Round 2 Saturday wrap: Epic draw, tight tussles and one big win

A vocal crowd at Logan Metro was treated to a passionate, physical clash between PNG Hunters and Souths Logan Magpies at Logan Metro. 

"What a game," PNG Hunters head of football operations Tommy Butterfield said at the conclusion.

"It was a really good hit-out for the second round. A really big learning curve for the boys. Majority of the team is new, majority first time travelling to Australia. We take away the experience and look forward to next week against the Tigers.

"Tonight Morea Morea the fullback was good. He's always someone to watch out for. The No.6 as well (Sakias Komati, who scored two tries). It was a team effort for us. A big thing for us is being together so I think for us, it showed.

"We're only going to get better."

Disappointed Hunters hooker Wesser Tenza said it was "a good effort by the boys". 

"We hung in there. It was pretty tough for us. Most of the boys are newcomers but we hung in there. Unfortunately we got a draw so many things for us to work on," Tenza said.

"I think Rodrick Tai for us was good, and Sherwin Tanabi, they both stood out for us. They've both been good... helped a lot.

"It was physical. So close. We came here expecting the game to be physical, so we came here prepared. But unfortunately for us we got a draw."

Tenza said he was hopeful when the Hunters got a penalty at the end of the game, but it did not come off.

"I thought the kick was going through but it missed by an inch," Tenza said.

"Back to the drawing board."

Magpies' Cruise Ten said he did not expect the game to finish with a draw. 

"We were playing the Hunters so we know they're physical...  that was disappointing, definitely disappointing," Ten said.

"We wanted to come away with the two points, especially going into the bye, but I think there's stuff we can work on. At least we came away with one point. But still, disappointing."

Ten said a standout for the Magpies was winger Jack Smith.

"Small fella but man he took some carries... got us out of trouble," Ten said.

"They really tested us through the middle. In patches we were good, but got to work on that. We just need to stick to our game plan."

Elsewhere, Jaymon Moore scored two tries in Northern Pride's tight win over Mackay Cutters.