Alvin M. Keeling 
BY BENJAMIN KOITAKA
SP PNG Hunters head coach Matthew Church said their first loss of the season last week was a wake-up call and a lesson to be learned from their own mistakes.
The Hunters men went down to Queensland center Capras 16-26 in the Hostplus Cup second round at Browne Park, Rockhampton on Saturday afternoon.
He admits that the team’s lack of coordination in defense and maintaining their own line and incomplete sets paved the way for the Capras.
The Hunters were riddled with errors in the opening minutes which saw them trailing 26-6 at halftime.
They managed to contain Capras’ dominance in the second half.
“We cannot afford to stop for periods of time.
“We barely touched the ball in the first 20 minutes and it cost us the game.
“For the next 60 minutes we outscored them 16-2, but the lesson is that we have to start well and maintain our standards,” Church told the Post-Courier yesterday.
He insists he still has faith in the new combination of Judah Rimbu and Mark Tony and hopes to keep that up this weekend against the visiting Brisbane Tigers in the third round game.
He added that they expect one or two new faces depending on the outcome of those players placed on the report.
“We are awaiting the outcome of a few players who were on the report before confirming this weekend’s roster.
“We don’t expect a lot of changes, our halves will stay the same,” Church said.
He said there were no major injury concerns in last week’s game with the side ready to face the Tigers this Sunday at Bycroft Oval in Gold Coast.
