Injured Hunters given until tomorrow to make trial match

PNG Hunters coach Michael Marum is giving his five senior players until tomorrow to recover from minor injuries.
Marum said Willie Minoga, Adex Wera, Moses Meninga, Enoch Maki and Wartovo Puara Jr were all looking to beat an assortment of minor injuries including corked thighs, strains and other soft tissue injuries. “I’m give them today and tomorrow (Friday) to recover to be in the 20-man squad to take on the Broncos.
“We want to play it safe and not force players who aren’t 100 per cent fit to play because we’ve got to think about our Q-Cup season but Saturday will be a big match for us since it is against the Broncos NRL side,” Marum said.
Marum said the squad had been given a day off this week and he was confident that despite some players carrying niggling injuries they would be ready for their first hit-out of the season.
Although holding out a little hope for captain Ase Boas, Marum said there was unlikely to be any changes. “I want to give all my senior guys as much time as they need to convince me that they are ready to play on Saturday’s big match,” he said.
“We’ll need them because I’ve got quite a few new faces in the squad so they’ll need that guidance and leadership especially against an NRL side.”
Marum said he was not as concerned about Ase Boas being a last-minute inclusion for the Saturday’s match against Brisbane Broncos, maintained that he wanted his chief playmaker and goalkicker to be ready for their Q-Cup round one match against the Ipswich Jets in Port Moresby on March 11.