Canterbury Cup NSW Match Report: Bears vs Wenty
North Sydney Bears 34 | Wentworthville Magpies 20
Bears tries: Tom Freebairn, Kieren Moss, Brock Lamb, Max Bailey 3
Bears Conversions: Brock Lamb 5/6
Wenty Tries: Andrew Davey, Stefano Utoikamanu, Rhys Davies, Greg Leleisiuao
Wenty Conversions: Brad Keighran 2/4
Tom Gibbs
Despite a 2nd half fightback from the Wentworthville Magpies, the North Sydney Bears secured a 34-20 win on day 2 of Canterbury Cup NSW Magic Round at Henson Park on Sunday.
Front rower Max Bailey starred with a rare try double, while Brock Lamb was 5/6 off the boot with a try of his own in what was a pleasing performance for the Bears side. The Bears did well to defend some early attacking raids from the Magpies before 18 unanswered points held them in good stead for a comfortable victory in the end.
After spending the early proceedings on their own goal-line and holding up the dangerous Bevan French on two occasions, the Bears broke the deadlock when captain Tom Freebairn scored from a Brock Lamb grubber in the 13th minute.
Once the share possession started to even up for North Sydney, Freebairn scored his second just after the 20-minute mark. Front rower Max Bailey followed up with try of his own 6 minutes later, before a third successful conversion from Brock Lamb extended the Bears’ lead to 18 points.
The Magpies finally pulled back the deficit on the stroke of halftime as 2nd rower Andrew Davey dived on a grubber, bringing the score at the break to 18-4.
Nine minutes into the 2nd half, Bears lock Josh Curran burst through the Magpies defence with fullback Keiran Moss backing up to score beneath the uprights. Another Brock Lamb goal took North Sydney’s tally to 24.
As the Bears looked to be running away with the contest, momentum quickly took a turn when the Magpies scored back-to-back tries through Stefano Utoikamanu in the 54th minute and halfback Rhys Davies in the 59th.
The late comeback was short-lived, however, as Lamb snuck through from 5 metres out for a try in the left corner before Max Bailey scored a second four-pointer to secure an 18-point buffer. With 7 minutes left in the contest, Magpies winger Greg Leleisiuao scored a consolation try just inside the right corner for a 34-20 final score.
