PNG Hunters aim for better in 2015

PAPUA New Guinea Hunters coach Michael Marum is determined to see his side make the Queensland Cup finals next year.

After finishing just outside of the top five this season, the 40-year-old said he was intent on making the finals by learning from their debut season.
“We won’t make the same mistake by leaving it till the end (to make the finals) next year,” Marum said.
“Obviously results didn’t go our way in the final round of the Q-Cup and that’s what happens, but in 2015 we definitely want to be in the top five well before the season ends.”
The Hunters finished sixth on the ladder in 2014, a point outside a finals spot, and the side came agonisingly close to making the playoffs in its first year in Australia’s leading second tier rugby league competition. The South Pacific Brewery-sponsored Hunters were a breath of fresh air for the Queensland competition piquing the interest of Queensland fans as well as being a big draw with the transplanted PNG community in the state.
The Hunters played 24 matches, winning 14 and losing nine with one draw.
Their biggest win was a 56-12 belting of the Burleigh Bears in Round 21, while they suffered their heaviest defeat at the hands of the Tweed Heads Seagulls 60-28 in Round 19.
Marum said the team would disband for a well-deserved break this week before reuniting in November for pre-season training.
Several Hunters have been earmarked for Q-Cup awards with winger Garry Lo set to bag the competition’s leading try-scorer award after finishing the regular season with 24 touchdowns.
Forward Willie Minoga is in the running for the People’s Choice Award after being nominated by the Hunters staff. Fans can vote for their player by entering the Queensland Rugby League website: www.qrl.com.au.