Hunters retain 31 players

By JACK AMI
THE SP PNG Hunters will head into the Intrust Super Cup season with one of their largest squads of the recent season.
Coach Michael Marum said he would maintain his current 31-man squad despite initially looking to name a 25-man team for the club’s sixth season in the Queensland Rugby League.
Marum in an interview with The National at the National Football Stadium yesterday said he would keep all 31 players and had opted not to cut six players after coming through 12 weeks of training pre-season training.
“I’m happy with the squad, they sacrificed and have all been committed and trained hard so far and proved they belong,” Marum said.
Marum said it would be the first time in the club’s short history that he was going with a larger squad.
With a mass exodus of talent over the off-season including key personnel, the Hunters are looking to shore up what is their most inexperienced sides since the club’s inaugural year.
Marum confirmed that all 31 players had signed their contracts so all would be available for selection throughout the course of the season.
“We’re in a rebuilding phase. We have to start from scratch (in 2019) and so it was probably best to keep 31 players in our squad to have options during the season.”
With their pre-season trial against Brisbane Broncos scrapped, Marum said he wanted to have as many players at his disposal to cover any contingencies.
The Hunters players not required for Q-Cup matches would be released to play in the Digicel Cup.
One of the area Marum has hedged his bet on in terms of having a good number of prospects competing for the role is in the halves.
Marum has five man covering halfback and five-eighth with second-year player Charlie Simon expected to lock down the chief playmaker’s role which would leave one of William Mone, Jerry Teme, Nicky Hasu and Justin Yoka to fill at standoff.
Marum said the Hunters would essentially be starting from zero in the halves and he needed to have several options to mix and match until an effective combination was formed.
The squad has young prospects like Epel Kapinias, Nick Hasu, Rex Kaupa Jr, Teme and Jack Oii who will gain from their time in the Hunters system.
Competition for spots is expected to be strong with a large squad however with the overall experience deficit in the Hunters senior players are likely to be the first choice selections.
Adex Wera, Bland Abavu, Enoch Maki and Stanton Albert have spent the most time in the Hunters while Dilbert Isaac, McKenzie Yei and Junior Rau are all proven performers.
Hunters squad: Adex Wera, Baundo Aba, Bland Abavu, Brendan Nima, Butler Morris, Charlie Simon, Daniel Tapol, Dilbert Isaac, Enoch Maki, Epel Kapinias, Gairo Kapana, Ila Alu, Jack Oii, Jerry Teme, Joe Frank, Joe Joshua, Junior Rau, Junior Rop, Justin Yoka, Kevin Appo, McKenzie Yei, Moses Meninga, Nick Hasu, Patrick Morea, Kaupa Rex, Shane Haro, Stanton Albert, Wawa Paul, William Mone, Woods Kawage, Jordan Pat.