Round One witnessed a tight contest between the Mackay Cutters and the Papua New Guinea Hunters at BB Print Stadium last weekend in the Hostplus Cup.
In what was the competition’s “Harmony Round” the displaced Hunters – who will still be unable to play their home fixtures in PNG – came in no holds barred after a strong preseason. Cutters looked tentative at times, and they had it all to prove.
Ahead of the match, Cutters announced Ross Bella as 2022 Captain for the Hostplus Cup season.
It was a Cutters’ kick to start the game, caught deftly by the Hunter’s backs and a hard first hit would foreshadow the physicality of the competition.
Hunters managed to open the scoring at BB Print after an intricate play down the right flank.
Strong contact in defence had forced the Cutters into an error with their first possession, and starting props for Hunters, Casey Dickson and Sylvester Namo, were consistently bending the line with their carries, causing havoc for Mackay’s defence.
From an attacking scrum, Hunters’ right-centre Rodrick Tai completed a smart move to put the Hunter’s Solo Wane over for the opening try in the seventh minute.
Hunters again capitalised in the 19th minute for four points, as the Hunters’ Dilbert Isaac crashed over.
Cutters brought down the deficit when, finding some space for themselves around the ruck, they raced 70 metres up field, only to be stopped by Hunters’ Wane who completed a superb chasing cover tackle.
Wane’s effort was in vain though, as Cutters searched wide for points with back Flynn Camilleri crossing, but sadly the Sugar City side were unable to close the gap further, missing the ensuing conversion.
The Hunters’ lead was at 8 going into the break, 14-4.
The Cutters started the second half in ferocious form, mounting a stack of pressure late in the game to have five consecutive sets attacking the Hunters line, finally scoring off a cross-field bomb in the 66th minute.
Andrea Niko collected a late offload which resulted from the cross-field kick, bringing it to within four for the Cutters in the final score of the game.
The Hunters held on in the dying embers of the game, with Judah Rimbu kicking the lead out to six from a penalty with just minutes remaining, leaving the Cutters down 16-10.
Cutters now look ahead to their match against the Jets down in Ipswich, with the southern side looking to avenge their previous outing where they went down to Cutters 36-26.
As well, Cutters announced last week three more new recruits, Jake Hawkins, Hayden Pace, and Tyler Holmes – Holmes and Pace both local lads. It will be interesting to see how the new blood fits into the lineup
New signing Tyler Holmes
Local Hayden Pace joined the Hostplus Cup squad for this season
Jake Hawkins is another fresh signing to bolster the side
