PNG Hunters Crushed by Bears in Heavy Gold Coast Defeat

Papua New Guinea’s SP PNG Hunters suffered a crushing loss on the Gold Coast, going down 42-4 to the Bears in a one-sided Round 7 clash on Saturday.

 PNG Hunters Crushed by Bears in Heavy Gold Coast Defeat

The Hunters struggled from the opening whistle, with the home side piling on early pressure to take control of the match at UAA Park. Despite fine weather and good ground conditions, the PNG side found it difficult to match the Bears’ speed and structure.

The Bears crossed for their first try in the fifth minute through Luke Gale, setting the tone for the afternoon. They continued to build momentum with tries to Troy Leo and Lachlan West, stretching the Hunters’ defence.

By halftime, the Bears had already established a commanding 16-4 lead, leaving the Hunters with plenty of work to do in the second half.

The lone highlight for PNG came in the 14th minute when Myles Banam managed to break through for a try, but the Hunters were unable to add any further points, missing their conversion opportunity.

The second half saw the Bears dominate completely, running in five more tries including multiple efforts from Phillip Coates and Jett Bryce, while Guy Hamilton was clinical with the boot.

Team statistics showed the Bears’ try scorers were Luke Gale (5’), Troy Leo (20’), Lachlan West (30’, 50’), Phillip Coates (47’, 79’), Jordan Scott (63’) and Jett Bryce (67’), with Guy Hamilton converting five goals (7’, 32’, 52’, 68’, 80’). For the PNG Hunters, Myles Banam scored their only try in the 14th minute with no successful conversions.