Penrith punish rusty Roosters
7 hours ago | Aidan Edgecomb
In hot conditions the Bears Premier League have been defeated by a strong South Sydney outfit 28-14 at T G Milner Field on Sunday.
Under consistent pressure the Bears were forced to defend their line for much of the first quarter. But fabulous commitment in the Bears defence only yielded one try to the Rabbitohs. Into the second quarter, star playmaker Ben Black set the Bears? ball rolling, setting up a hard running Karl Johnson to score. Daniel Russell made a superb conversion from the sideline to make it 6-4 to Norths. But the Bunnies hit back with another try, 10-6 was the half time score.
Norths came out strong in the second half with powerhouse second rower Chris Saab barging over the line to score. Under pressure again the amount of defensive work began to take its toll on the Bears and was amplified by the loss of winger Piripi Ranga to the sin-bin. During this period Souths scored 3 successive tries taking the score to 28-10.
The Bears scored Once more when Ben Black made a break from a scrum win and scored in the left corner. Fulltime score 28-14 to Souths.
Coach Josh White commented, ?the commitment was there but we need to improve on our execution. We put ourselves under pressure far too much?. Josh?s best players were Ben Black, Karl Johnson and Aaron Trinder. Also Ben Ellis tackled himself to a stand still.
The North Sydney Premier League team will next face the Balmain Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday at 2:00pm with the Bears Juniors playing Manly earlier in the day from 11:00am at the same venue.
Earlier in the day and also in high temperatures the Bears Jersey Flegg took on the Rabbits who won 30-8. A hard-hitting affair Norths Martin Field was injured in the very first tackle.
Coach Steve Carter said, ?the new half combination of James Maloney and Blayden Baird looks promising and gives us something to work with.? Asked who he thought performed the best Steve commented, ?Tupou Peaua and Sean Bovis tried hard and Joel Bennet has played consistent in this and the last game.?
The Bears Jersey Flegg team will face Western Suburbs in a stand-alone match on Friday night at Campbelltown Stadium at 6:30pm.
PICTURED: Norths Aaron Trinder runs the ball up against Souths. Photo: Steve Little