The Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Hunters) are a professional rugby league football club based in Papua New Guinea. They were formed in December 2013 and compete in the Queensland Cup, a second tier competition in Australia.[2] The Hunters are the second Papua New Guinean side to enter the Queensland Cup following the Port Moresby Vipers who competed for two seasons in 1996 and 1997. Every Hunters match is shown live on national free-to-air television. The Hunters' home ground is the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby and their team colours are gold, black and red.[3] The Hunters won the Hostplus Cup in 2017.
 | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Papua New Guinea Hunters Rugby League Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Hunters |
| Short name | PNG Hunters |
| Colours | Gold Black Red |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Website | www |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
|
| CEO | Scott Barker[1] |
| Chairman | Stan Joyce |
| Coach | Paul Aiton |
| Captain | Ila Alu |
| Competition | Hostplus Cup |
 Current season | |
| Records | |
| Premierships (2nd grade) | '1 (2017) |
| Runners-up (2nd grade) | 0 |
| Minor premierships (2nd grade) | 1 (2017) |
| Wooden spoons (2nd grade) | 0 |
| Most capped | ' – 135 Wartovo Puara |
Since 2023, they are one of the feeder clubs for the Dolphins in the Australian National Rugby League.
Papua New Guinea NRL Bid
editThe Australian Labor Party have pledged their support behind a PNG team entering the National Rugby League competition.[4] Papua New Guinea have introduced a National Schools Rugby League Championships[5] which started in 2019 to prepare its junior rugby league talent from the six year olds[6] to the Under 18 divisions for the future.[7] The PNG Government, Australian Government, PNGRFL and QRL signed an agreement which will see the Australian Government assisting to develop the sport in the country.[8] Titled 'Growing and Supporting Rugby League in Papua New Guinea', it is an Australian Government initiative to develop pathways for PNG teams[9] like the Hunters Under 21s[10][11][12] and Hunters Women's[8] to play in high-level Australian sporting competitions with a focus on female athlete development, wellbeing and education, and commercial sustainability under the three year program. The PNG Government have officially launched the Papua New Guinea NRL Bid to participate in the Australian NRL Competition as the 18th team.[13] Andrew Hill, former Canterbury Bulldogs and RLWC 2017 CEO will lead the PNG 2028 NRL Bid.[14] Womens, Under-19 boys, Under-19 girls national competitions will start from 2025 to 2027.[15]
Strategic pathways partnership with Dolphins
editIn May 2022, the PNG Hunters announced a strategic pathways partnership with the Dolphins that includes full NRL pre-season participation for four young Papua New Guinean players, beginning in the PNGNRL Digicel Cup, through to the PNG Hunters in the Hostplus Cup and then directly into the Australian NRL system.[16]
Stadiums
editKalabond Oval
editThe Kalabond Oval which is in the town of Kokopo and has a capacity of 7,000 was the Hunters first home ground. The first ever home match in the Intrust Super Cup was against the defending champions Mackay Cutters on 8 March 2014 which the Hunters won 24-16. The ground was used for the club's first 2 seasons.
National Football Stadium
editThe National Football Stadium is in the capital city Port Moresby and after undergoing a major refurbishment it was announced in February 2016 that the Hunters would move to the ground for the 2016 season,[17] after they'd played one match there during the 2015 season against Souths Logan Magpies on 13 June 2015 winning 34-12.
2025 squad
edit| First team squad | Coaching staff | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach Assistant coaches
Updated: 12 November 2024 | |||||||||
Notable players
editSee also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Hunters reappoint Barker to CEO role". 25 October 2021.
- ^ "Papua New Guinea gain entry to Queensland Cup 2014". ABC News. 28 November 2013.
- ^ Pangkatana, John (24 December 2013). "Q-Cup name unveiled". The National.
- ^ "Sport: Australia's Labor commits to backing PNG team in NRL". 19 December 2018.
- ^ "Schools league gets K6 million – the National".
- ^ "League unveils mini mod concept". 5 May 2019.
- ^ "K6 million windfall for schools, KPHL invigorates PNGRFL program". 17 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Australia, PNG ink sport deal – the National".
- ^ "Investment in game's future – the National".
- ^ "Junior Hunters eyed – the National".
- ^ "Vital to build on relocation – the National".
- ^ "Golden chance". 29 March 2022.
- ^ "Papua New Guinea launches bid to become NRL's 18th team". 4 May 2022.
- ^ "2022: Papua New Guinea, Andrew Hill, PNG NRL Bid, Bulldogs, World Cup, Hill to lead PNG NRL Bid". NRL. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ "League rolls out five-year plan – the National".
- ^ "Hunters announce strategic pathways partnership with Dolphins". 19 May 2022.
- ^ http://one.png.com/2016/02/national-football-stadium-is-new-home.html [permanent dead link]
- ^ "Hunters kick off 2025 pre season". www.pnghunters.com. 12 November 2024.
- ^ "Justin Olam - Storm". www.melbournestorm.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017.
- ^ "Ipape re-signs with Leigh Centurions until 2025 – the National".
