Hunters put Clydesdales to sword at home

The SP PNG Hunters were ruthless against the Western Clydesdales, demolishing the visitors with a commanding 48-12 win in round 20 of the QRL Hostplus Cup at the Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby on Sunday, August 10th, 2025.

The Hunters hosted the Ipswich Jets three weekends ago and defeated them. They took a two-week break and came firing on all cylinders yesterday, blowing the last-placed Clydesdales off the park and keeping their finals’ hopes alive. 

Just under 2 minutes of play, fullback Sanny Wabo caught a fifth tackle kick from the Clydesdales’ half-back outside of the Hunters’ 10-meter line and split two defenders to assist hooker Judah Rimbu for the opening 4-pointer. Clent Lama failed to convert the try, giving the home side a 4-0 lead.

The Clydesdales hit back in the 10th minute through Emry Pere, leading the Hunters at 6-4. However, the Hunters responded in the 16th minute from a scrum play, sending Solo Wane over the line and retaking the lead at 8-6. 

With momentum on their back, the Hunters dominated the following sets, with fullback Sanny Wabo scoring in the 24th minute and back-rower Robert Mathias registering another try in the 35th minute, leaving the half-time score at 16-6. 

It was all Hunters in the second half, who wasted no time and sent Alex Max over the try line in the 42nd minute, followed by Douglas David’s double in the 52nd and 60th minutes, while Robert Mathias, Manase Kai, and Jordan Pat scored a try each.

Fullback Sanny Wabo had a busy afternoon, tearing the Clydesdales’ defence to shreds and amassing over 120 meters. He also bagged a try, made a couple of line breaks, and assisted four tries, finishing off the match in style.  

PNG Hunters’ coach Paul Aiton noted that he was impressed with his men’s outstanding performance, though the spine did not play according to their game plan, especially the halves pairing of Joshua Lau and Gairo Voro. 

“I was a bit frustrated at times, but I’m happy with the 2 points. We probably missed the leadership from our half-back (Joshua Lau). The game was very one-dimensional and one out, but we will fix that,” Aiton stated.

The PNG Hunters will host the Magpies at the Santos National Football Stadium this weekend (Sunday, 17 August) as they look to win three straight games at home.