Bears vs Wynnum Manly Seagulls HPC Round 20 Game Report ✍🏼 Michael Nunn

The Bears have revived the Big Day Out on the Gold Coast with their own Bears Big Day Out with a big BMD Premiership win and ending the night with a tight Hostplus Cup win.

The Burleigh Bears held their nerve to defeat the Wynnum Manly Seagulls 24-20 at UAA Park on Saturday night, extending the Seagulls’ curious case of UAA Park misery all the way back to 2017.

Burleigh looked in complete control early, racing to an 18-0 lead as the Bears’ attack clicked into gear and the Seagulls struggled to get their hands on the football.

Mitch Watson opened the scoring in the right-hand corner after Burleigh swept the ball across the field. Lachlan West produced a perfectly timed cut-out pass, finding Watson in space and giving the winger enough room to finish in the corner.

Watson was soon celebrating again, this time thanks to a little assistance from the Seagulls.

A Burleigh kick caused confusion in the Wynnum defensive line, with the Seagulls unable to secure the ball. Watson was on the spot to pounce and suddenly the Bears were two tries clear.

Jordan Scott then joined the party.

A brilliant run from Jett Bryce down the left-hand side created the opportunity, with the Bears shifting into attack before Scott dived underneath the posts to stretch the lead to 18-0.

But Wynnum finally found some life in the 35th minute when Garry Tuilekutu crossed for the Seagulls. The try gave Wynnum some much-needed belief and ensured Burleigh didn’t head to the sheds feeling completely untouchable.

The Bears came out firing again after halftime, and just four minutes into the second half Jordan Scott grabbed his second.

With the try coming close to the posts, Scott put the finishing touches on a strong individual performance and gave Burleigh a 24-6 advantage.

It looked like the Bears were cruising.

They weren’t.

Wynnum suddenly discovered the fast-forward button, scoring three tries in just nine minutes to turn what had been a comfortable Burleigh lead into a genuine nail-biter.

The Seagulls had dominated possession throughout the match, enjoying 54 per cent of the football, and their persistence finally began to tell. Burleigh were forced to defend wave after wave of attack as Wynnum threatened to complete one of the great comebacks.

But the Bears refused to crack.

And if there was one player who summed up Burleigh’s defensive effort, it was Mason Teague, who produced a monster performance with 59 tackles.

Burleigh made a staggering 70 more tackles than Wynnum yet missed just 22 tackles for the entire game. That defensive resilience proved the difference when the Seagulls came charging home.

The Bears eventually did enough to close out a thrilling 24-20 victory.

It wasn’t necessarily pretty in the final stages, but nobody at UAA Park was handing out marks for artistic merit.

The Bears had built the platform with a blistering opening 40 minutes, then survived a second-half onslaught to secure another valuable victory.

For Wynnum Manly, the result means the wait continues.

Since 2017, UAA Park has remained firmly under Burleigh ownership.

Eight years became nine.