The Essential Coffee Burleigh Bears remain unbeaten at home in 2018 thanks to a 20-10 win over a spirited Mackay Cutters yesterday.
It wasn’t the prettiest win of the season, but once again the Bears showed their mental strength to hold the visitors scoreless in the second half and come from behind to win.
The win means the Bears move to 18 competition points and guarantees they will remain on top of the ladder for at least another week while the Cutters will remain in 14th.
The Bears took an early lead, only for the Cutters to fire late in the first half and take a 10-4 lead and significant momentum into halftime.
Bears coach Jimmy Lenihan was pleased that his team found a way to claw back an ugly win when they weren’t firing on all cylinders.
“You’re never going to be perfect every game, but to not play particularly well and still win is a good sign for us,” he said.
“I think we’re mentally getting better at hanging in tough no matter the situation and we’re doing it on the back of our defence which is good.
“Mackay have been a high scoring team and have some really good attack, but for our defence to keep us in that game, only concede ten points and put us in a position to give us a good opportunity to come out on top was really pleasing.”
Burleigh had gotten on the board early, with Troy Leo too quick on the outside to score his 17th try in his 17th Intrust Super Cup appearance.
The home side looked to be slowly taking control of the contest but lost their way with some errors and penalties in the last 15 minutes of the first half.
Cooper Bambling, playing just his second game for the Cutters this year after returning from Canberra, crossed in the 28th minute to draw level before a huge charge from Nicholas Brown saw him stroll past four defenders and score under the posts, giving the visitors a converted try lead at the break.
Brown, along with Sam Hoare and Jordan Grant, were outstanding for the Cutters as the visitors had all the running through the middle period of the game.
Pizzey Park has been a fortress for the Bears this year, though, and the home side dug deep again, slowly turning the tide in their favour.
Tyronne Roberts-Davis was the beneficiary when Yamba Bowie spilled a high ball on the line, before a Dallas Wells intercept saw him run more than 80m to put the Bears back in front.
A second intercept, this time a 90-metre sprint for Roberts-Davis, gave the Bears a 10-point lead. From there, the Bears turns the screws and made sure of an important win.
Luke Page was a standout in the forwards for the Bears while Dallas Wells was heavily involved, especially in the second half, as the Bears gritted their way to a comeback win.
See the full scoring details and final team line-ups at QRL Live
BURLEIGH BEARS 20 (Tyronne Roberts-Davis 2, Troy Leo, Dallas Wells tries; Jamal Fogarty 2 goals) def MACKAY CUTTERS 10 (Cooper Bambling, Nicholas Brown tries; Nicho Hynes goal) at Pizzey Park.
