THE Papua New Guinea Hunters have their best chance to climb out of the hole they find themselves in with victory over the Sunshine Coast Falcons tomorrow.With the Falcons match the first of four straight home games coach Michael Marum is keen on cashing in with the South Pacific Brewery-sponsored side hoping to start a winning streak this weekend.
The Hunters play Burleigh Bears, Norths Devils and Ipswich Jets, all at home, in the coming weeks of the Queensland Cup, and winning all matches would go a long way to making the top four. Coach Michael Marum, who earlier in the week called on fans to rally around his side after their 60-28 thrashing by the Tweed Heads Seagulls, said the mood in the camp was one of determination more than desperation. “We are confident of winning the game this weekend. The boys have been training well, for the last few days and we have one more day before match day to run a few drills and we’re lookingto set the tone right for next few home games starting with a win this weekend,” Marum said. Marum said the positional switches that had been made over the course of the season had nothing to do with the form slump. “The changing of player positions has not been through form. It is entirely through injury that we have to change players. “We have a roster of 23 players for the last 20 weeks (including the preseason) we’ve been changing players positions to accommodate that.” He said injuries were the biggest problem for the side who were trying to maintain a standard in a long season. “We have to understand that some of the players have families to attend to and which they see them rarely. “Fans must not have high expectations of us as this is our first season and we are human and have families and personal issues at home. We move players on injuries and not on form. But maybe by the end of the season we should have players positions that suits them best,” Marum said. When the Hunters and Falcons last met in round eight at Stockland Stadium on the Sunshine Coast, the Hunters came out victors 16-4. Tomorrow’s game at 2.30pm promises to be a litmus test for both sides. The Hunters go into this match on the seventh spot succumbing to their eighth loss for the season. The last-placed Falcons had a surprise 26-24 win over table toppers Northern Pride and will be hoping to repeat the dose in Kokopo. Players have been shifted from one position to another to compensate for injuries and form but knowing Marum, he has a plan that can get the team off the mark if his charges play it right. Marum has a tendency on concentrating one game at a time, with patience from fans a key ingredient in setting a positive tone during the Hunters inaugural season. Last week, the third placed Seagulls ran a simple game plan that worked tremendously on the back of their roving forwards complemented by five-eighth Michael Burgess running and short kicking game. The Hunters must look at securing the ball in group tackles as this was a major let down in last week’s match. Rugged forward Esau Siune will be leading the Hunters pack featuring Timothy Lomai, Adam Korave, Willie Minoga and David Loko. Captain Israel Eliab will settle into his new role at fullback while rake Wartovo Puara Jr, Thompson Tete and try-scoring machine Garry Lo will set the tone for a mighty comeback for the Hunters. One thing the Hunters have shown in their first season in the Queensland Rugby league competition is to never write them off. Comments are closed.
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