Bears overpower Wynnum Manly for a strong win

“He’s a very important and influential player to us,” Bears coach Rick Stone said.

“He’s a classy player and the reigning Petero Civoniceva Medallist and it’s not by fluke. He deserves every bit of it.

“His general-play kicking, his tackling and the way he takes us around the park as well as the couple of line breaks he made kept Wynnum honest.”

The opening 20 minutes were a tight affair, before Fogarty’s boot broke the game open in the 21st minute.

Fogarty kicked from his own 30 metre line, forcing Seagulls fullback Junior Pauga to play at the ball. He knocked it back in-field to a chasing Will Evans, who flick-passed to Fogarty who ran off to score. 

On the following set of six, Fogarty took the line on and came out the other side. Ever reliable fullback Kurtis Rowe loomed in support to give Burleigh a 12-0 lead which lasted until halftime.

Wynnum had the wind behind them in the second half and needed a good start to get back in the contest, but were let down by poor ball handling.

A string of errors invited Burleigh into attacking position, and a well-weighted grubber kick from Josh Rogers allowed Blake Leary to score and stretch the lead to 18-0.

A penalty goal shortly after took the Bears lead beyond three converted tries, before Fogarty threw the last pass for Rowe’s second try in the 57th minute to essentially put the game out of reach.

A Tanah Boyd bomb was brought down by Sami Sauiluma for Burleigh’s fifth try in the 67th minute, before a long-range break from Fogarty led to Evans scoring the final try in the 73rd.

Tristan Hope’s 61st minute try from close range was all the Seagulls had to cheer about in what ended up being a one-sided second half.

“It was probably a typical first game and we were still a little bit rusty, but overall our effort and our commitment to the cause was good for 80 minutes,” Stone said.

“Our goal line defence, particularly in the first half was really good. At times our attack was a bit clunky, but I thought our kicking into the wind with Jamal and Tanah Boyd was quite good and quite strategic.

“We got a few repeat sets out of that and took advantage of it.

“I don’t know if the score is a fair reflection of the game, but it was a fair reflection of our effort.”

The only blemish on Burleigh’s afternoon was an injury to dual premiership winning hooker Pat Politoni. He was assisted from the field in the 60th minute with a lower leg injury and did not return.

Next week, the Bears will host the Mackay Cutters.

The Wynnum Manly Seagulls will look to regroup before they head to Davies Park to meet the Souths Logan Magpies.