The Papua New Guinea Hunters rugby league team will train together for the first time since completing 31 days in managed isolation.
The PNG Hunters have arrived at their new home base on the Gold Coast. Photo: qrl.com.au
The Hunters have relocated to Australia to compete in the Queensland Cup, after last year's competition was cancelled because of Covid-19.
The team spent 17 days in quarantine before departing Port Moresby and have just completed a 14 day stint in managed isolation at a Brisbane hotel.
After nearly five weeks shut off from the outside world, coach Matt Church said the squad was finally released from quarantine on Sunday.
"I think the boys are enjoying the fact that we have a bit more freedom and they can actually leave the building or leave the room that they're in," he said.
"We just finished having lunch and the boys are probably going to check out what's in and around our base and just explore the new surroundings."
PNG Hunters Matt Church (L) watches on as players unpack their gear on the Gold Coast. Photo: Colleen Edwards / qrl.com.au
The Hunters squad are settling into their new base at the Gold Coast Performance Centre in Runaway Bay, which will be their home away from home for the next seven to eight months.
"We've got a lodge, 20 guests per lodge so we're across two lodges but the facility is fantastic," Chuch explained.
"It's got an Olympic swimming pool, it's got an Olympic running track as well and seven or eight other fields in and around, a commercial gym. It was basically set up 20 years ago for Commonwealth Games training events and Olympic training events so that's how it's used."
As part of the Hunters participation agreement with Queensland Rugby League, they established an Australia company to run the team during the 2021 season. The players and management staff were in the process of opening local bank accounts and would be considered Australian residents for tax purposes during the upcoming campaign.
The Hunters were also required to cover the full cost of their move to the Sunshine State.
"Most people don't know that we actually fund and have done in our entirety - we fund all the teams to fly up to PNG as well as ourself to fly down to Queensland to play games," Church said.
"We've just converted that to our base in Queensland and it's a little bit more expensive than a normal year but not overly - it's not 50 percent extra, it's only just a little bit extra."
The PNG Hunters haven't trained together as a full group since leaving Port Moresby. Photo: Facebook / SP PNG Hunters
Before departing PNG, the squad trained in small groups to minimise the risk of Covid-19. After two weeks stuck in their hotel rooms with just one other person, they full squad will have their first full runaround together in over a month.
Players were provided with exercise equipment and training programmes during their time in confinement and Matt Church said they would find out today who was putting the work in.
"Obviously that's the unknown and we'll certainly find that out real early in the week where guys are at. That was one of the things I pressed with them is this an opportunity to do something in the dark that's going to show up in the light so make sure that when it comes time to be shining the light that you're putting yourself in a position for a round one jersey.
"With the game only getting quicker we need guys that are fit, so we'll probably reward those guys that have ut in the work during that dark period when we haven't been able to see them or monitor them."
The PNG Hunters will kick off their season next weekend against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls without having played a warm-up match.
Matt Church said that could put them at a disadvantage, as all the other Queensland Cup teams would have had a chance to adjust to the new rules, which includes the introduction of a two-point field goal for kicks taken from more than 40 metres out, a play-the-ball restart if the ball goes over the sideline and a restart of the tackle count if the defensive team is called for a 10-metre infringement.
"I reckon our boys will be ready to go. They'll be looking forward to getting out and they should be full of energy after we haven't really trained as a group for nearly a month," he said.
"We might be off the pace in terms of the rules and adjusting to the new game-speed but I'm sure the boys will be full of effort and full of energy as we start the round."