PNG Hunters fall to Souths Logan Magpies at Santos Stadium

A fast-starting Souths Logan Magpies outfit spoiled the PNG Hunters’ home appearance in Port Moresby after claiming a 30-20 victory in the Hostplus Cup on Sunday evening.

The Hunters showed flashes of brilliance in attack but defensive lapses proved costly as the Queensland visitors capitalised on their opportunities at Santos National Football Stadium.

 PNG Hunters fall to  Souths Logan Magpies at Santos Stadium

The match opened at a frantic pace with Bruce Bawase putting PNG on the scoreboard almost immediately. However, the Magpies answered strongly through Teapo Stolman, whose double helped shift momentum towards the visitors early in the first half.

Kylam Vunipola proved influential with the boot, slotting three conversions and two penalty goals to build pressure on the Hunters. Additional tries from Byron Johnson, Kienan Tempest and Callum Eggerling kept the Magpies in front.

Carlos Lungu gave the home crowd hope when he crossed twice before halftime, while Clent Lama added the extras to keep the Hunters within striking distance at the break.

The second half became a tougher grind for the Hunters as handling mistakes and missed defensive assignments allowed the Magpies to protect their advantage. PNG pushed repeatedly in attack but could not find enough points to turn the match around.

Discipline also played a role late in the encounter, with Manisa Kai spending time in the sin bin for the Hunters before Magpies player Kienan Tempest was also temporarily sent off in the closing stages.