Hunters regroup to meet Falcons

SP Hunters coach Matthew Church says his players have drawn a “line in the sand” to start stage two of their Queensland Intrust Super Cup season with Saturday’s away match match against Sunshine Coast Falcons (3pm kick-off).
The competition will return after two weekends without football – the mid-season bye was followed by last week’s Covid-19 lockdown which prevented any play.But it gave players an extra week’s rest before eight-straight weeks of matches.
Fullback Terry Wapi and winger Brendon Gotuno, scheduled to return last weekend in the postponed match against Mackay Cutters, are certain starters at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
But back-rower Keven Appo will be given one more week to recover from an infection in his ankle which caused his leg to swell after an injury in the round-11 clash with Burleigh Bears.
Gotuno will return 13 weeks after fracturing his arm in two places in the 26-14 round-three victory against the Cutters in Mackay while fullback Wapi has played only one match since round six because of an ankle injury.
The dynamic 26-year-old Wapi has scored 12 tries in his 19 appearances since his debut in 2019 while Gotuno has been a regular on the flank since 2018 (32 appearances) and had scored three tries in his three matches this season.
Appo will return in round 14 to face Northern Pride in the Country Week match in Atherton while Norman Brown (knee), Edwin Ipape (shoulder) and Epel Kapinias (ankle) could all return the following week.
“We’re treating the break as a line in the sand for our season and I feel we’ve regrouped and are ready to take the last eight rounds head-on,” Church said.
“We know there’s a bit of work to do, but we’re up for the challenge against a team with plenty of experience like the Falcons.
“We can take some confidence out of the fact we will field our most experienced backline for some time and that we’ve been able to rest some niggling injuries.
“The squad is training well together, so we’ve got plenty to look forward to.”
The Falcons have named a team without any squad members from affiliated National Rugby League club Melbourne Storm.
The NRL players are being kept in a Covid-19 bubble while the competition deals with lockdowns in different cities.
However, the Falcons have named Papua New Guinea Kumuls hooker Kurt Baptiste, experienced halfback Todd Murphy and a host of players who have been part of winning Sunshine Coast teams.
The Falcons, who sit outside the top-eight with five wins from their 11 matches, will relish playing again at their Sunshine Coast Stadium, where they lost a close match to Townsville Blackhawks two weeks ago.
Hunters: Terry Wapi, Junior Rau, Brandon Nima, Joe Joshua, Brendon Gotuno, Ase Boas, Charlie Simon, Stanton Albert, Wartovo Puara Jr, Samuel Yegip, Benji Kot, Sylvester Namo, Ila Alu (captain); Interchange – Judah Rimbu, Dilbert Isaac, Mark Pitti, Enock Maki; Reserve – Solo Wane.