A BARNSTORMING second half from fill-in prop Willie Minoga nearly got the Papua
New Guinea Hunters over the line but a late try to local product Chris Kitching saw the Burleigh Bears claim a dramatic 26-22 win at Pizzey Park, Gold Coast, last Friday. Minoga, who has been used as an impact player off the bench by coach Michael Marum, was given his first start after prop Timothy Lomai copped a two-match suspension for a dangerous throw. Minoga scored a try and made great metres carting the ball up in a powerful display in front of a good crowd estimated at 4,000 on ANZAC Day. Despite Minoga’s heroics, the Hunters had a flat opening half and the Bears jumped to a big lead at the break, only for momentum to swing around drastically in the second half with the Hunters taking the lead 22-20 with 10 minutes to go. But the Bears stuck strong and Kitching, who 12 months ago was playing with the Tugun Seahawks in the Bycroft Cup, was the hero scoring under the posts with less than five minutes remaining. The match also saw Hunters Edward Goma play his first Queensland Cup match after waiting eight rounds. Goma came off the bench and moved to the wing while regular winger George Benson shifted to the forwards. Goal-kicking ace Noel Zemming, also missed his first goal, when his conversion attempt from the side line for Garry Lo’s second try hit the uprights. In what was a high-paced and exciting game of football it was the Bears who gained the upper hand early through winger Zac Mackay. Mackay’s fifth-minute try was backed up by tries to Khan Ahwang and Matt Beddow to give the Bears a 16-point lead with less than 15 minutes gone. Lo got the Hunters on the board in the 29th minute, but the joy was short lived for the visitors with Steve Michaels scoring shortly after to again extend the Burleigh lead. Everything changed in the second stanza with the Hunters led by Minoga coming back out with some incredible fire. They were running and tackling harder which brought the large PNG contingent in the crowd to their feet. The results on the scoreboard were immediate as well. Lo bagged his second in the 45th minute before Minoga crashed over five minutes later. The Hunters had all of the ball in the second half and dominated field position, looking likely to score on a number of occasions. The breakthrough finally came in the 69th minute through David Loko, who scored next to the posts to give the Hunters their first lead of the afternoon. But Burleigh was desperate and it showed when Kitching crashed over for the match-winner. It was a gut-wrenching ending for the Hunters who worked so hard to get into the lead only to have the game slip through their fingers at the death – the loss sees the Hunters fall down a place to fifth. The Hunters returned home on Saturday and the players and coaching staff have taken a well-earned break as the side has a bye this weekend. The side will return to camp next Monday as they prepare to host the Wynnum Manly Seagulls at Kalabond Stadium in Kokopo. Burleigh Bears 26 (S Michaels, K Ahwang, Z Mackay, M Beddow, C Kitching tries; K Ahwang 3 con) PNG Hunters 22 (G Lo 2, D Loko, W Minoga tries; N Zemming 3 con) Comments are closed.
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