Rogers double key to Bears second half triumph

As they’ve done all year, the Capras showed plenty of fight early on in the contest with fullback Jake Maizen scoring the game’s opening try in the 11th minute.

Despite the early scare, the class of the Bears shone through as the match went on, with Curtis Dansey-Smaller nabbing an acrobatic first half double and Shallin Fuller heavily involved off the bench, laying on three try assists as well as scoring one of his own.

Burleigh head coach Rick Stone said that despite the slow start, he was pleased with his side’s ability to fix up their errors after half-time to eventually run away with the victory.

“We were probably a bit untidy with the footy in the first half, but the first 20 minutes of the second half they really stuck at it and accumulated some points in the right fashion and defended pretty solid along the way,” Stone said.

The Burleigh coach - who was at the helm of his 219th Intrust Super Cup game -  praised the work of his big men coming off the bench, while also impressed with the efforts of 21-year old half Shallin Fuller who ignited the Bears attack after coming off the pine.

“Our middles off the bench; John Palavi, Api Noema-Matenga and Jeff Lynch did a really good job in that period between half-time and probably 25 minutes into the second half and in that period, we scored four unanswered tries," Stone said.

“Sami Sauiluma was injured so Josh Rogers moved to the centres and Shallin jumped in to play five-eighth, but there was a good combo there.

"Josh scored a couple of tries and Shallin added that extra spark and really ignites the team when he gets half a chance.

Meanwhile; Capras head coach Guy Williams acknowledged the class of the home side, but expected his side to bounce back as they now turn their focus to next week’s clash against Townsville.

“Burleigh are a good side. You can’t take much away from them. They're the defending premiers and they’re always tough, especially at home,” Williams said.

“I was impressed with how we started. We started with lots of energy but we got a bit battered up today with a couple of guys pulling up a bit hurt.

“However, we’ll back it up next week against Townsville. We’ll do some review on the weekend and I’ll meet the players on Monday and plan for next week."

With a number of young players starting out on their Intrust Super Cup journey, the 200-game legend said his side will continue to learn from each experience and continue to improve each week.

“The boys certainly don’t enjoy losing but they deliver as much as they can each week," Williams said.

“It’s a tough ask each week as it’s a really strong competition, so it’s my responsibility to try and get the most out of the players each week and turn things around.”

The Capras will aim for their first win of the season when they travel north in Round 10.

Burleigh face off against Redcliffe in what will be a record-breaking night for Stone as he becomes the most-capped coach of all time in the Intrust Super Cup.