By GABRIEL KATUHO
The SP PNG Hunters will unleash three debutants for 2026 QRL Hostplus Cup season opener against the Rockhampton Capras at Santos NFS in Port Moresby.
Head Coach Paul Aiton said he was confident the new-look Hunters would deliver the desired result against Capras as the team worked on perfecting player combinations.
He named his 17-man for the Sunday’s game with three new recruits, Himson Ulalom, Miles Banam and Joel Gena after the three players ticked all the boxes to be in the team.
“The lineup is really good. It was a tough choice. When I announced it to the group, there was a genuine excitement and celebration for those players that were debuting for the first time. Really big one for Himson Ulalom, he has been with us whole last year and he missed his debut last year due to injury so he is finally able to do it this year,” he said.
Aiton explained the hard choices the coaching staff had to go through to select the new players.
“Miles Banam has been doing really well. Actually he is being quite close between Miles and Carlos Lung. Just the couple of things that Miles was doing that put him in front. We judged here in Hunters from their training seasons where Miles has earned it. It was quite disappointed for Carlos while it is exciting for Miles. He is an exciting player to watch, bit like Carlos. He is great in the air so we can see some of his skills on Sunday,” Aiton said.
He added that Joel Gena had improved during the pre-season through his effort and persistence that pushed himself into the squad.
Aiton also praised his regular players for creating a friendly environment for the new players and becoming their role model taking lead in leadership role on and off the field.
Meanwhile, Capras will be arriving with several PNG players, including Rodrick Tai, Nickson Putt and Bob Tanza, to give the Hunters a run for their money in what promises to be a real crowd-pleaser