New season, new faces, the hunt continues

SPORTS

Can the Hunters overcome a significant loss of talent and experience to fire in 2022?

By PETER PUSAL
IT could be a case of taking a step forward and a half step back for the SP Hunters in 2022.
With key personnel missing and others dropped or omitted for various reasons ranging from the unforgiveable “lack of effort” in preseason training to alleged injury, ill-discipline, not being vaccinated, and age, we have another squad that is starting seemingly from first base (again) in the new Hostplus Cup season.
The list of talent no longer at the Hunters is nothing to scoff at. When you let premiership winners, test stars, consistent (i.e. proven) performers and rising talent slip through your fingers, you’re bound to pay a price.
Of the 29-man squad that relocated to Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast last year only 14 have been retained for 2022 and half of that number are logging just their second season in the Queensland competition.
The rest of this season’s 26-man squad are rookies.
In terms of players no longer part of the Hunters set up the absence of names like Ase Boas, Edwin Ipape, Watson Boas, Stanton Albert, Enock Maki, Junior Rau, Brandon Gotuno, Norman Brown and Epel Kapinias – all of whom would not be out of place in the Kumuls World Cup squad – will be felt.
Only Ipape and Watson Boas were inevitable releases as Boas already had an agreement with English club, Doncaster, to return in 2022 while Ipape made the call to head to the United Kingdom linking up with Adrian Lam’s Leigh Centurions after initially being named in the Hunters squad for this season.
Ase Boas’s heir apparent Charlie Simon was never able translate his Digicel Cup form over to the Queensland Cup and after several seasons of trying hard but never quite taking charge – kind of like Brodie Croft for the Broncos – he was let go.
A special mention needs to be made for Jokadi Bire whose career looked to be tracking that of fellow Chimbu Justin Olam’s until he was unfortunately forced into an early retirement at 22 due to a fortuitously diagnosed heart condition 10 games into the 2021 season.
Ipape seems to have burned his bridge with a less than amicable departure from the Hunters. If this is so one would think, he would need to make his stay in Leigh a worthwhile one lest he go down the path of misguided intentions and lost opportunity such as the one trodden by the talented Garry Lo.
Under coach Matthew Church the side was nowhere near top flight last season but neither were they bottom of the barrel.
Mitigating that performance was the unprecedented situation the team found itself in of being transplanted onto foreign soil due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19), much like the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League.
Re-locating to another country wasn’t plain sailing for a fully professional club much less for a Queensland Cup side based in Papua New Guinea but that was the challenge and the Hunters rose as best they could to meet it.
If accurately and honestly ranked, the Hunters were a rung below a middling side. This was more or less expected because despite the patches of good form and moments of brilliance, the mediocre and poor were infused liberally to see them manage only six wins from 17 games or 10th place in a 14-team competition in 2021.
Despite that they were only three wins, or six points, away from a top eight spot, and as Peter Sterling was fond of saying, “they’re close enough if they’re good enough” but alas it proved a bridge too far.
As it stands the Hunters head into the new Hostplus season an unknown quantity mainly because of the loss of experienced personnel and lack of like-for-like replacements.
Granted they have a host of new talent eager to take the opportunity given to them what the team lacks is adequate seasoning.
It’s hard to imagine how the Hunters can win enough matches to make the playoffs given the aforementioned players were part of the squad that tried to last year and fell short.
With that quality and experience missing it is perhaps too much, and too early, to expect rookie halves Jamie Mavoko and Mark Tony or even 19-year-old Judah Rimbu, and veteran rake Wartovo Puara Jr (when he returns to the team after an extended period in Kokopo for family reasons), to steer this side to a post season appearance for the first time since 2017.
The game against Fiji’s Kaiviti Silktails, which was cancelled last month (Sat, Feb 26) due to adverse weather, would have been an early litmus test for the Hunters. While the result wouldn’t necessarily have gauged how Church’s team would fare this season it would have given fans and pundits alike a fair indication of their prospects as a team that could rally and put on a performance which everyone could be proud of.
Thankfully, we at least got to see two young bucks in Sherwin Tanabi and Tony Worot turn out for the North Queensland Cowboys Under-20s that day against a senior Mackay Cutters outfit in a trial. Both players showed glimpses of what they could do in their time on the field before the match was called off in the second half.
Saturday’s first hit-out for the side was against the Central Queensland Capras in Gladstone which saw the Hunters lose by a 20-10 margin. Young hooker Kingstimer Paraia and speedster Solo Wane scored tries in the second half after the side trialed 0-10 after the first 40 minutes.
This wasn’t a bad score by any stretch but one needs to keep in mind that the Caps were last year’s wooden-spooners and aren’t expected to be a whole better than 12 months ago.

Church’s squad will play one more trial on Saturday against Brisbane Rugby League’s Wests Panthers. This will be the final opportunity for the squad to finalise spots for the opening round on March 19 against the Mackay Cutters.
While one would like to think the side will be decided and all the pieces will fall into place in the space of two weeks, the reality is the first third of the season will more than likely be a learning curve for this young side.
The Hunters have drafted in several rising stars from the PNG Kokomos, Queensland’s resident Papua New Guinean rep side, with youngsters Tyler Han, Thane Kellermeyer, Trevor Monaei, Shaun Hoerler, Emmanuel Kiddie and Jordan Paiyo all in line for possible selection.
Time and opportunity will decide what role they play for the Hunters this season but if Church’s tactics and selections from last season are anything to go by most, if not all, will see time in a Hunters jersey at some point, especially if the losses start piling up.
Attitude and application will be key. The gelling of the halves, particularly on offence, and their game management will be areas Church and his deputies Stanley Tepend and Paul Aiton, will no doubt be looking at; the other area that will bear much scrutiny will be the defensive effort with brains the better part of the equation over brawn.
The Hunters’ middle third has been where the problems have started for the side. Once you lose the battle for domination in the ruck, or parity at the very least, it usually doesn’t bode well for a side’s prospects.
The Hunters final game of 2021 against the Souths Logan Magpies showed the importance of the old hands in a contest against one of the competition’s better sides.
Puara, Boas, Maki and Albert had strong games and gave the side direction and leadership in a competitive tussle won 32-26 by the Magpies.
With three of them gone one wonders if the new leadership group of Ila Alu, Kevin Appo and Brandon Nima can inspire and manage the side in what is expected to be a tough season with few if any easy fixtures on the draw.
The Hunters’ main challenge this season is that they have basically hit the reset button and are starting from the drawing board.
Can they be competitive to a level where they can win enough games to make the eight? One would like to think so but with a side having so many fresh faces this season that intangible called “experience” may be the difference between matching last year’s 10th place finish and falling a rung or two lower.
Squad: Ila Alu (C), Brandon Nima, Keven Appo, Terry Wapi, Solo Wane, Gilimo Paul, Judah Rimbu, Samuel Yegip, Sylvester Namo, Dilbert Isaac, Jordan Pat, Emmanuel Waine, Benji Kot, Matthew Jesse, Liam Joseph, Rodrick Tai, Mark Tony, Jamie Mavoko, Casey Dickson, Anthony Worot, Sherwin Tanabi, Francis Kembis, Kingstimer Paraia, Wesa Tenza Junior Rop, Kitron Laka; Kokomos: Tyler Han, Thane Kellermeyer, Trevor Monaei, Shaun Hoerler, Emmanuel Kiddie, Jordan Paiyo.