Don a four try hero for Bears
Kevin Braysher
Monday 29 July 2013 9:33 AM
A four-try haul to iSelect TItans winger Anthony Don helped the Burleigh Bears to a 26-all draw with the Mackay Cutters on Saturday night.
Travelling up to Virgin Australia Stadium to take on the second placed Mackay Cutters was always going to be a tough assignment, but with two players going down in the opening twenty minutes and another joining them later on that mission became even more difficult.
Prop Mark Ioane (knee) and five-eighth Tyler Chadburn (torn quad) were both injured early causing a reshuffle, then later on in the contest hard hitting back rower Brendan Hoare went down with a neck/shoulder complaint.
Despite being on the road and being down on troops, the Bears came back from a 26-16 deficit late in the game to grab the draw.
“It was outstanding,” Bears coach Carl Briggs said of his side’s effort.
“The adversity that we faced, to play 60 minutes with two fit people on the bench and to finish the game with only one fit person on the bench, it’s a credit to the players that they hung in there.
“There were stages in the game, particularly when we were 26-16 down with time against us and one fit man on the bench, it was stacked against us but we just dug in and credit to the players to come back and score in the back end of the game.”
Don was the hero of the day picking a remarkable four tries including two in the final ten minutes.
Playing at fullback Don showed exactly why he has played much of the 2013 season with the Gold Coast Titans in a terrific display.
“He’s got that X factor,” Briggs said.
“I spoke to him before the game about making sure he stays involved in the game and keeps following players who can get the ball away.
Centre Jamie Anderson, who recently returned from the UK where he was part of a World Cup winning Australian student team, also won praise from his coach.
“Jamie Anderson was absolutely outstanding. He’s got electric pace that frightens defenders and he is strong.He’s getting better and better each week,” Briggs said.
On Saturday the Bears return to Pizzey Park to take on the Easts Tigers.
The Bears picked up a 28-26 win when these sides met at Langlands Park back in round 7 and Briggs said his men will take plenty of confidence into the encounter.
“That’s going to be a tough game. They’re looking at finals and they are also in a patch of form at the moment,” Briggs said.
“We’ll assess everything at training tomorrow and then we’ll look forward to playing against them. Obviously with the injuries we’ve got some players will be given an opportunity to stake their claim now.”
MACKAY CUTTERS 26 (Liam Taylor, Chris Ulugia, David Milne, Jardine Bobongie, Jason Taumalolo tries; Liam Taylor 3 goals) drew BURLEIGH BEARS 26 (Anthony Don 4, Jamie Anderson tries; Todd Seymour 3 goals) at Virgin Australia Stadium.
