Hunters staying focused

Sports

By ISAAC LIRI
HUNTERS coach Michael Marum is adamant Sunday’s round 20 fixture against the Mackay Cutters is a must-win affair for his side.
Despite sitting on top of the ladder on 32 points and on a relatively easy run home over the remaining six rounds of the Q-Cup, Marum said his side could not afford to rest on their laurels.
Having lost two of their eight home games, Marum insisted winning on Sunday was not a foregone conclusion though they beat the Cutters 36-16 in their round-five clash in Mackay.
In round four, the Devils proved too strong for the PNG franchise but the Hunters were able to recover and move on.
Their second loss at home in round 15 when they fell to last-placed Tweed Heads came was a wake-up call.
It was an upset that got into their heads mentally, but the question now is whether they can handle the pressure of playing at home.
“There is always pressure in playing at home. The crowd has high expectations. Sometimes it’s good because it motivates, but sometimes it can really affect players mentally,” Marum said.
“We have been working on the mental aspect of our game all through the season so there is no excuse on how we manage ourselves in our home games.”
The Cutters revealed their intentions early this week of what it would mean to beat the Hunters in Port Moresby.
Mackay are an outside chance of making the top five but must win on Sunday to have any hope.
Marum said the visitors would have nothing to lose and it was that kind of attitude that could see them be highly competitive.
He said the Hunters had also lost some of their aura of invincibility after the two earlier defeats at the NFS and Q-Cup sides were no longer unsure about winning in PNG.
“The Cutters will be tough coming off a win last week. They’re looking forward to coming up here and playing well too so we will have to just stand tall all through the 80 minutes,” Marum said.
“There was some improvement in our last game against the Bears. We dropped less ball and our completion rate was around 71 percent.
“That was a big improvement from the previous games so if we’re be able to continue that this weekend, I’m positive we can maintain our spot on the ladder.”
The match will be broadcast on TVWAN starting at 3pm.
Hunters: 1. Stargroth Amean 2. Bland Abavu 3. Israel Eliab 4. Willie Minoga 5. Paul Wawa 6. Ase Boas (C) 7. Watson Boas 8. Stanton Albert 9. Wartovo Puara Jr 10. Esau Siune 11. David Loko 12. Rhadley Brawa 13. Nixon Put; Reserves: 14. Gahuna Silas 15. Adex Wera 16. Brandy Peter 17. Moses Meninga 18. Enoch Maki 19. Butler Morris 20. Wellington Albert.
Rd 20 fixtures: Sat, July 22 – WM Seagulls v Pride, Capras v Dolphins, Jets v Blackhawks; Sun, July 23 – Tigers v Devils, Bears v Falcons, Magpies v TH Seagulls, Hunters v Cutters.