Bears On A Winner At North Sydney
Oval

The Bears have notched up another big win against the Penrith/St Marys Cougars at North Sydney Oval on Sunday. The Bears forward pack including Kyle Arnold, Matt Thurston and Michael Harper smashed the Cougars up the middle in defence, setting the platform for quick play the balls and spectacular tries showcasing both the skill and strength of the Bears in 2005.

The passion of Matt Thurston barging through the Cougars line and passing to Luke Fatnowna to score began the show, with quick work by Matt diving over from dummy half and good conversions by Richard Retimana giving the Bears a 12 points to nil lead. The Cougars then ran in 3 tries before Richard Retimana was successful with a penalty kick making the half time score 14 all.

The scene was set for the arm wrestle of the century but our Premier League boys stepped up a gear. Successfully defending their line for an extended period the Bears took control and began weaving their magic. Richard Retimana chip kicked mid field into space then gathered and passed inside to Luke Fatnowna to score. Richard Retimana passed to Andrew Moodie who ran down the side line and as he was being tackled passed the ball back in to Richard who got the ball off to new recruit Ben Kalcina to add another try. Matt Thurston with another strong run set up fellow forward Tevita Metuisela to score. Finally, centre Chris Tuatara intercepted a pass and ran 90 metres, and as he was tackled he passed "over head" style to Lester Salanoa to score. The Bears kept the Cougars scoreless in the second with the final score 36-14.

Top performers were Richard Retimana (pictured) who kicked well and seemingly had a hand in everything, Michael Harper up front was dangerous and new recruit Ben Kalcina at five-eighth provided great spark when he came on to the field. Captain Kyle Arnold who was another top performer commented, "we completed 85% of our sets and there was a lot of talking up out on the field and great enthusiasm in defence".

The Bears will be looking for their current form to continue when they next meet the South Sydney Rabbitohs again at Bear Park on Friday Night 24th June from 7:00 p.m.