Hunters to name captain

THE SP Hunters are expected to name their skipper at their Intrust Super Cup season launch at the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby this evening.
New head coach Matthew Church will no doubt be looking at experience to succeed Townsville Blackhawks recruit Moses Meninga, who captained the South Pacific Brewery-backed side last season.
Veteran playmaker Ase Boas, Enoch Maki and Stanton Albert appear to be the frontrunners for the role while Ila Alu is a chance of getting the nod from the Australian, who has been impressed with the former Rabaul Gurias forward’s leadership throughout the pre-season.
The safe option would be to hand Boas the role with the former Papua New Guinea Kumul captaining the Hunters during their maiden premiership-winning season in 2017. Boas, Maki and Albert are the most experienced players in Church’s roster, having played for the Kumuls at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup which was co-hosted by Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Irrespective of who gets the nod, Church is hoping to provide a boost for the Hunters as they look to bounce back from their worst season in the Australian second-tier competition.
The new captain will have a big job on his hands with most of the Hunters squad being new faces.
At the start of last season, former Hunters head coach Michael Marum appointed Adex Wera as captain but injuries and poor form saw Marum pass the responsibility on to Meninga, who finished the season as runner-up in the offloading department across the Intrust Cup competition.