Rop to play 50th match

PAPUA New Guinea SP Hunters coach Paul Aiton has praised Junior Rop who is set to play his 50th Hostplus Cup game on Sunday in the round 16 fixture against Ipswich Jets.
The hard-running Rop, 30, replaces the injured Ila Alu at lock and will captain the team as well for the first time this season.
Aiton said the former Lae Tiger had a patchy start to the season with niggling injuries and off-field issues keeping the enforcer from wreaking havoc on the field but thankfully had found form and consistency over the last month and was back to his brutal best.
“Junior Rop had a rough start to 2024 with niggling injuries and personal issue but he’s been good for us in the past couple of games,” Aiton said.
“He’s playing his 50th game this weekend so hopefully we can get a win for him.”
Rop’s teammate and Solo Wane shared the same sentiment saying he had been honoured to call Rop a teammate not just in the Hunters but as national representatives when both were picked in the PNG Kumuls squad for Pacific Test against Fiji in 2022.
“Junior is a player we all look up to because he always leads from the front and he gives his best every single game,” Wane said.
“He would have reached his 50th game a bit earlier but you know he had a few injuries and some personal thing going on which had delayed that. Regardless, we are proud of him and it will be fitting if we can get a win for him in this game against the Jets.”
The Jiwaka native made his debut in 2019 when current East New Britain Governor Michael Marum was Hunters coach. Rop has featured in 17 wins, 29 losses, three draws and has scored eight tries in his Hunters career.