Riding high with three wins from their last four games, the SP PNG Hunters will return to the Santos National Football Stadium this Saturday, 8th July to host the Burleigh Bears in Round 17 of the QRL Hostplus Cup. Kickoff is at 3pm. After navigating a difficult start to the year, the Hunters have been back to their best over the last month. The fruits of a challenging preseason are starting to bear fruit as Stanley Tepend’s men work their way through the 2023 regular season, building on their combinations and growing in confidence each week. For the bulk of this current Hunters squad, this is only their first or second year in the Hostplus Cup competition and some growing pains must be expected with such raw talent. As they make the step up from Digicel Cup into the QRL competition though, these young Hunters are showing they’re up for the challenge. In recent weeks, the likes of Joshua Mire, Joshua Lau, Trevor Solu, Seal Kalo and Whallan Tau-Loi have all risen to the occasion and impressed with their ability to fill a void at this level. With such a long and gruelling season, the best clubs are those with good depth and this Hunters squad can consider itself amoung that group in 2023. With five games left in the regular season and an uphill battle before them into the top eight, the Hunters will once again look to defy the odds when they host the ladder-leading Burleigh Bears on Saturday afternoon. The Hunters are no strangers to the underdog tag, having faced – and overcome – some far more fancied opposition in recent weeks. Against the Tweed Seagulls in Round 12, the Sunshine Coast Falcons in Round 15, and the Central Queensland Capras last week, the Hunters rose to the occasion and claimed the two points on offer despite the lofty ladder position of their opponents. In those games, the Hunters defensive resilience and discipline kept them in the contest and in a position to win it late. The points piled up against the Seagulls and Falcons in a reminder of the Hunters attacking skill, but against the Capras last week it was a grind right down until the final sets. The Hunters defence will take plenty of confidence out of their latest win, having conceded just eight points against a Capras attack that averages 23.4 points per game this season. If they can hold their own around the ruck and work in unison on the edges again this weekend, the Hunters will give themselves every chance of claiming another big scalp in their 2023 campaign. The Burleigh Bears won’t make it easy for them though, having played 15 rounds for the best defensive record in the competition at time of writing. Allowing their opposition just 17.3 points per game on average, the Bears employ a patient and grinding gameplan designed to wear their opponent down. Led by QRL veteran halfback Guy Hamilton and boasting a wealth of NRL-contracted talent, the Bears are currently equal first on the Hostplus Cup ladder, tied with the Souths Logan Magpies with 11 wins apiece. They were out of the winners circle last week though, bested by the Falcons in an upset result on the Gold Coast. The Bears will be desperate to return to their winning ways and enjoy a good historical record against the Hunters, having beaten them most recently in Round 6 this season. It’s the Hunters who will enjoy the home ground advantage this time around though, in what is sure to be a fiery and competitive contest at the Santos National Football Stadium.