Bears see Suns up close for footy tips

BURLEIGH have shown they will leave no stone unturned in their ambition to return to being regular Queensland Cup winners.

Hurt by injuries and core player departures, the Bears have gone from 2016 premiers to sitting 13th on the ladder after 15 rounds this year, only ahead of rivals Tweed Heads.

But instead of sitting on their hands wondering what has gone wrong, they took full advantage of a bye last week to gather new ideas.

Bears staff including their head coach Jimmy Lenihan got a close-up look at how the Gold Coast Suns operate at AFL level.

Lenihan toured the Suns’ “unbelievable” newly-built facilities, observed training, sat in on team meetings and watched their Round 13 match against Carlton on Saturday night from next to the coach’s box.

“I suppose we’re always looking at different ways of seeing things,” Lenihan said.

“That’s the first Suns game I’ve ever been to and probably my second AFL game I have ever seen so it was quite a new experience.

“It was very different to the NRL with the Titans.”

Lenihan was particularly impressed by the smooth communication between the various members of the club’s large coaching staff.

“It’s obviously a really big machine the AFL and the sheer amount of people that they have got working there is certainly eye-opening,” Lenihan said.

Burleigh host Ipswich on Sunday. – CONNOR O’BRIEN