The Papua New Guinea Hunters rugby league coach Michael Marum admits his side is still adjusting to the added pressures of being atop the Intrust Super Cup ladder.
The Hunters seven game winning run was ended last weekend by a shock defeat against the bottom-placed Tweed Heads Seagulls in Port Moresby.
Michael Marum said they made too many mistakes and didn't stick to the gameplan.
"The previous game against Souths Logan Magpies, we basically played a similar game and we ended up winning it by two points, and the game against Tweed it's just a bit of a bad performance," Marum said.
"We had a sit down together and basically looked at our pictures on the game and also our focus (for) next week.
"There was a lot of errors that we probably couldn't afford during the game," he said.
The PNG Hunters were upset at home by the bottom-placed Tweed Heads Seagulls. Photo: RNZI / Melvin Levongo
The Hunters face a Northern Pride outfit in Cairns this afternoon reeling from four straight defeats.
The club prevailed 26-10 when the teams last met back in April but Marum said it hadn't been a happy hunting ground for them in the past.
"Our record says that we haven't won one game against the Northern Pride in Cairns, at Barlow Park, in four years so that's something we're looking forward to, crucial, make sure we get a win this time," he said.
PNG Hunters captain Ase Boas. Photo: RNZI / Melvin Levongo
The Hunters will be without suspended vice-captain Wellington Albert against the Pride but skipper and playmaker Ase Boas has recovered from an ankle injury.
Their coach is looking for a strong response to last week's disappointment.
"It's probably something that we're not really used to - we've always been around the top four, top two but no, leading the competition for two weekends now," Marum said.
"It's a lot of pressure on our performance to (meet) expectations back at home from our fans and our sponsors and everyone else.
"I think everyone expects us to maintain that so there's only one thing we can do as a squad is play our best football," he said.
PNG Hunters coach Michael Marum. Photo: RNZI / Melvin Levongo
