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PNG Hunters claim minor premiership

20th August, 2017
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PNG Hunters (Image: NRL)
Roar Guru
20th August, 2017
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The Papua New Guinea Hunters have claimed an historic first minor premiership in the Queensland Intrust Super Cup with one round of the regular season still left to play.

The Hunters have lost only four matches this season, and they beat the Wynnum Manly Seagulls 28-22 at home in front of full house in Port Moresby on the weekend to nail down first spot.

Coached by Michael Marum and led by skipper and goal-kicking five-eighth Ase Boas, the Hunters have ensured they will have a bye in the first week of the five-team finals format of the Queensland Intrust Super Cup, and they have secured a home final for the grand final qualifier in the second week of the finals.

The Hunters will be joined in the finals by the Redcliffe Dolphins, the Easts Tigers and the Sunshine Coast Falcons, with the Souths Logan Magpies and the Townsville Blackhawks likely to battle it out for fifth spot.

At the start of the season bookmakers had the Hunters at $8 to win their first premiership. Those odds have since shortened dramatically.

The Hunters have been a very popular team both in their homeland and with Queensland fans since they joined the Queensland competition in 2014. In that first season they missed qualifying for the semi-finals by a point, but they made the finals series in both 2015 and 2016.

Rugby league is the official national sport in Papua New Guinea and the Hunters’ exposure to the Queensland Cup has undoubtedly been good for the development of the game there. The Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby, where the Hunters play their home games, was recently significantly redeveloped. It is now known as the National Football Stadium, with its capacity being increased from 15,000 to 25,000 as part of the upgrade.

Last year the Hunters provided the bulk of the players for the Papua New Guinea Test team, the Kumuls, helping them upset Fiji 24-22 in a thrilling test match at Pirtek Stadium. They will also make up the bulk of their squad for the World Cup at the end of the year, with their week-to-week experience in the Queensland Cup inevitably helping their cohesion and development.

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Plenty of people will be hoping the Hunters go all the way in the Queensland Cup for the development of rugby league internationally. It would be a genuine “feel good” story for the game.

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