THE Papua New Guinea Hunters continued their great start to the Quensland Cup beating  defending champions Mackay Cutters 24-16 at the Kalabond rugby league ground in Kokopo on Saturday. 
The win, the second on the trot for the Michael Marum-coached side, had some historical significance being their first home victory and game.
Heavy rain created difficult conditions for the players and kept some fans away, but little could dampen the mood in the SP Hunters camp after they posted two late tries to clinch their first win on home soil.
About 1,500 fans generated an electric atmosphere and they were at their most boisterous in the final 10 minutes when the physical contest was in the balance.
In the end after trailing 10-8 at halftime, the SP Hunters showed control and discipline to clinch the historic win.
Typically, any infringement whether for or against, would immediately cause an uproar by the players. This however was not the case as the Hunters accepted their mistakes and the referee’s calls and got on with the game.
Discipline kept the Hunters above water as the Cutters looked to assert themselves in the wet conditions. The home side weathered the battering while hooker Wartovo Puara Junior and captain Israel Eliab guided the side back into the contest.
The gritty Cutters looked on target to spoil the home town party when tireless forward Dan Beasley barged over and Liam Taylor converted for a 16-14 lead.
But the Cutters paid a high price for an early turnover from the re-start, gifting the Hunters field possession and a golden chance to build pressure. They were good enough to convert with a 75th minute try to Noel Zemming putting them back in front 18-16. Feeding off the home support, giant Hunters centre Thompson Teteh ignited the early celebrations when he forced his way over on the stroke of full-time.
 “No, definitely not the result we wanted, but they are going to be hard to beat, I think for us it’s disappointing to lose but certainly an improvement from last week. We’s have been filthy if we had gone backwards, there are pretty obvious areas we got to work on, overall we go back with a pretty good feeling of this place but very disappointed in the loss” Cutters coach Kim Williams said.
“We lost in the last ten minutes, dropped the four ball times in tackle one or two, the game was there for us to win but we didn’t and full credit to the Hunters, when it is was crunch time, they held onto the ball, and we didn’t do that.”
Both teams fought for the lead but it was the Hunter’s backline led by fullback Adex Wera that looked likely to dismantle the visitors’ defence. 
Powerhouse performances by centre Teteh and rugged winger Garry Lo in attack and on defence kept their side in the match. The National

SENIOR statesman and former Governor General of Papua New Guinea, Sir Paulius Matane heaped praise on the PNG Hunters.
“First of all, I came here at half past twelve today, very early, two hours before the actual game began. I’m very much impressed with the activities and the good thing that our boys did when they played in Australia (Redcliffe) last week and they did very well, so because of that, I decided to come here, and be here to watch our people play against these people (Mackay Cutters) from Australia again,” the 82-year-old said.
Sir Paulius accompanied by Lady Kaludia were special guests at the Hunters and Cutters match that started at 2.30pm in afternoon rain.
Sir Paulius, the author of 52 books, stressed three important values of living life.
“I would like to suggest that, we must remember three very important things, when we do things, whether in sports, business, education, agriculture, or anything at all. 
“I learnt these rules from my grandfather when I was seven years old in 1937. 
“If you want to succeed in life, in whatever you do, set your goals, you must have a goal in life, but you can’t achieve until to you come to the second point which is to plan well and from it comes to third point and it is to implement your plan.”
“So I am very hopeful that they (Hunters) will do well, this is because I really believe that if we put our minds to do something that we want to do, and think positively about it we will always win.”
“I always say that to literally millions of people around the world, that Papua New Guineas are just as good as anybody else in the world. 
“I know that because I have travelled to all the seven continents on the surface of this earth, and I know what I’m talking about, we are just as good as anybody else.” The National

The  PNG Hunters have won  back-to-back win  over last years  Queensland Instrust Cup premiers  Mackay Cutter 24 - 16 at Kalabond Stadium, in Kokopo. This was the Hunters first game on home soil and it was watched by a large crowd.

The visitors, were first to open scoring, just 13 minutes from kick off. With a successful conversion saw them lead 6 to nothing. 

The home side worked hard with solid defence and attack and Hunters winger Gary Lo dived  over the line and scored the first try for the Hunters.

Both sides scored two tries a piece in the first half but Hunters kickers did not find the uprights and the  visitors maintained a two point lead at half time, 10-8.

In the second half, Adex Wera, came home with a runaway try from within the Cutters’ 10metre mark.

 Roger Laka converted and put his team in front at 14-10. However that was short lived, as Dan Beasley broke through Hunter’s defence to put his first try over the line. Cutters conversion was succesful and the visitors  lead 16 -14 in the final quarter. 

  As the clock was ticking down, the local boys pushed their bigger opponents scored two unaswered tries through Noel Zemming and Albert Patak. Sebastian Pandia missed the conversion and Hunters sealed the with 24 - 16 scoreline.

The Hunters will meet  Central Queensland Capras next  Saturday at the same venue next week. 

SP PNG HUNTERS TEAM vs. Mackay Cutters
, Saturday 8th
March 2014, Kick-off @ 2pm
Venue: Kalabond Stadium Kokopo

The Mackay Cutters will be featuring a part-Papua New Guinean in Tyson Martin, pictured.
Martin made his international debut with the PNG PMs XIII in 2009 off the bench. 
Later in 2009, he played both games off the bench in Papua New Guinea’s successful Pacific Cup campaign. 
The backrower is eligible for the Kumuls due to his Papua New Guinean father.  
Martin has been promoted to captain of this year Mackay’s in tomorrow’s historical Queensland Intrust Super Cup opener at the Kalabond Stadium in Kokopo. 
The North Queensland Cowboys affiliate team will be etched in history as the first team from the Q-Cup to play a game away from Australian soil in a 13-team competition.
The Cutters, scheduled to fly in Tokua direct from Cairns have made only one change to last week’s team in suspended player, Jason Schirnack who will be replaced by new recruit Aleki Falepaini. 
The Cutters under Martin’s leadership polled 72% of fan votes as the favourites to defend their premiership title. However, Mackay started their season off with a heavy loss (40-12) to Easts Tigers and would be aiming to take down the Hunters at home at the ground locally known as the ‘Graveyard’.  
Martin, began his junior league with Proserpine Brahmans, then Cairns Brothers before being recruited to play in the inaugural Toyota Cup season for the North Queensland Cowboys. 
He later joined the Mackay Cutters in the Queensland Cup signing on with them for the 2010 season and his good form was rewarded with a first grade contract with the Cowboys for 2012.
However, an anterior cruciate ligament injury cruelled his opportunity for a big time when he was ruled out for the entire NRL season.
He leads the Cutters’ tomorrow as captain with a sell-out crowd expected for the first home-ground match.  
The Mackay team following their schedule d 1:30pm arrival, will unpack and prepare a team training session in the afternoon.
The next day, the team will take a Tour of the War Memorial in the morning before heading to the Kalabond in the afternoon for the 2pm kick off.
The Hunters depart at 6:00am today for Tokua and at 10am are scheduled to do a community tour followed by a captains’ run at 2:30pm – which is when skipper Israel Eliab will lead a light training session.

COACH Michael Marum has resisted the temptation to do anything different to what delivered the Papua New Guinea Hunters their first Queensland Cup victory last week. 
That includes naming an unchanged line-up except for a minor reshuffle where Joe Bruno starts in the front row in place of Gonzela Urakusie in tomorrow’s opening home game against reigning premiers Mackay Cutters at Kalabond Stadium in Kokopo.
 But the biggest temptation would been whether to give Willie Minoga a starting berth instead of off the bench like he did in last week’s 24-18 victory over Redcliffe Dolphins in Brisbane. 
Minoga came off the bench and played a blinder as he continued to cause havoc on the Dolphins defence with his powerful running. 
Channel Nine commentators who called the match live compared him to some of Australia’s great like Gorden Tallis because of his rampaging runs. They wondered how a forward was running like a back.
However, they did not know that Minoga is specialist back – who has been beefed up through an impressive weight training regime and was part of the strategy to use mobility to strike at the opposition.
Minoga was also an instant hero with others who watched the game at Dolphin Oval or on television.
But Marum was not prepared to change a winning formula electing to keep Minoga on the bench and throw him at a tiring defence – a plan that most likely to be used to get similar results tomorrow. 
“I will continue to use (Willie) Minoga as an impact player, keeping him on the bench, rather than having him in the starting line-up..will keep consistency in the team as whole as he (Minoga) adds a lot flair when he comes off the bench.”
But Marum knows not only one player wins the game and everybody has a specific role to play – which will he hopes will come together to give the SP Hunters their second win on the trot.
Complacency is something that Marum does not want from his team as the Cutters, reeling from a 40-12 loss to East Tigers last week, have every reason to be fired up for the match which kicks off at 2.30pm.
“The boys (Hunters) are hard at training because the Mackay team will be looking for revenge following their loss last week. 
“Mackay are also the current champions and the match won’t be easy,” Marum said. 
“I am looking at consistency every weekend and will be using mostly the same players from last week but also keeping options open for other players to perform.
“Otherwise it is early days and we have 24 more games to go so I will keep using my players where possible and also there are injuries to consider throughout the competition itself. 
“Otherwise the boys are fired up for the match and we expect a huge crowd at our home-base to get behind the boys.” 
Mackay will be led by former Kumul Tyson Martin, and has retained most of the squad from last year’s premiership-winning roster.   

The National
 

For years Michael Marum was forced to live in the shadow of other men considered his betters.
The former Kumul hooker has understudied the national coaching job since the early 2000s. 
He was Bob Bennett’s protege in 2004 and then served under Queensland legend Adrian Lam from 2007 onwards. 
He has been to two Wolrd Cups (2008 and 2013) but had little influence on the team.
It is 2014 and he still has not got the top job but he’s got the perfect platform to launch a meaningful campaign.
Ask most Papua New Guineans who is the best local coach and the response is almost unanimous – Michael Marum.
Being coach of the SP Hunters in the Queensland Cup was always going to be a test of the 40-year-old’s ability to guide a side at a professional level. 
But if his domestic success (with the Agmark Gurias) is anything to go by, Marum has always displayed an appreciation for how best to use players and where to use them. 
He’s won multiple titles in the Digicel Cup and has consistently been one of the competition’s best coaches.
Even if his methods seem a little against the grain (not picking a specialist forward on his bench for tomorrow’s match has raised some eyebrows) but the results say he knows more than he is letting on.
The monosyllabic Marum may have pulled off the ultimate con – which is simply that he is better, much better, than many gave him credit for  previously.
Victory against the Mackay Cutters, who are incidentally the defending Intrust Super Cup champions, will be another notch to Marum’s growing list of accomplishments.
The Hunters’ success in 2014 will ultimately come down to the players themselves. 
But there can be no denying that Marum is a big part of their fortunes.  The National

FINANCE Minister and rugby league fan James Marape, pictured, described the Hunters’ 24-18 win over the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Intrust Super Cup on Sunday as one of the best polished performances by a Papua New Guinean side in a long while.
Marape, who witnessed the victory with Sports Vice-Minister Labi Amaiu at Dolphin Oval in Redcliffe, said PNG was turning the corner by being competitive away from home.
 “This was one of the best polished performance that I have seen in a long while,” Marape said.
“Only two dropped balls for the entire match, says a lot for what coach Michael Marum and his staff are doing to get the players into top shape.”
Marape and Amaiu were over the moon with the opening tries from skipper Israel Eliab and a classic from centre Thompson Teteh.
Marape said that the South Pacific Brewery-sponsored Hunters had made a great start to the competition and needed to maintain the standard and improve as the season progressed.
“I can see that Michael (Marum) connects well with our local talent. This is something our past national teams may have struggled with,” Marape added.
Amaiu said the Hunters now had the means to prove their worth, and hoped they  could back it up week in week out.
Meanwhile, former Kumul and Port Moresby Vipers forward James Naipao added his congratulations on the Hunters first up win.
Dr Naipao, in a text message on Monday congratulated for a well-deserved victyory.
He stated that this was a fantastic start, especially on winning an away game, which the 1995 and 1996 Port Moresby Vipers were unable to do when they participated in Queensland Cup.
“What a huge start and a great win for our self-belief and also a confidence booster for the team,” Naipao said.
He said more funding needed to reach the grassroots and the school boys level if the country was to have realistic shot at securing an NRL licence in 10 to 15 year timeframe.
Naipao endorsed former Kangaroos halfback Andrew Johns’ comments on the development of the game and that a successful NRL bid would not be achieved overnight.
He said at the same time rugby league associations should look at professional status by having their own club houses, which was a way of being financially self-sufficient. The National

PNG Hunters have kick started their Intrust Super Cup campaign on a positive note with a historical 24 – 18  win over Redcliffe Dolphines in season opener today.  
Hunters rising stars in the likes of  skipper Israel Eliab, Thompson Teteh, Garry Lo and Lawrence Tu were instrumental in the win.
Sebastian Panda played exceptionally well winning the man of the match and he received his A$250 (K535) cheque prize.

Eliab scored the first try for the Hunters just 12 minutes into the first half and Roger Laka converts taking the score to 6-0.

Thompson Teteh makes a big break with a beautiful stepping run to score three minutes later and a successful conversion brought the score to 12-0.

Redcliffe hit back with two tries after errors by the Hunters which brought the score to 12 at half time in front of a big crowd.

In the second half, Hunters were back in the lead 14-12 following a penalty kick. Garry Lo scored the third try for the Hunters which took the score to 18-12 after an unsuccessful conversion.

Minutes later, Lawrence Tu’u dives over the try line which took the Hunters to 10 points.

Redcliff fired back scoring their third try which broughtPNG Hunters HISTORICAL WIN OVER REDCLIFFE DOLPHINES.

PNG Hunters have kick started their Intrust Super Cup campaign on a positive note with a historical 24 – 18  win over Redcliffe Dolphines in season opener today.  
Hunters rising stars in the likes of  skipper Israel Eliab, Thompson Teteh, Garry Lo and Lawrence Tu were instrumental in the win.
Sebastian Panda played exceptionally well winning the man of the match and he received his A$250 (K535) cheque prize.

Eliab scored the first try for the Hunters just 12 minutes into the first half and Roger Laka converts taking the score to 6-0.

Thompson Teteh makes a big break with a beautiful stepping run to score three minutes later and a successful conversion brought the score to 12-0.

Redcliffe hit back with two tries after errors by the Hunters which brought the score to 12 at half time in front of a big crowd.

In the second half, Hunters were back in the lead 14-12 following a penalty kick. Garry Lo scored the third try for the Hunters which took the score to 18-12 after an unsuccessful conversion.

Minutes later, Lawrence Tu’u dives over the try line which took the Hunters to 10 points.

Redcliff fired back scoring their third try which brought their score to 18-22.

Hunters were awarded another penalty kick 6 minutes to full time following a high tackle which took them to win the match 24-18.

Hunters return to the country at midday tomorrow to prepare for round two against Cutters on home soil in Kokopo.

 their score to 18-22.

Hunters were awarded another penalty kick 6 minutes to full time following a high tackle which took them to win the match 24-18.

Hunters return to the country at midday tomorrow to prepare for round two against Cutters on home soil in Kokopo.

 

Digicel is the official broadcaster of the PNG SP Hunters games in the Intrust Super Cup Competition. This was announced when the contract was finalized between Digicel PNG Limited and Australia Rugby League Commission Limited this week.

The General Manager of the TV department Jonathan Overall: "This is an exciting time for our company. We want to ensure that PNG SP Hunters' fan have access to these games. It is time to give PNG viewers quality television and as a company we know we have the capacity to deliver this product."

"This is a part of Papua New Guinea's history and we are proud to bring these games to you."

Digicel will be using the services of cable companies Hitron and Channel 8 to broadcasting the SP Hunters games on one of the channels on their platform.

This year the Intrust Super Cup Competition also referred to as the Queensland Cup has 25 matches for the Hunters 12 of those games will be played in Kokopo.

Hunters' Captain Israel Eliab and his team will meet the Redcliffe Dolphins on their home turf in Brisbane this Sunday March 2. The SP Hunters first home match will be at Kokop's Kalabond Oval the following Saturday. 

About Digicel

Digicel Group Limited is a leading global communications provider with operations in 31 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. After 12 years of operation, total investment to date stands at over US$4.5 billion worldwide. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies cricket team and is also the title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu cricket team. Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti and Papua New Guinea which focus on educational, cultural and social development programs.

Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and its markets comprise: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Nauru, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Vanuatu. Digicel also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barts in the Caribbean.