Doubles to Troy Leo and Jamal Fogarty helped lift the Burleigh Bears to a 56-4 win over the PNG Hunters at Pizzey Park.
In front of a massive Anzac Day crowd, the Bears put on a show, crossing for ten tries.
Leo’s double takes him to seven tries for the season, while Fogarty’s double, along with eight conversions, took his personal tally to 24 points.
It was a celebratory day for the Bears, with coach Jimmy Lenihan bringing up his 200th game in charge of the club in style.
Bears congratulate Jimmy Lenihan
Lenihan said he was particularly pleased that his side played until the very end and didn’t let up, despite the big score.
“It was a little unexpected with the final result, but I was really happy with the way we finished the game off,” Lenihan said.
“The maturity of the group, to their credit, to keep pushing forward and finish the game off was really pleasing.”
Match: Bears v Hunters
Round 8 -
home Team
Bears
4th Position
away Team
Hunters
13th Position
Venue: Pizzey Park, Gold Coast
Brenko Lee opened the scoring in the seventh minute when he stepped his way through the defence on the right-hand side of the field, before Josh Ailaomai charged over in the 21st minute to extend the lead to 10-0.
The Hunters were holding the Bears off for most of the first half, but the cracks opened up in the final five minutes of the half, with Hayden Schwass and Troy Leo both scoring to take the halftime lead out to 22-0.
The Bears went on with it in the second half, with Sami Sauiluma charging over on the left in his return to the team.
Brandon Nima caught the Bears defence short in the 51st minute to get the Hunters on the board, but there was little else to cheer about for the Hunters with Bears skipper Luke Page scoring shortly after.
A long-range break on the left from Kurtis Rowe led to Fogarty scoring under the posts in the 63rd minute, before Jordan Scott scored from dummy half in the 67th minute.
Lee streaked away on the left-hand side in the 72nd minute, with Fogarty again looming in support to score his second.
The final play of the game saw Leo burrow his way to the try line for his second of the day, with the Bears running out big winners, 56-4.
With the win, the Bears retained the Kokoda Cup, which has been contested by the clubs since 2014; the Bears have now won the Cup on four occasions, with the Hunters taking it home twice.
The Bears have a nine-day turnaround before they run out against Redcliffe at Dolphin Stadium next Saturday at 6pm.
Match: Dolphins v Bears
Round 9 -
home Team
Dolphins
11th Position
away Team
Bears
3rd Position
Venue: Moreton Daily Stadium, Redcliffe
