Hunters winning fans over in first year

 By PETER SEVARA Jr

OFFSHORE praise is flowing in for Queensland Cup debutants, the Papua New Guinea Hunters.

“(I am) very happy with the event, a lot of people put a lot of work into that and they reaped the rewards, even though the weather was against us, I am very happy with the crowd, very happy with the quality of the game, very happy with all the volunteers, so yeah, it’s A-plus for me,” Queensland Rugby League chairman, Peter Beatros said.

The SP Hunters withstood an early battering from reigning Itrust Super Cup champions the Mackay Cutters to clinch a historic first home win in the final minutes at the Kalabond Oval in Kokopo, East New Britain, last Saturday.

“It’s very reassuring, and I think in everything else in life, if you plan things and prepare before hand them, very little can go wrong,” Beatros said.

“And anything that went wrong or the little things were fixed up immediately by a very diligent staff, so it’s very reassuring to see the results when you put a lot of work, into it.

“The Hunters (are a) very professional outfit, and I think, they’re listening to everything we tell them.

“If they are not sure they are asking questions, that way they’re not going to make mistakes, so we’re very pleased with the response were getting from the Hunters and I think they’ve got an exciting future.

“The Hunters are coming off as a  model for development up here as well in the ISC competition. 

“They’re aiming at the next generation of players and I think that will result in long-term success for the Hunters. 

“It will allow us to expand the competition, even further because the Australian Rugby League Commission is interested in what we are doing up here and I believe that they will certainly direct more funding into the game so we can show that expansions like this can work and can work for the long-term.” 

Beatros said he had loved every minute of his time in the country and would come back.

“It’s been a really, really enjoyable, experience, people here have been fantastic, very friendly, very cooperative, and as I’ve said, Queensland Rugby League couldn’t be more happy with the whole weekend.”