Kokoda Cup game dedicated to heroes

Hello to all our SP PNG Hunters friends and families. Welcome to the 6th edition of this column in the official newspaper – The National.
Last Saturday, I was disappointed with the QRL match officials after our Round 7 loss to Ipswich Jets. I’m not making any excuses as the result could have gone either way. I know many who watched on TV and were at the stadium will agree that several decisions by the officials were not consistent. This was obvious and played heavily on our players’ minds.
It is a short turn around as today is ANZAC Day – a public holiday in Australia when the day is dedicated to all the World War I and II service men and women. And we play Burleigh Bears at Pizzey Park, Gold Coast, for the Kokoda Cup.
The Kokoda Cup was introduced in 2014 and is played for annually between the Hunters and Bears during the ANZAC round.
Our Kokoda Cup record at Pizzey Park is: 2014 (loss), 2015 (win), 2016 (loss), 2017 (win) and 2018 (loss). Going by that trend, we should put up a strong challenge and bring the cup back home tomorrow.
Discipline is still an issue we deal with at camp and the latest to be penalised and omitted from the team for breaching team rules for not attending training and video sessions is captain Adex Wera.
It seems that the players do not take this seriously and the management and I have spoken to them and they know what the consequences are. Their behaviour and actions for breaching values and team protocols both on and off the field will continue to be applied.
Jordan Pat becomes Hunter No.81 when he comes off the interchange bench today. He is another player selected from the Highlands Confederate and has waited seven rounds for this opportunity.
Three players — Butler Morris, Ila Alu and Rex Kaupa — had their birthdays in April. On Tuesday, they shared a cake with the team. Happy Birthday to the three of you.
Patrick Morea has been playing well for the Central Dabaris and comes off the bench. Charlie Simon teams up with Ase Boas in the halves; Ase is five points short of reaching the 500-point milestone and will be the first Hunter to do that.
Well done to the teams that won their games in the third round of the Digicel Cup last weekend. The competition has been good so far so let’s keep that going.
Thanks to those who wrote into the Hunters Forum with your comments. Good or bad, I value your views. There are some encouraging suggestions which the players, management and staff read and will take note of.
Keep sending your views and comments and any questions to [email protected];
We pay tribute to our heroes on this ANZAC Day, lest we forget.
Until next week time, play safe, play hard and play fair in whatever sports you are taking part in.

Cheers,
Mikez