Bears ending on high

BURLEIGH have been left to lament the Queensland Cup title defence that might have been after becoming the only club this season to win five consecutive matches.

Savaged by injuries and a loss of players early in the season, the Bears lost their first five games and were anchored to the bottom of the ladder for much of the year.

But with premiership-winning half Jamal Fogarty returning and their injury woes finally receding, the Bears have once again shown themselves to be among the league’s best.

That was on display again on Saturday when they beat the eighth-placed Mackay Cutters 28-16 at Pizzey Park.

Despite losing Fogary and Dallas Wells to injury and with Pat Politoni at a funeral in Sydney and Pat Vaivai called up to the Titans, Burleigh downed the Cutters to celebrate in style stalwart Darren Griffiths’ final home game before retirement.

“We had our six, seven, nine and front-rower missing,” coach Jimmy Lenihan said.

“The blokes who came up, Dan Schwass, Jacob Grant, Ricardo Parata and Tyler Sparkes, they were great.

“They had games earlier in the year and that bit of experience helped them on the weekend and they did really well.

“We’ve won five in a row now and the confidence of the last few weeks helps as well.

“Those boys got a bit of an opportunity earlier in the year and we were trying hard and still did all the right things but we just couldn’t get over the

line and there’s just that bit more experience now and they’ve been able to do a really good job for us.”

Lenihan said with the finals out of reach more than a month ago, the effort of players to dig in spoke volumes.

“We’ve got nothing to really play for other than each other and they’re putting in a really good effort,” he said.

“The last few weeks we’ve beaten Sunny Coast (fourth), we’ve beaten Townsville (sixth), so we’re well and truly competing with the sides that are at the sharp end of the competition at the moment.

“It is a bit of ‘what could have been’ but the effort, especially in Griffo (Darren Griffiths’) last game, was really important to the boys.”

Lowly Tweed were unable to repeat their first round effort against second-placed Redcliffe, losing 30-4 at Dolphin Oval on Saturday night.

The Seagulls host Northern Pride at Piggabeen this weekend, while Burleigh have a bye.