Posted By Staff Reporter
By JOHN PANGKATANA
THEY are not the tallest men on the rugby league field but play as if they were 2-metres tall. After four weekends Papua New Guinea Hunters wingers Gary Lo and George Benson have proven they belong on the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) Cup scene. You would be forgiven for thinking that Lo (171cm) from Anducks, Western Highlands and Benson (162cm) from Wabag, Enga, do not fit the bill to play at this level. That thought was quickly erased after their heroic performances against the Redcliffe Dolphins in the opening match and in the three home matches against the Mackay Cutters, Central Queensland Capras and the Northern Pride. So impressed were some with Lo’s efforts that some comentators likened his workrate and involvement as similar to former Australian Kangaroos winger Rod Wishart. While Benson was nothing short of a human canon ball with his probing runs through traffic off the right-wing. Both have been nothing short of electric with Lo continuing a winning combination with centre Thompson Teteh and Benson the same with Albert Patak to complement their forwards in the middle third. Both were drawn from the same nursery in the Western Highlands capital in Mt Hagen. Lo attended Hagen Park and Benson at Hagen Secondary and interestingly enough debuted in the Digicel Cup with the Mount Hagen Eagles franchise as 17 and 18-year olds in 2010. So you could say it was fate that denied their shot at last year’s World Cup to open the door for a dream start for the Hunters. On Saturday, the duo experienced their first loss against the Northern Pride, but it was not for a lack of trying. Lo said he had a frustrating match and was denied several times short of the try-line, but gave credit to the gritty defensive effort of the Pride, for denying certain four-pointers. After the match, both said the loss gave them an empty feeling with the hunger to back it up this Sunday against the Easts Tigers at Langlands Park, in their second away match. With Lo just turning 20 and Benson 21 in October last year, they are both at the perfect age to develop their game and realising every young man’s dream to play in Australia’s National Rugby League. After four weekends, both have come off unscathed and continue to hold their spots and play an integral part of coach Michael Marum’s game plan. The national Comments are closed.
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