Hunters go down fighting against Norths Devils

THE SP Hunters responded admirably to a challenging start to the season, narrowly falling to defending premiers Norths Devils 28-24 in round seven of the Hostplus Cup at Clive Berghofer Stadium, Toowoomba, Queensland, on Saturday.
From the kick-off, it was clear that the Hunters had a point to prove, defending their line for consecutive sets and denying Norths on both edges before forcing them to find points with a kick to Brendan Frei in the third minute.
The Hunters reacted positively, again turning Norths away on their own line before defending a second attacking kick.
Winger Terry Wapi made a superb defensive catch to take possession for the Hunters before getting them 50m upfield with a clever run down the touch line. Unable to score on the back of that line break, the Hunters forced an error in the next set, thanks to a huge shot by Junior Rop and Sylvester Namo, and Solo Wane was the beneficiary when PNG shifted the loose ball to score in the corner.
Norths replied with three quick tries in 10 minutes as the Hunters struggled for possession, but a try in the 31st minute to Brandon Nima – courtesy of a pinpoint grubber from Mark Tony and a slick catch-and-pass back on the inside from Wapi – saw the Hunters finish the first half with confidence.
That belief flowed into the second half, with Wapi finally crossing himself for a well-deserved try.
The Hunters fired a shot down their left edge and Wapi took advantage of the disrupted defensive line to scoot from 10m out and barge over to bring the scores to 18-22.
Twice in the dying stages of the match, the Hunters looked like earning a repeat set thanks to the kicking game of Tony, only for the Devils to somehow make it out of their own end.
The Devils also managed to deny centre Roderick Tai, who looked like he got the ball into the in-goal, only for the referee to rule that he had been held up.
Norths had some better luck down the other end of the field when Brayden McGrady somehow grounded the ball before travelling dead in the 67th minute in a try that came against the run of play.
Far from dropping their heads, the Hunters dominated the final 10 minutes of the match, scoring next to the posts through Kingstimer Paraia before forcing Norths to finish the game camped on their own line. Hunters head coach Matthew Church was delighted with his side’s response.
“We were a little passive in the opening 40, and I challenged the players to lift their intent, run harder and play to the conditions,” he said.
“I thought they did that well in the second half.”
After a string of consecutive losses, it was not the result they were after, but Church said the hard work was close to paying off.
“It was a real rebound from our last performance,” he said.
“We put ourselves in a position to win that game. I’m proud of the players’ efforts.” Results: Sat, May 7 – Hunters 24 Devils 28, Capras 34 Pride 10; Sun, May 8 – Magpies 16 Bears 38.