Bears claw their way to another strong win

THAT’S more like it. Burleigh coach Stuart Wilkins was simply happy to see football being the main focus as the unbeaten Bears took down Tweed Heads 26-12 in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition on Saturday night.

“It was a really good quality game,” he said.

“It was 6-all at half-time, there were minimal errors from both sides, it was played at a really quick pace.

“It was actually good to play against a well-structured side that concentrates on playing football.”

That last comment refers to his frustration at a contest against Runaway Bay marred by an incident that left Bears five-eighth Josh Rogers – a former Titans under-20s player – with a likely season-ending shoulder injury.

A fired up Wilkins was shocked the “off the ball” shoulder charge went unpunished.

“You could see on the video clearly, the player just puts a shoulder into him and knocks him straight down and it was late after he kicked it,” he said.

“It is just disappointing that a late shot puts one of our quality players who has got potential to play NRL out of the season and the player that does it gets away scot-free … we really should be protecting our young players.”

By contrast, Wilkins was full of praise for both the refereeing and the opposition in their Round 8 fixture against Tweed.

A three-try burst after halftime proved the difference between the sides as Bears half Keanu Te Kiri came to the fore.

Elsewhere, Tugun defeated Southport 34-8 while wet weather forced matches between Ormeau and Bilambil at Brien Harris Oval and Currumbin and Runaway Bay at Galleon Way to be postponed until July 2.