It was a beautiful winter’s day at North Sydney Oval, with plenty of fans, families and locals flooding through the gates for the match. The day started early, with junior league tag and tackle gala curtain-raiser matches showcasing local talent from Under 7s through to Under 18s. This round marked our ‘Women in League Round’, and we welcomed our wonderful volunteers who make such an incredible contribution to our club. The Bears kicked off at 3pm and were defeated 30–16 by the ladder-leading Panthers, but after trailing 24–6 at half-time, North Sydney produced a much-improved second-half performance.

Although the Panthers scored early tries, the Bears were able to bounce back and produce a try in the 31st minute through Tuipulotu Katoa. The play was sparked by Harradyn Wilson, who produced an impressive offload while being tackled by three Panthers defenders. Katoa finished the movement with a diving try on the wing before Kieran Hayman converted adding extra points to their total. Following the half-time break, the Bears scored through Matthew French in the 68th minute. Wilson was again involved in the lead-up play, producing a dummy and offload before French palmed off a Panthers defender and powered over. Hayman was successful with the conversion and further added to the Bears‘ points, continuing his strong goal-kicking form throughout the season. Wilson capped off a strong individual performance in the 79th minute, crossing for the Bears’ final try of the afternoon after already playing a role in North Sydney’s opening two four-pointers. This try brought the Bears’ total to 16 points and importantly helped narrow the points differential. The Bears dominated the second half but too much damage had been done in the first 40 minutes of the game to come out on top.

Regardless of the result, several Bears players produced strong performances. Wilson had strong involvement in all three plays that led to tries, while Compton Fuatimau was voted Players’ Player after recording a match-high 187 running metres. Captain Coby Thomas led the defensive effort with 51 tackles as the Bears remained competitive despite having just 47% possession for approximately 25 minutes of the match.

While the result did not go their way, the second half team effort showed the potential of the Bears side to match the Panthers as a benchmark side. The Bears now turn their attention to Sunday’s ‘home game’ clash against the Melbourne Storm at Scully Park in Tamworth. With two important competition points on the line, the Bears will be looking to bounce back against a side they are yet to face in the 2026 season.