Michael Marum announced a 25-man squad for the Hunters' inaugural season.[3] included were Wellington Albert, Israel Eliab, Roger Laka, Enoch Maki, Mark Mexico, Joe Bruno and Sebastien Pandia who were all members of the Kumuls squad that competed at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. The squad was impacted when Wellington Albert signed with the Penrith Panthers in Australia. The Hunters won their debut match away at Redcliffe Dolphins 24-18 with captain Israel Eliab scoring the clubs first ever try, and by the end of the season having lost only twice at home, missed out on the end of season play-offs by just 1 point finishing 6th. Gary Lo finished as the competitions leading try scorer with 24, while Roger Laka was an ever present. The club used only 23 players during whole the season.

2015 Season

For their second campaign the squad changed very little. The major losses were Gary Lo, Jason Tali, David Loko and Joe Bruno who joined the coaching staff following his retirement. The main gains being Kato Otio, Nickson Borana and John Ragi. The season began with the Hunters losing 3 of their opening 6 fixtures, but they then went on an unbeaten run of 17 games to the end of the regular season securing 2nd place in the league, missing out on top spot by 1 point. Ipswich Jets ended their season in the preliminary final. Off the field Head Coach Michael Marum was voted coach of the year, and during the season ceo Brad Tassell was forced to resign

Stadiums

Kalabond Oval

Main article: Kalabond Oval

The Kalabond Oval which is in the town of Kokopo and has a capacity of 7,000 was the Hunters first home ground. The first ever home match in the Intrust Super Cup was against the defending champions Mackay Cutters on 8 March which the Hunters won 24-16. The ground was used for the clubs first 2 seasons. Their overall record at the ground was

Lloyd Robson Oval

Main article: Lloyd Robson Oval

The Lloyd Robson Oval or as its sometimes referred to as "The National Football Stadium" is in the capital city Port Moresby and after undergoing a major refurbishment it was announced in February 2016 that the Hunters would move to the ground for the 2016 season,[4] after they'd played one match their during the 2015 season against Souths Logan Magpies on 13 June winning 34-12

2016 Squad

2016 PNG Hunters squad
First team squad Coaching staff
  • Henry Naki - PR
  • Tuvi Lepan - SR
  • Adam Korave - SR
  • Brandy Peter - LF, SR
  • Stargroth Amean - FB
  • Lawrence Tu'u - HK
  • Warren Glare - HK
  • Esau Siune - PR
  • Justin Olam - CE, WG
  • Benjamin Hetra
  • Timothy Lomai - PR
  • Edward Goma - CE
  • Nickson Borana - SR
  • Ishamel Baikawa - LF
  • Watson Boas - HB, SO
  • Philimon Kimisive
  • Gahuna Silas
  • Gonzella Urukusie

Head coach

Assistant coaches

Legend:
  • (c) Captain
  • (vc) Vice captain

Notable Players

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Papua New Guinea gain entry to Queensland Cup 2014". ABC News. 28 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Pangkatana, John (24 December 2013). "Q-Cup name unveiled". The National.
  3. ↑ Tassell, Brad. "PNG names 25-man Intrust Super Cup squad". Queensland Rugby League. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  4. ↑ one.png.com/2016/02/national-football-stadium-is-new-home.html
  5. ↑ Garry, Chris (20 December 2013). "Penrith poach Papua New Guinea star likened to a young Petero Civoniceva". The Courier Mail.
  6. ↑ "Hull KR sign Papua New Guinea's Enoch Maki and Francis Paniu". BBC.
  7. ↑ http://www1.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/12217/9128678/super-league-hul-kr-release-enoch-maki-and-francis-paniu

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, May 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.