Bears v Cougars report

The North Sydney Bears have continued their strong showing in the second half but have lost out to the St Marys-Penrith Cougars at Beautiful North Sydney Oval.

The game was virtually lost in the first quarter after the Cougars opened the scoring with 3 tries, before Standout half back James Maloney chip kicked and re-gathered to get the Bears in good field position and from there the ball was spread wide to Filinga ?Fingers? Filiga to score on the left. The Cougars scored twice more before Fingers offloaded to Andrew Moodie to score. Halftime score was 28-10.

The second half was again a strong performance by the Bears with the Cougars only able to register 6 points (a penalty kick plus one try). The Bears scored a try through Matthew Bartlett after spectacular lead up work and Daniel Russell converted as the match closed 36-16 to the Cougars.

Players? Player Karl Johnson was one of the best, KJ ran strong down the middle and linked well with Fingers for the first two tries. James Maloney?s skill with the ball shone and Luke Fatnowna and Bede Tuohy made a sizable impact from the bench.

Making their debuts for the Bears were Brad Barrett and Sosaia Makisi. Brad, a big forward with big impact played for South Sydney in Premier League last year. ?I went alright and I got a bit of time. I don?t have match fitness yet. I guess we?ll see how I go? said Brad. Sosaia, a tall running centre previously played with Canterbury, Cronulla and up until round 12 this year with the Western Suburbs Magpies. Good luck boys!

The score line in the Jersey Flegg match 46-16 to the Panthers was a poor reflection of how Norths play. The boys were competitive for long periods throughout. In the first half the Panthers scored 2 tries to be leading 12-nil. But the Bears were able to get some possession and Tupou Peaua and Chris Heasman were able to score. With 1 conversion to Gavin Duncan Norths were only trailing by 2 points at halftime and possibly deserved to be in front.

In the second half the Panthers were able to score 6 tries with some wonderful attacking football and the Bears were able to score only 1 try to Jake Foster as the match finished 46-16 to Penrith.

The Flegg played dominating aggressive football and showed great pride in the first half to fight back. ?They worked together as a team today? said Coach Steve Carter ?but the second half was very disappointing. I feel sorry for the players that put in?. ?I felt Bladen Baird was a standout, Tupo Peaua went well and Mick Morris faired better this week?.

PICTURED: 'A try ref a try!' Norths Karl Johnson pleads his case for a try against the Cougars on Sunday. Photo: Steve Little.