Kapinias accepts decision

By MICHAEL PHILIP
PROMISING rugby league forward Epel Kapinias has accepted his sacking from the SP PNG Hunters but is unsure what he did wrong.
The club released a statement earlier this week announcing the 23-year-old’s termination but did not give much detail other than to say that Kapinias had been sacked for “breaking team rules during the first half of pre-season training.”
The statement added that Kapinias had not “lived up to the values and standards set and expected by the Hunters organisation.”
Kapinias declined to comment on the details of his sacking but said he accepted the decision of the Hunters management and would return to his club Rabaul Gurias in the Digicel Cup and continue to improve as a player.
“I can’t say anything back to the Hunters management but I accept their decision,” he said.
“The rules, values and standards set by the Hunters management, yes it’s there but where did I go wrong? I still don’t know? But, as I’ve said I am here willing to give back to my provincial team the Gurias for this season.”
He said he was still waiting for further clarification from the club on the rules he breached and values and standards he did not live up to.
Hunters coach Matthew Church said he could not vouch for players who did not value the opportunity presented to them at the Hunters.
“There is no bigger fan of Epel than me so I felt this could have been a huge year for him in regards to NRL and the World Cup,” Church said.
Papua New Guinea Kumuls coach Michael Marum when asked if the Hunters code of conduct, rules and expectations put on players was fair and reasonable, said he could not comment on what the club’s management had in place.
“It is indeed very disappointing news for me to hear that young Epel was released by the Hunters following what specific reasons, we still don’t know, but I hope he learns from it and makes a move on in this year Digicel Cup season with the Gurias and hopefully he can make a come-back and fight his way up again,” Marum, who coached the Hunters from 2014 to 2019 and won a premiership in 2017, said.
He said if Kapinias performed at the Digicel Cup level with the Gurias he would consider him for selection into the Kumuls squad for this year’s World Cup in England.