The Papua New Guinea Hunters rugby league team will play their first match in more than a year when the new Queensland Cup season kicks off today.
The Hunters have relocated to Australia for the upcoming campaign after last year's competition was cancelled because of Covid-19.
The team will open their season against Wynnum Manly Seagulls on the Gold Coast this evening.
Coach Matt Church said after a number of set-backs, the team was ready to run out on the field .
The PNG Hunters squad are ready to tackle round 1 of the Intrust Super Cup competition after spending 31 days in isolation. Photo: Facebook / SP PNG Hunters
"We're as ready as you can be after 31 days of isolation," said Church.
"I'm really excited but more so relieved that we're actually going to have a team ready to roll out for round 1. It looked impossible at times, and the number of set-backs [we've had] but we're here, we're ready to go, and just really excited that our boys can run out on the field this weekend."
The Hunters were released from managed isolation in Brisbane 13 days ago and opted to forgo playing a warm-up match.
An opposed training session was the only preparation aimed at getting the team into match condition quickly, but Church expected the team would run out hard this weekend in honour of the first prime minister of PNG, Sir Michael Somare, who was laid to rest this week.
"We're honouring the late grand chief Sir Michael Somare," he said.
"We want to make sure that we compete hard and know that what's going on back home in PNG is something that's on all of our minds, so there's a lot to play for in terms of that. Personally I just want to see them compete and compete hard. I know that we're not going to be anywhere near where we need to be at the start of this season, but it's not about how we start, it's more about how we're going to finish this season."
The Gold Coast Performance Centre in Runaway Bay, is the Hunters new home away from home for the next seven to eight months.
Captain Ila Alu said it had been a long process but the team was setting in nicely.
Ila Alu is named the 2021 Captain of the SP PNG Hunters leading into Round 1 of the Intrust Super Cup! His deputy will be Keven Appo.
— SP PNG Hunters (@PngHunters) March 17, 2021
Congratulations guys! #huntwantaim #rugbyleague #PNG pic.twitter.com/KA5ljoNGTk
"It's something different for many of us to be in and we are learning as much as we can from it and [getting used to] little things like the timing [time difference] meals and all that but the boys are adjusting really well."
Following their relocation, support from across the ditch has also been encouraging, added Church.
"People know the sacrifice our people are making which is really good. We get quite a few comparisons to the Warriors, and while we understand that, our guys probably aren't rewarded as the Warriors are rewarded so we know that there's a few challenges there."
"There's a lot of people interested in what we're doing, our story, and a lot of people who want to support us and come down to our games which will be good for us because we want as much support as we can get."
The PNG Hunters have arrived at their new home base on the Gold Coast. Photo: qrl.com.au
Meanwhile the Hunters have appointed one of the most respected minds in the game as their new general manager.
Scott Barker, who was part of Australian mastermind Wayne Bennett's coaching team for almost two decades in the role of high-performance analyst, has been named in the role for the 2021 season.
Fiji's Silktails have debut postponed.
The Kaiviti Silktails opening match of their rugby league season was postponed because of torrential rain across Sydney.
The Fijian side also relocated to Australia this season because of Covid-19. The squad completed two weeks of managed isolation three weeks ago and had been preparing for their first Ron Massey Cup game against Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles.
After some initial teething issues, coach Wes Naiqama said the team had settled into their new surrounds, with their accommodation, training venue, leagues club, head office and home ground all within a three kilometre radius.
The local Fijian community in Sydney also helped the team feel welcome.
"Our second weekend out of quarantine we were invited to a church in Granville in which we attended a church service there and they put on lunch for us and last week at Liverpool Church. Out of the goodness of their hearts they cooked a big meal and brought it into our training facility last week after our church service...Last week it wasn't sort of advertised as much as we would have liked to, because it was just a trial game, but I think we still had 500 plus supporters come support us last week to watch the game."
The Silktails outclassed the Mascot Jets 46-16 in a pre-season hit-out last weekend. Speaking before their opening clash was called off, Naiqama said the team had prepared as best they can for the new season.
"We've got a standard that we want to play to and we've worked really hard at that to create an environment where we're all playing for each other. If we put in a good performance, work for each other and we stick to our gameplan everything else will look after itself and I think the scoreboard will look after itself too. The boys are really excited and they're really determined and committed so I think they just can't wait to all get out there and get this game started."
The Round Two fixtures for the Ron Massey Cup will be made up at a yet to be determined date.
