2021 Papua New Guinea Hunters season
The Papua New Guinea Hunters is a professional rugby league club from Papua New Guinea that participates in the Queensland Cup in Australia. They have relocated to Runaway Bay, Gold Coast for the 2021 Intrust Super Cup Season. The 2021 Intrust Super Cup will be the PNG Hunters' eighth season in rugby league's Queensland Cup after securing their future with a four-year license from 2019 until 2022.[1] A 37-man train-on squad was announced for the pre season[2] before it was trimmed and the final squad finalized.[3] Doncaster RLFC agreed for Watson Boas to play with the Hunters squad until he was able to return to the United Kingdom.[4] In partnership with PacificAus Sports( Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League, PNG Hunters and QRL signed a three year agreement titled 'Growing and Supporting Rugby League in Papua New Guinea'[5] in February which will see the PacificAus Sports and QRL assisting to develop the sport in the country by creating pathways for emerging PNG players and also develop pathways for PNG teams like the PNG Hunters Under-19s and Papua New Guinea Hunters women's [6][7] to take part in high-level Australian sporting competitions [8] The Hunters travelled with a 24-man squad to Queensland after six could not travel due to visa issues. Three consultants were recruited to join the coaching team in order to refine and up-skill the coaching staff through funding by PacificAus sports program.[9][10]
| 2021 Papua New Guinea Hunters season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland Cup Rank | 10th | |||
| 2021 record | Wins: 6; losses: 11 | |||
| Points scored | For: 386; against: 479 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Scott Barker | |||
| Coach | Mathew Church | |||
| Captain |
| |||
| Stadium | Bycroft Oval, Gold Coast | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | 9 (Junior Rau, Solo Wane) | |||
| Goals | 21 (Charlie Simon, Ase Boas) | |||
| Points | 46 (Charlie Simon, Ase Boas) | |||
| ||||
Season summary
- Round 1: Jokadi Bire scored his first try for the club.
- Round 2: Edwin Ipape and Epel Kapinias scored their first tries for the club.
- Round 3: Samuel Yegip and Sylvester Namo scored their first tries for the club.
- Round 4: Norman Brown and Benji Kot scored their first tries for the club.
- Round 4: Wartovo Puara played his 115th game for the Hunters equaling the most capped player record with Adex Wera for the club.
- Round 6: Wartovo Puara played his 116th game for the Hunters becoming the most capped player in the history of the club
- Round 7: Solo Wane and Emmanuel Waine scored their first tries for the club.
- Round 14: Enoch Maki played his 95th game for the club overtaking Willie Minoga who played 94 games for the club.
- Round 16: Ase Boas played his 116th game for the club overtaking Adex Wera who played 115 games. Ase is now second most capped Hunter.
- Round 16: Judah Rimbu scored his first try for the club.
- Round 17: Gilmo Paul scored his first try for the club.
Milestone games
| Round | Player | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Jokadi Bire, Samuel Yegip, Edwin Ipape, Benji Kot, Emmanuel Waine, Sylvester Namo and Judah Rimbu | ISC debut |
| Round 4 | Norman Brown | ISC debut |
| Round 5 | Jeffrey Robert | ISC debut |
| Round 6 | Tom Butterfield | Hunters debut |
| Round 7 | Solo Wane | ISC debut |
| Round 8 | Solomon Pokare | ISC debut |
| Round 12 | Junior Rau | 50th Game |
| Round 19 | Gilmo Paul | ISC Debut (Hunter #98) |
| Round 17 | Enoch Maki | 100th Game |
2021 squad
| First team squad | Coaching staff | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Updated: 13 January 2021 | ||||||||
Squad movement
Gains
| Player | Signed From | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solomon Pokare | Hela Wigmen | 2021 | |
| Judah Rimbu | Hela Wigmen | 2021 | |
| Jokadi Bire |  Lae Snax Tigers | 2021 | |
| Benji Kot | Kimbe Cutters | 2021 | |
| Samuel Yegip | Hela Wigmen | 2021 | |
| Jeffrey Robert | Hela Wigmen | 2021 | |
| Sylvester Namo | Lae Snax Tigers | 2021 | |
| Edwin Ipape | Lae Snax Tigers | 2021 | |
| Norman Brown | Hela Wigmen | 2021 | |
| Gilmo Paul | Hela Wigmen | 2021 | |
| Solo Wane | Hela Wigmen | 2021 | |
| Watson Boas | Doncaster RLFC (loan) | 2021 | |
| Wartovo Puara | Barrow Raiders | 2021 |
Losses
| Player | Signed To | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Nigel | Port Moresby Vipers | 2021 | |
| Joe Frank | Waghi Tumbe | 2021 | |
| Patrick Morea | Hela Wigmen | 2021 | |
| Rhadley Brawa | Enga Mioks | 2021 | |
| Junior Rop | Lae Snax Tigers | 2021 | |
| Steven Bruno | Rabaul Gurias | 2021 | |
| Justin Yoka | Kimbe Cutters | 2021 | |
| Nicky Oliver | Central Dabaris | 2021 | |
| Francis Takai | Rabaul Gurias | 2021 | |
| Roy Elison | Rabaul Gurias | 2021 | |
| Casey Dickson | Lae Snax Tigers | 2021 | |
| Stanley Olo | Lae Snax Tigers | 2021 |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Norths Devils |
17 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 521 | 320 | 201 | 30 |
| 2 |  Wynnum Manly Seagulls |
17 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 513 | 374 | 139 | 24 |
| 3 |  Burleigh Bears |
17 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 457 | 342 | 115 | 24 |
| 4 |  Tweed Heads Seagulls |
17 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 458 | 384 | 74 | 22 |
| 5 |  Redcliffe Dolphins |
17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 450 | 397 | 53 | 22 |
| 6 |  Souths Logan Magpies |
17 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 517 | 446 | 71 | 21 |
| 7 |  Townsville Blackhawks |
17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 468 | 361 | 107 | 19 |
| 8 |  Sunshine Coast Falcons |
17 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 448 | 390 | 58 | 18 |
| 9 |  Northern Pride |
17 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 376 | 387 | -11 | 18 |
| 10 |  Papua New Guinea Hunters |
17 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 386 | 479 | -93 | 12 |
| 11 | Brisbane Tigers |
17 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 364 | 456 | -92 | 9 |
| 12 |  Mackay Cutters |
17 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 330 | 556 | -226 | 8 |
| 13 |  Ipswich Jets |
17 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 365 | 561 | -196 | 7 |
| 14 |  Central Queensland Capras |
17 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 303 | 503 | -200 | 4 |
- The team highlighted in blue has clinched the minor premiership
- Teams highlighted in green have qualified for the finals
- The team highlighted in red has clinched the wooden spoon
Fixtures
Pre-season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals |
|---|
Regular season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 20 March | Round 1 | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | Bycroft Oval, Gold Coast | 18-20 | Bire, Wapi, Puara | Simon 3 goals | ||||
| Saturday, 27 March | Round 2 | Ipswich Jets | Bycroft Oval, Gold Coast | 44-22 | Gotuno 3, Kapinias 2, Wapi, Bire, Ipape | Simon 6 goals | ||||
| Saturday, 10 April | Round 3 | Mackay Cutters | BB Print Stadium | 26-14 | Yegip, Namo, Rau, W.Boas, Ipape | Simon 3 goals | ||||
| Saturday, 17 April | Round 4 | Sunshine Coast Falcons | Bycroft Oval, Gold Coast | 32-12 | Kot 2, Brown 2, Wapi, Yegip | Simon 4 goals | ||||
| Saturday, 24 April | Round 5 | Burleigh Bears | Pizzey Park | 18-25 | Bire, Brown, Nima, Wapi | Simon goal | ||||
| Sunday, 9 May | Round 6 | Brisbane Tigers | Bycroft Oval, Gold Coast | 12-40 | Bire, Brown | Simon 2 goals | ||||
| Sunday, 16 May | Round 7 | Souths Logan Magpies | Davies Park | 14-48 | Waine, Wane ,Bire | Pokare goal | ||||
| Saturday, 29 May | Round 8 | Redcliffe Dolphins | Moreton Daily Stadium | 12-24 | Rau 2, Kot | |||||
| Saturday, 5 June | Round 9 | Townsville Blackhawks | Bycroft Oval, Gold Coast | 28-38 | Bire 2, Appo 2, Nima, Kot | Ase Boas 2 goals | ||||
| Saturday, 12 June | Round 10 | Norths Devils | Bishop Park | 22-38 | Wane, Kot, Bire, Appo | Ase Boas 3 goals | ||||
| Sunday, 20 June | Round 11 | Burleigh Bears | Cbus Super Stadium | 6-40 | Rau | Ase Boas goal | ||||
| Saturday, 10 July | Round 13 | Sunshine Coast Falcons | Sunshine Coast Stadium | 12-26 | Kot 2 | Ase Boas 2 goals | ||||
| Saturday, 17 July | Round 14 | Northern Pride | Atherton Stadium, Artheton | 34-22 | Wane 3, Nima, Rau, Simon | Ase Boas 4 , Simon goals | ||||
| Saturday, 24 July | Round 12 | Mackay Cutters | Bycroft Oval, Gold Coast | 30-40 | Rau 3, Gotuno 2, Wane | Ase Boas 3 goals | ||||
| Saturday, 31 July | Round 15 | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | Eskdale Park, Maryborough | Round 15 cancelled[15] | ||||||
| Saturday, 21 August | Round 18 | Brisbane Tigers | Totally Workwear Stadium | Round 18 cancelled [16] | ||||||
| Sunday, 29 August | Round 19 | Souths Logan Magpies | Bycroft Oval, Gold Coast | 26-32 | Wapi 2, Puara, Yegip, Waine | Ase Boas 3 goals | ||||
| Saturday, 4 Sept. | Round 16 | CQ Capras | Browne Park | 22-20 | Wane 2, Rimbu, Rau, Ipape | Simon goal | ||||
| Saturday, 11 Sept. | Round 17 | Tweed Heads Seagulls | Bycroft Oval, Gold Coast | 30-18 | Waine 2, Gilmo, Kapinias, Wane, Ase Boas | Ase Boas 3 goals | ||||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye | ||||||||||
Statistics
| * | Denotes player contracted to the Doncaster RLFC for the 2021 season |
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanton Albert | 11 | - | - | - | - |
| Ila Alu | 15 | - | - | - | - |
| Kevin Appo | 10 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Jokadi Bire | 10 | 8 | - | - | 32 |
| Ase Boas | 9 | 1 | 21 | - | 46 |
| Watson Boas* | 5 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Norman Brown | 8 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Tommy Butterfield | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Brendon Gotuno | 6 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Edwin Ipape | 11 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Dilbert Isaac | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Joe Joshua | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Epel Kapinias | 10 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Benji Kot | 15 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Enoch Maki | 10 | - | - | - | 0 |
| Sylvester Namo | 13 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Brandon Nima | 15 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Jordan Pat | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Gilmo Paul | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Mark Piti | 7 | - | - | - | - |
| Solomon Pokare | 3 | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| Wartovo Puara | 16 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Junior Rau | 16 | 9 | - | - | 36 |
| Judah Rimbu | 15 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Jeffrey Robert | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Charlie Simon | 14 | 1 | 21 | - | 46 |
| Emmanuel Waine | 16 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Solo Wane | 9 | 9 | - | - | 36 |
| Terry Wapi | 11 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Samuel Yegip | 15 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Totals | 74 | 43 | 0 | 386 |
Honours
References
- "Hunters secure Intrust Super Cup future". Loop PNG. 7 February 2019.
- "PNG Hunters 2021 Pre-Season Squad Named". www.postcourier.com.pg. 19 November 2020.
- https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2021/01/12/png-hunters-name-assistant-coach-and-final-2021-squad/%7Cwebsite=www.qrl.com.au}}%5B%5D
- "Doncaster Rugby League". Doncaster Rugby League. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2021/04/01/qrl-takes-lead-in-unique-pacific-program%5B%5D
- "Junior Hunters eyed – the National".
- "Vital to build on relocation – the National".
- "Australia, PNG ink sport deal – the National".
- "Hunters recruit Knights legend – the National".
- "Hunters appoint new general manager". 19 March 2021.
- "Alu to captain SP Hunters/Five Debutants Named". 16 March 2021.
- "Isaac and Pat recalled by PNG Hunters". 21 May 2021.
- "PNG Hunters name assistant coach and final 2021 squad". Qrl Media. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- "PNG Hunters: Gains and losses 2021". QRL. 16 March 2021.
- "Statement: Statewide competitions update". 2 August 2021.
- "Intrust Super Cup and Hastings Deering Colts update". 16 August 2021.
- "QRL releases 2021 intrust super cup draw". QRL Media. 10 December 2020.
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