Hunters not taking bye week lightly

SP PNG Hunters will be working hard during their bye-week to improve their attack, defence and discipline as those were the key areas they lacked during their round 4 loss to the Tweed Head Seagulls.
Despite their loss last weekend, head coach Paul Aiton said his boys would be working hard getting back into basics to sharpen up their attack, discipline and defence in preparation for their round 6 clash at home with the Redcliff Dolphins.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re top team or bottom team, the bottom can beat the first and that brings good competition,” Aiton said.
“After reviewing our game, we’ve identified that we lack our defensive skills, attack and discipline compared to performance back in round 1, so we going to fix that up during our bye week.
“That’s our emphasis, the boys are aware of it and they’re back on the field training hard, putting efforts together to clean this mistakes up in preparation for the match with the Dolphins.
Aiton said Robert Mathias and Valentine Culligan would continue to be available for their home games following visa issues, however he intends to maintain the same squad going forward.
He said consistent ball runner Wallen Tauloi and centre Elijah Roltinga picked up minor injuries but would be getting better in the coming weeks.
“These boys (Mathias and Culligan) will always be available for our home games. We just try to keep the same boys so the only change will be our away games.
“A few boys have signed with other Digicel Cup teams to keep their match fitness. We released them. The other ones we don’t want to risk them.”
Bench prop Kosso Bandi said despite their loss, he would be working hard to improve his ball handling in the coming games.