SP PNG Hunters head to Maryborough on Saturday determined to again push Intrust Super Cup heavyweights Wynnum Manly Seagulls to the brink after their thrilling clash to open the season.

The Seagulls won their first nine matches in 2021, with their smallest winning margin a 20-18 victory against the Hunters in Round 1. The Seagulls have since lost their past three games while their Brisbane Broncos-contracted players have been unavailable because of the NRL’s Covid bubble.

Wynnum’s recent form, and the Hunters’ memory of striking back from a 12-point deficit against them in Round 1, will give Matt Church’s outfit the confidence they are capable of an upset if they can find more consistency over 80 minutes.

​THE Papua New Guinea Kumuls and Orchids are not going to this year’s England Rugby League World Cup “just to make up the numbers”, says an official.
“We’re going there to compete and win,” PNG Rugby League Football chairman Sandis Tsaka said on Thursday following confirmation that the showpiece event would go ahead as scheduled despite Covid-19.“The Kumuls (men) are ranked sixth in the world.
“We had the privilege of hosting some 2017 World Cup matches at the Oil Search National Football Stadium and the Kumuls reached the quarterfinals.
“This time, we want to finish better.”

The PNG Hunters reached halfway of the Intrust Super Cup season knowing they can mount a run to the finals after testing the high-flying Norths Devils at Bishop Park.

The final 38-22 scoreline didn’t reflect the stern test that the Hunters handed out to the second-placed Devils, who led by only four points approaching the final 20 minutes of the match.

A spark from Brandon Nima, who fielded a Devils kick in his in-goal in the 11th minute, ignited the Hunters’ early run today. Nima passed in the in-goal to winger Solo Wane, who raced the length of the field for the Hunters’ first points of the day.
They fell behind 20-6 after 28 minutes as the Devils flexed their muscle with Broncos NRL heavyweights Ethan Bullemor, Jordan Riki and Danny Levi joining captain Jack Ahearn in an early attacking blitz. 

BRISBANE Bronco David Mead has accepted a A$1,500 (K4,100) fine for contrary conduct for his involvement in a melee in Saturday’s 34-16 upset win over the Sydney Roosters.
The Central native reacted to Roosters enforcer Victor Radley’s dangerous contact on fellow Papua New Guinea-born Broncos winger Xavier Coates in the 68th minute at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
New South Welshman Radley, 23, was sin-binned twice and reported four times in what may cost him a few National Rugby League (NRL) matches on the sidelines and the chance of a debut Origin appearance.

The SP PNG Hunters finished with nine men on the field in today’s 40-12 loss to Brisbane Tigers at Bycroft Oval in one of the Intrust Super Cup’s most eventful matches in years.

The Hunters controversially had three players sent to the sin-bin in the final nine minutes and second-rower Benji Kot sent off in the 57th minute after losing another to the bin for 10 minutes earlier in the half.

The first to be banished was centre Brandon Nima, along with the Tigers’ Sam Lavea, in the 43rd minute. Only four minutes after the pair returned to the field Kelly was dismissed for lifting in a three-man tackle with the Tigers leading 24-12.
Already down to 12 men, forward Samuel Yegip was binned for a tackle in the 73rd minute.