By GABRIELKATUHO
Hunters five-eight Joel Gena reflects on his journey with Hunters taking up the key role after Hunters mass exodus.
Gena joined the Hunters this year and has been instrumental in spine, playing five-eight after Hunters five-eighth Gairo Voro moved to London and Joshua Lau left the club for his personal reasons.
Since his debut, Gena is getting used to handling pressure at the Hostplus cup competition with him playing seven games already.
Being optimistic about how things turned so fast, Gena reflected on the journey he has come so far.
“I struggled a little bit in the first two games then as time went by I picked up during the training and worked on the areas that I needed improvement on,” he said.
“Now I am feeling well and looking forward for the season. With Hunters I have learnt a lot of things, in terms of skills, attack and defense. The game too is fast and playing in that competition feels nice so I am looking forward for the season,” he said.
He added that after last week’s loss to Burleigh Bears, they are working on fixing their faults while sticking to their normal game plan.
He said that the team with the coach have reviewed last week’s match and are ready for the weekend.
Responding to the questions on halves paring with Hunters Veteran Five-Eight Jamie Mavoko, Gena said the combination is okay and that he is doing his best to play his role in the game yet understanding his partner’s role and executing their duties accordingly.
Speaking on the signing of Jarome Luai by PNG Chiefs, Gena said most young Papua New Guinean players were looking forward to joining this NRL team, and so the competition would be much tougher for Hunters and other PNG players overseas to earn a spot with the Chiefs.