Hunters seeking answers

The SP PNG Hunters suffered another heartbreaking 32-16 loss on home soil, going down to the Northern Pride in Round 14 of the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) Hostplus Cup on Sunday, 21 June 2026, at Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.

With the home ground advantage, Sanny Wabo’s quick show-and-go play from the ruck put the Hunters on the front foot in the 10th minute. Hooker Trevor Solu failed to nail the conversion, leaving the score at 4-0. 

The celebration was short-lived, as the visitors hit back in the 21st minute from a fifth tackle cheap kick by five-eight Jarrett Subloo, which saw the towering winger Daniel Woodhouse leap over Douglas David to ground the ball and level the score at 4-4.

The Northern men ran riot in the ensuing sets, with dummy-half Tyler Moriarty rucking the ball deftly to score under the uprights in the 26th minute, and prop Fanafou Sese made a barnstorming run outside the Hunters’ 20-meter line to score beside the post and increase the lead to 16-4. 

Undeterred by the visitors’ attacking raid, the home side responded with a 4-pointer through center Graham Rex, who received a soft flick pass from the livewire fullback Sanny Wabo, narrowing the margin to 16-8 at the interval. 

The Pride went firing on all cylinders in the second half, registering three unanswered tries in 20 minutes and extending their lead to 32-8. Ten minutes before the full-time siren sounded, Douglas David scored back-to-back tries for the Hunters, reducing the deficit to 16 points (32-16). 

Hunters' head coach Paul Aiton was not happy about the result, expressing disappointment about the team’s lackluster performance in staying in the fight and competing tenaciously for a full 80 minutes. 

“I’m not happy with the performance. I’m really disappointed. Their performance was very poor and not up to the QRL Hostplus Cup standards,” the fuming mentor said. 

After winning the QLR premiership title in 2017, the once competitive Hunters have fallen from grace, missing the finals for seven consecutive years. However, they broke their seven-year finals drought in 2024 under rookie coach Paul Aiton.

In 2025, the SP Brewery-sponsored club started its campaign on a positive note, but missed the playoffs. Starting the 2026 season on a clean slate, they aim for redemption, but the way they are performing, their finals aspirations now hang by a thread.

The struggling PNG Hunters are sitting last on the ladder, recording 2 wins out of 10 matches. With 9 regular season rounds remaining, they are hoping to turn their season around to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon.

Paul Aiton’s men are on bye this weekend (Round 15). They will travel to Brisbane to face the 8th-placed Wynnum Manly Seagulls in Round 16 on Sunday, July 5th, at Brisbane's BMD Kougari Oval.