The equation is simple for the Papua New Guinea Hunters rugby league team: beat the Central Queensland Capras tonight and they're assured of a playoff berth.
The defending Intrust Super Cup champions have won their past six matches, including two on the road, to surge back into contention with one round to play in the regular season.
The PNG Hunters have hit top form at the back-end of the season. Photo: Facebook/SP PNG Hunters
Coach Michael Marum said they've worked hard to recover from a horror start to the season and, with Ipswich lurking two points behind them, it's important they don't trip up at the final hurdle.
"The Jets are just waiting for us to lose our game so we can't afford to lose this weekend. The Jets are just on standby so we (need to) keep winning, push them out and then we can look at who we play (next week). If we finish at number six or five or four it's not a concern to us - really good if we finish fourth so we can probably host a semi back at home but we'd be happy with a sixth finish and then finals football next weekend," Michael Marum said.
The Central Queensland Capras have only won six of their twenty-two matches this season but do have the home advantage against the Hunters and are fresh from a rare success.
"They actually beat (last season's grand finalists Sunshine Coast) Falcons to kick them out of the race for this year so they'll be looking for the upset this weekend against us and we'll go up there and be prepared for anything they throw at us. We want to focus on our football for the whole 80 minutes so we can't go out there and relax and expect good things to happen," said Michael Marum.
If the Hunters do lose at Browne Park, Ipswich will be able to lay claim to the final top six berth provided they beat Norths Devils on Sunday.
The PNG Hunters can secure their finals berth with victory against Central Queensland. Photo: RNZ Pacific/Melvin Levongo