Mavoko in doubt

PAPUA New Guinea SP Hunters are ready to face Hostplus Cup ladder leaders Northern Pride tomorrow but there is uncertainty on the availability of halfback Jamie Mavoko.
The round nine match at the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby will be the game to watch as the Paul Aiton-coached side look for consistency following a big win over Townsville Blackhawks last week.
Mavoko copped a head-knock in Townsville which could possibly see him miss tomorrow’s clash. While the former Lae Tiger is still awaiting clearance for concussion from the doctors, Aiton is yet to decide who to slot at No 7.
The apparent replacement is Sakias Komati, but he too has some concerns with his shoulder; this could mean Joshua Mire would be the next man up.
But irrespective of who’s wearing the jersey, Aiton wants consistency from his men and a back-to-back win would be a coup for his side heading into mid-season period.
Aiton said earlier in the week his message to the team was to carry on the top-performance form from last week to this game.
“I think our big win last week comes down to improvement in areas like errors and penalties, we cut it down – that’s why we won,” Aiton said.
“The other thing was individual preparations. We’ve talked about that a number of times and last week I think the individual preparations were good.
“For this week, it’s about consistency and hopefully the boys put on another good performance.”
Meanwhile, Hunters second-rower Whallan Tau-Loi said the message from Aiton was clear and the team had been preparing well.
“What he (Aiton) wants is simple, play consistent and be disciplined. We did that last week and we got the win and we just have to maintain that,” the lofty second rower said this week.
Hunters are 10th in the 15-team competition ladder, they have a chance to break into the top-8 if they can pull off an upset against the Pride.