Hunters stumble at final hurdle

THE SP PNG Hunters will not get to defend the Q-Cup title this year after stumbling at the final hurdle on Saturday.
Coach Michael Marum said he and his men were disappointed after their 38-22 loss to the CQ Capras but would move on quickly and look to other challenges this year.
“We just started badly and it continued all throughout the game,” Marum said of his side’s round 24 effort.
“They (Capras) started well and we let them in for some soft tries. You can’t give a side a 20-point start and we just couldn’t come back.
“We’ll review our season this week and see what happened and what went wrong. We’ll close up shop this week and the players will be given their programmes to follow until we come back into to camp in November for pre-season training,” Marum, pictured, said.
“Most of the squad will get a 10-week break so they should be well rested by the time we get them back for camp and hopefully they can stay disciplined during the time off and come back in shape.
“This time we’ll be looking to do things better and get in a full pre-season of training.
“This year didn’t go as well as we planned. We had to make adjustments because of the number of players that left and coming off a World Cup preparation which disrupted our Q-Cup preparations as well.”
Marum said he would keep tabs on the Kumuls players in the Hunters squad with the Prime Minister’s 13 fixture against Australia in October.
The Hunters conceded five tries in a poor first half to a determined Capras outfit with nothing to lose.
Capras wingers Maipele Morseau and Chanel Seigafo (2) scored the opening three tries as the hosts kept catching the Hunters defence short on the edges.
Hunters hooker Wartovo Puara Jr crossed for the visitors after a fortuitous deflection of a kick in the 11th minute but that did little to stem the tide of points as the Rockhampton side added two more tries to back-rower Bill Cullen and halfback Jack Madden before captain Ase Boas scored on the stroke of halftime.
Trailing 28-10 at the break, the Hunters needed to be the first to score in the second 40 minutes and things looked promising as centre Thompson Teteh touched down seven minutes into the second stanza but the Capras were up to the task and contained the opposition.
Cullen crashed over in the 51st minute for the home side to stave off the comeback.
Watson Boas scored a four-pointer with a quarter of the game left to give the Hunters some hope but a combination of tough referee calls and mistakes by a desperate side ensured they wouldn’t threaten the home side.
The Hunters needed Norths to beat Ipswich the following day to gain a reprieve but it was not to be as the Jets ground out a 22-14 win to book their place in the top six.
CQ Capras 38 (Maipele Morseau, Chanel Seigafo 2, Bill Cullen 2, Jack Madden tries; Connor Broadhurst 5 con, 2 pen) PNG Hunters 22 (Wartovo Puara Jr, Ase Boas, Thompson Teteh, Watson Boas tries; Watson Boas 3 con)
Rd 24 Results: Sat, Aug 25 – Easts Tigers 18 Burleigh Bears 48, Wynnum Manly Seagulls 22 Townsville Blackhawks 26, CQ Capras 38 PNG Hunters 22, Northern Pride 10 Tweed Heads Seagulls 10, Mackay Cutters 14 Souths Logan Magpies 22, Redcliffe Dolphins 45 Sunshine Coast Falcons 16; Sun, Aug 26 – Norths Devils 14 Ipswich Jets 22.