Pacific / Papua New Guinea

Sport: PNG Hunters face away test

11:24 am on 6 August 2018

After fighting back into playoff contention the Papua New Guinea Hunters rugby league team must now find a way to win away from home to keep their top six hopes alive.

The defending Intrust Super Cup champions have won four of their past five matches on home soil, including three in a row, to climb to seventh in the competition standings.

Head coach Michael Marum says victories against the Northern Pride, Norths Devils and Burleigh Bears - who were all ranked above them - have put them right back in the playoff mix.

"We base all our preparations, training on our defence. The last three games we allowed only two tries to (the) opposition. We managed to clean up our for and against as well so we're back in the plus/positive sign," Marum said.

"Those five games (at home) were all tough. We managed to get good wins and tough matches out of them so hopefully this weekend we continue against another top team not far away from us in the Magpies."

The Souths Logan Magpies fell out of the top six with a home defeat to league leaders Townsville last weekend but are one of just three teams to beat the Hunters in Port Moresby this season.

They host a PNG side on Sunday that have lost eight straight matches on the road this season.

With three of their next four games away from their Port Moresby base Marum said there was little room for error.

"If we can win at least three of them that should put us back in the top six again depending on the teams above us. Probably at this stage we're looking at winning all of them but we want to focus on one game at a time so I know it's going to be tough," he said.

"Next weekend we have Tweed Heads, who are just two points below us and the week after we have Wynnum back here (in Port Moresby) so that's going to be really tough."

Meanwhile, it's been announced the Intrust Super Cup's best and fairest player in 2018 will be awarded the inaugural Civoniceva Medal, named after former Redcliffe Dolphins, Queensland, Kangaroos and Fiji Bati prop Petero Civoniceva.