Bears blood youngsters in defeat
Bears blood youngsters in defeat
The debut of three impressive youngsters has helped ease the pain of another tight loss for Titans feeder club the Burleigh Bears who went down 14-12 to the Redcliffe Dolphins at Pizzey Park on Sunday.
Brad Smith (wing), Tom Gordon (hooker) and Sam Harrold (second row) all got the call up from Colts to debut in the Intrust Super Cup and all three won the approval of coach Carl Briggs.
“We had three young kids come in today and they’ve added plenty to the team,” Briggs said.
“I’ve said all along if they’re good enough they’re old enough and I will pick them.
“Sam Harrold got involved early and did the job we needed him to do and Tommy Gordon did a great job as well. All three of them have been doing that all year with the Colts and they deserved their spots today. Brad and Tommy shared our players player award today which shows how well they went.”
Smith and Harrold both had the opportunity to start while Gordon played off the bench but saw plenty of game time thanks to a leg injury to halfback Jacob Grant.
Grant was assisted from the field early in the second half and played no further part in the contest.
The Bears took a 12-4 lead into the halftime break but just couldn’t get the job done as the Dolphins found a way to claw back the lead.
Briggs said after the game that despite being disappointed with the final score he could not fault the effort of his players, saying a lack of finesse and finishing in certain places was the difference in the end.
League legend and Dolphins captain Petero Civoniceva was enormous for the visitors and his go-forward allowed smaller men like Cameron Cullen to break the Burleigh line and create try scoring opportunities.
Redcliffe coach John Dixon was satisfied after the game and praised the influence of his skipper.
“It almost seems repetitive to say that Petero was enormous, but he is every week,” Dolphins coach John Dixon said.
“He is a dominant force in the middle of the park with the way he takes the ball forward. Add in little things like his composure and experience; they are an enormous benefit for us.”
Redcliffe played with more structure and composure in the second half and managed to claw back the eight-point deficit.
They played more direct through the middle with the likes of Tui Samoa, Cameron Cullen and Joe Bond finding space and creating opportunities.
The highlight of the match came in the 55th minute when Cullen sliced through the Bears defence from deep inside his own half, he then gave it off to Joe Bond who raced the remaining 40 metres to score in the corner.
“We were a bit more patient with the footy and didn’t concede the penalties that we did in the first half,” Dixon said of his side’s improved second half effort.
“Also our kicking game was great in the second half. We forced dropouts, built pressure and controlled field position for most of the second half.
“When we had that field position it gave fast men like Cameron Cullen and Joe Bond the chance to produce important tries.”
Dixon also praised the work of back rower Paul Ivan and winger Liam Georgetown for their contributions to the hard work.
Burleigh were also beaten by two points in the FOGS Colts with a penalty goal kicked after the siren.
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS 14 (Joe Bond, Jarrod Watson, Tui Samoa tries Liam Georgetown goal) def BURLEIGH BEARS 12 (Jacob Grant, Dan Kerr tries Dan Kerr 2 goals) at Pizzey Park
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