PNG Hunters v East Tigers round 2 preview

The PNG Hunters host their first home game of the season at the National Football Stadium on Sunday. While the Hunters have won a staggering 33 of 36 games on home soil, history says the Tigers will be right in this game. 

Easts are one of the three teams to have beaten PNG on their home turf, and matches between the two clubs have regularly produced tight finishes. The Tigers’ opening match of the 2017 season against the Sunshine Coast last weekend was certainly a tight affair, with both sides trading late field goals to ensure a 7-7 draw. Storm forward Dean Britt has been added to the Tigers’ pack for the Round 2 clash. For the Hunters, powerhouse forward turned centre Willie Minoga plays his 50th match in PNG colours. Minoga, who returned to the Hunters after a stint with Townsville last year, scored a great solo try to get his team over the line in their hard-fought 22-16 win over the Central Queensland Capras in Rockhampton last weekend.

PNG Hunters

1. Bland Abavu 2. Butler Morris 3. Adex Wera 4. Willie Minoga 5. William Aquila 6. Israel Eliab 7. Ase Boas (c) 8. Henry Wan 9. Gahuna Silas 10. Esau Siune 11. Nixon Putt 12. David Loko 13. Stanton Albert 14. Lawrence Tu'u 15. Wellington Albert 16. Enock Maki 17. Moses Meninga 18. Karo Kauna 19. Ishamel Baikawa 20. Watson Boas

Coach: Michael Marum

Easts Tigers

1. Gerard McCullum 2. Jarrod McInally 3. Shane Neumann 4. Conor Carey 5. Linc Port 6. Billy Walters 7. Brayden Torpy 8. Steven Thorpe 9. Tommy Butterfield 10. Mark Nicholls 11. Jake Foster (c) 12. Dean Britt 13. Jack Svendsen 14. David Murphy 15. Matt Zgrajewski 16. Charlie Galo 17. Scott Drinkwater 18. Luke Lavelle 19. Timothy Lomai 20. Liufau Hala

Coach: Scott Sipple

PNG Hunters v Easts Tigers 

National Football Stadium on Sunday, March 12 - 3pm

Referee: Jarrod Cole

Head-to-Head: PNG 2 Easts 2 drawn 1

Twitter: #intrustsupercup #PNGvTIGES

Source: qrl.com.au