UAA Burleigh Bears vs Northern Pride HPC Round 21 Game Report ✍🏼 Michael Nunn

The UAA Burleigh Bears have made the trip north to Cairns a very worthwhile one, powering to another impressive victory over the Northern Pride with a performance that combined plenty of muscle, some outstanding defence and a few moments of attacking magic.

The Bears wasted little time settling into their work, scoring twice inside the opening 30 minutes and immediately making it clear they weren’t in Cairns to see the reef.

Burleigh were physically dominant from the outset, with their forwards charging into the Pride defence and laying the platform for a six-try performance. The Bears’ go-forward was relentless, while Northern Pride spent plenty of the opening half trying to find a way through a defence that was proving about as welcoming as a locked front door.

The pressure eventually told, with Burleigh taking a comfortable 20-4 lead into the half-time break.

Troy Leo was again right in the thick of the action and produced one of the highlights of the afternoon with a long-range effort that took his Bears try tally to 78.

That leaves Leo just 10 tries behind club record holder Sami Sauiluma, who sits on 88. At the rate Leo is going, the record books might want to start clearing a little space.

Leo wasn’t just finding the try line, either. He finished with a huge 197 metres, regularly giving the Bears valuable metres and ensuring the Pride had plenty of work to do every time he got his hands on the ball.

Northern Pride came out with plenty of fight after the break and showed they weren’t prepared to simply roll over. They asked plenty of questions of the Burleigh defence, but the Bears had all the answers.

And once again, defence was the big story.

Burleigh made a remarkable 55 more tackles than the Pride, underlining just how hard they were willing to work without the ball. In the middle of it all was Mason Teague, who put in another enormous shift with 53 tackles.

Teague seemed to be everywhere. If the Pride were looking for a hole, there was a fair chance they found Teague standing in it.

The Bears eventually pulled away from the Pride’s second-half challenge, with their physicality and composure proving too much to overcome.

There was plenty of quality with the ball as well, none better than Jett Bryce’s try.

Bryce showed just how dangerous he can be with some exquisite hole running off a beautifully timed Josh Rogers pass. The combination was simply too good for the Pride defence, with Bryce hitting the gap at exactly the right moment and turning a clever piece of play into six points.

At the other end, the defensive effort ensured the Pride never really got the chance to build enough momentum to turn the match on its head.

In the end, it was another very Bears-like performance: tough through the middle, ruthless when opportunities appeared and prepared to do the hard work when the ball wasn’t in their hands.

Six tries, 55 more tackles than their opponents, a 197-metre effort from Leo and another monster performance from Teague.

Not a bad day’s work in Cairns.

The Bears will now return home to take on the Tigers next Saturday.