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Bears win Holcim Cup

QRL Media

The Burleigh Bears proved too strong for Souths Logan Magpies in the Holcim Cup; claiming a 28-10 win in a physical encounter.

The Bears were physical from the get-go and once they hit an early lead, were never headed by the Magpies; despite a resurgence either side of halftime.

Bears coach Tahnee Norris said she was proud of the way her team had performed all competition and of the way they won the grand final.

“They worked so hard, ridiculously hard; and with all the changes throughout the season, they really committed to this year and even though with all the stoppages etc; I am super proud,” Norris said.

“I love defence, and I am always going to be one that puts defence at the top of the list, and I think that showed.

“The girls, they just really commit; you have to have a team of defenders, otherwise you are not going to win a game.

“I think they were super strong in defence, super strong in the middle of the field, which is actually what we wanted to win; we wanted to win the middle of the field and they we could swing it wide and then we had the backs to actually land those tries.

“(It was a) tough game, brutal actually, we lost a couple of players to injury and our captain (Jasmin Kemp) with a broken arm; but the girls just really fought through and I could not be prouder of them.”

The match started well for the Bears with the side regathering a short kick-off and working their way in over the try line through tough centre Tyler Birch, who was put into the space by five-eighth Lauren Brown in the opening moments of play to establish an early lead.

Souths attempted a counterattack with some set plays down their left side; but the Bears were full of intent in defence and were able to push winger Shae-Yvonne De La Cruz over the sideline. However, while the Bears gave away a penalty in the same play, they were still able to hold them out in the ensuing set. 

Burleigh then furthered their lead with when winger Tarnisha Lyons scored the first of her three tries of the game, latching onto a pass from halfback Zahara Temara; a pattern repeated throughout the afternoon.

Although it was a defensively bruising match, the Bears found it easier than their opponents to make metres through the middle, with representative hooker Brittany Breayley’s touches helping push her forwards upfield.

The Bears went even further ahead on the scoreboard after some nice passing out the backline to Lyons who dove over for her second try with just over 20 minutes played.

Brown’s conversion attempt from the right sideline was a success to give the Bears an imposing 14-0 lead with halftime approaching.

The intensity from the Magpies then lifted as they knew a try before the break would keep them in the game. They were rewarded when Steph Hancock showed her experience to just charge over to score after the Magpies had found it hard to break the Burleigh line all half.

Meg Ward’s conversion was successful to put the scores at 14-6 at

halftime.

As has been the case for most of the competition, the Magpies came out firing for the second half and scored their second try, thanks to a fantastic run from Ward.

However, that was the last of the tries of the game for the Souths Logan side who were well-contained by the Bears all afternoon; with the Burleigh defence able to nullify the attacking skills of player of the competition Tamika Upton, experienced half Ali Brigginshaw and hard-running forward Elsie Albert.

The Bears ran in three more tries to close the game, with Birch notching her double, Lyons her triple and Temara touching down for a well-deserved try of her own.

As well as Temara played, she was edged out by her halves partner Brown for player of the match, with the former rugby sevens player enjoying a successful tournament.

“Lauren and Zee they just did a fantastic job for us in sorting out those tries and those really wide tries; they did very well,” Norris said.

“I knew Lauren from rugby sevens and it was a bit of a score for us I think (for her to sign up with Burleigh), she’s got a lot of skill and she’s a really good chick too, so I think that was a really good plus for us, both on the field and off the field.

“She’s got a fantastic kicking game and she’s a local junior; her father and grandfather played for the Burleigh Bears, so there is that history there, it’s just great to have her and I am so proud that she’s actually come through unscathed for starters and actually loved it and played really well on that final.”

Holcim Cup awards

Player of the Holcim Cup: Tamika Upton – Souths Logan Magpies

Player of the grand final: Lauren Brown – Burleigh Bears

Weekend Results

Fulltime scores

Women’sBurleigh 8 – Wests 8GCRL

A Grade Burleigh 22 def Currumbin 18

Res Grade Currumbin 22 def Burleigh 18

U20 Currumbin 30 def Burleigh 6

U18 Burleigh 18 def Currumbin 14

Womens Report

The crowd were treated to an exciting 8-8 draw between West Brisbane Panthers and Burleigh Bears. Wests lead 4 nil at half time but a double to Tazmin Gray ensred the points were split.

It was a tight contest throughout, with second rower Tazmin Gray starring for the Bears side with two tries, including one from nothing, where some fancy footwork at the line saw her spin her way past defenders to go over for her second.

The Panthers had the better of the first half, with five-eighth Romy Teitzel scoring the one four-pointer of the half, while a Gray double kept the Bears in the game.

Next week’s draw will be confirmed on the QRL website later this week, with QRL staff working to find a way for the Seagulls to re-join the competition if possible under Queensland Government regulations.

QRL Media

Pizzey Park Home Game Details

All participants and spectators will be required to check-in upon arrival at Pizzey Park this weekend.

To make things easy on arrival and to save time on the day download the EVA App. APP STORE: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/eva-check-in/id1512906118GOOGLE: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.evacheckin.app&hl=en_AU

WHAT TO DO ONCE YOU DOWNLOAD THE APP – Once you have installed the app on your phone, click on “profile” add in your details. Once at Pizzey Park we will have our unique” QR Bar Code” displayed – scan the code and check in, it is that simple!!Check in to the grounds is compulsory for everyone and we appreciate your assistanc

Bears ready to defend title

The Burleigh Bears will call upon just one player from their state champion Intrust Super Cup roster to defend their Rugby League Gold Coast A Grade title in 2020.

Rugby League Gold Coast regulations have restricted movement from the ISC to four players per A Grade squad but the Bears plan to recast halfback Josh Rogers as the ‘Lone Ranger’ for the season ahead.

The 24-year-old Western Australian-born playmaker moved to the Gold Coast five years ago, finding a home at the Burleigh Bears as he chased a spot on an NRL roster.

After rising through the club’s Under-20s and A Grade teams Rogers enjoyed a breakout season in the Intrust Super Cup with 16 games primarily off the bench.

With no Cup season to play Rogers will return to the Bears’ A Grade squad to develop the parts of his game that could make him a starter.

Coach Matt Foster said in doing so he could help elevate the play of the young Bears squad around him.

“I think the other players will benefit massively from having Josh,” Foster said.

“One thing you get with young players is lots of energy but sometimes they don’t know where to direct it.

“Having that guy who’s been there and done it can have a reassuring effect on young players.

“Josh is fantastic at taking the ball to the line and defensively he’s really strong.

“The area we’d like to see him develop is his talk around the park.

“I’d love to see him find that voice in our shortened competition this year to develop his game ever further.

“While he’s doing that it will give others the best opportunity to develop themselves in their roles.”

The burden of mentoring the young Bears will not fall upon Rogers alone.

Fellow Intrust Super Cup players Luke Page and Jeff Lynch have returned to training with A Grade but do not plan to lace up the boots.

Coach Foster said the effect the duo, particularly club legend Page, were having on the squad was impressive.

“Having those blokes around these younger blokes is great for them,” Foster said.

“Pagey is a legend of the game, certainly at legend at the Burleigh Bears.

“He’s a unique guy, one of the nicest guys you’d ever meet, but his desire and passion for rugby league and the Burleigh Bears is infectious.

“Having him around training you can see a lot of the fellas, young and old, see Luke Page – and he only has one pace, he can’t slow down – seeing him around the place is gold for those boys.”

Youngsters Jayden Campbell, Tristan Powell  and Tyler Szepanowski will lead the charge for the Bears.

Bears Women Ready to Go.

Queensland Rugby League’s South East Region, through the support of clubs, coaches and players, will provide a women’s rugby league opportunity that will allow elite players to press their case for State of Origin selection later this year.

While all of the QRL’s statewide competitions, including the BHP Premiership, were unfortunately cancelled for season 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, many local leagues and clubs have been following the Queensland Government guidelines and the QRL’s Return to Play protocols in order to get rugby league back on the field.

The majority of southeast Queensland-based BHP Premiership clubs have been no different and have worked with the QRL to ensure players can return to the field through a structured format.

The Holcim Cup will begin on Saturday, August 1 and is being staged to provide much needed game time to help bolster the preparations of the Harvey Norman Queensland Maroons squad, who will be aiming to claim the State of Origin shield in November.

The teams taking part are Burleigh Bears, Easts Tigers, Souths Logan Magpies, Tweed Seagulls and West Brisbane Panthers.

While the start up competition will be based in the south-east of the state; there have also been arrangements made to incorporate Maroons squad members who registered with the regional BHP Premiership teams. 

A selection of Brothers Ipswich players have also been reallocated to other clubs for the duration of the carnival competition, as have a number of talented Queensland Under 18 performance programs players.

An innovative competition format has been designed to accommodate five teams, with all matches each round being played at one location. Each round will consist of five 30-minute halves, with all teams playing 60 minutes each weekend to avoid a bye.

Under this format, it is not possible to play each other exactly the same number of times, but everyone plays the same number of halves.

Draw: Holcim Cup 2020

The five teams will play across five rounds, with finals matches scheduled for September 5.

The scoring system to determine rankings for finals consideration is as follows:

  • One point for cumulative points win (0.5 for draw)
  • One point on offer for each half won (0.5 for a draw)
  • A maximum of three points per round is available per team
     

The dates of the Holcim Cup have been structured to align as much as possible with the proposed NRLW pre-season and starting dates for the competition which the NRL confirmed would go ahead this year.

Maroons coaches Jason Hetherington, Karyn Murphy and Nat Dwyer have worked closely with the five club coaches along with Brisbane Broncos coach Kelvin Wright.

“All the BHP Premiership club CEOs and coaches have been fantastic in doing everything possible to support Queensland players in having the best preparation for players to be ready for a November Origin clash,” QRL senior pathways and performance manager Brett Jones said.

The club coaches should be congratulated for the way in which they have engaged the players and are preparing them. We know players face a higher risk of injury after this unique down period, so player preparation and physical wellbeing will be a key focus over the coming months.”

Holcim Queensland general manager for concrete Max Arthur said it was an exciting time to be involved in the game.

“Holcim is very pleased to be able to support some of the state’s best women’s rugby league players return to the field,” Arthur said.

“Holcim has enjoyed a long partnership with the QRL in the South East and we are thrilled to now extend that support to the Holcim Cup.”

School Holiday Coaching Clinic

The Essential Coffee Burleigh Bears will be holding a Junior Coaching Clinic on Tuesday 7 July for 6-14 year olds. Burleigh Bears Head Coach and former NRL Coach Rick Stone will headline the coaching staff for the Clinic

The U6-12 age groups will be held from 9am-11am with the U13-14 age groups from 12.00pm-2.00pm.

The Cost is $30 pp with football included.

For more information contact roy@burleighbears.com.au

The Coach Clinic will be run under a Covid-19 Safety Plan. Places are limited.

To register click here