DESPITE putting in a solid effort in their opening Q-Cup match the SP PNG Hunters had to settle for a 10-0 loss to the Tweed Heads Seagulls.
The round one Intrust Super Cup fixture at Pigabeen Sports Complex, Tweed Heads, NSW, was a scrappy affair with neither side able to cross the line in the first half for a 0-0 scoreline.

The Papua New Guinea SP Sponsored Hunters team has been finalized. The squad has young prospects like Epel Kapinias, Nick Hasu, Rex Kaupa Jr, Teme and Jack Oii who will gain from their time in the Hunters system.

Competition for spots is expected to be strong with a large squad however with the overall experience deficit in the Hunters senior players are likely to be the first choice selections.

Papua New Guinea made rugby league has finally been recognised in the 2019 New Year Honours List announced by Government House yesterday.
Coach Michael Marum and captain Ase Boas were recognised for leading the SP Hunters to the premiership win in Queensland in 2017. Marum was made a member of the order of Logohu (ML) for services to rugby league as the highly successful coach fof the SP Hunters which won the 2017 Queensland Intrust Super Cup, and as coach of the national team PNG Kumuls.

FORMER Papua New Guinea Hunters skipper Ase Boas,  is urging rugby league players to get into the culture of saving.
Nasfund brand ambassador Boas, who joins the Featherstone Rovers in England for the 2019 season, said: “Planning or saving for the long term is very difficult for most of us Papua New Guineans but planning to save for long term is achievable.
“The question of what would life be after rugby was always something that hit me every time I went home at the end of the season.

PAPUA New Guinea National Rugby League rookies Vitis Central Dabaris kicked off their selection trials at the Bava Park yesterday.
The trials, which will end on Friday, are aimed at giving rural players an opportunity to push for spots in the franchise.
Dabaris head coach Chris Enara is overseeing trials which have attracted players from Rigo, Aroma Coast, Goilala, Kairuku-Hiri and Motu-Koita.
“These are Southern Confederate-affiliated leagues, so they are all eligible to participate in the trials,” Enara said.