Bears sitting Pat as aggro takes a break
FORM rake Pat Politoni has changed his tune in a bid to help nurture Burleigh’s young guns yesterday as the Bears moved to a 7-1 start to the season by beating Papua New Guinea 34-18.
Politoni dubbed himself the “bad cop” of the team during the run to the 2016 Intrust Super Cup premiership, laying down the law to keep the playing group in check.
But having found the hardline stance does not always get the best out of various types of characters, the 27-year-old is moving away from a one-sizefits-all approach.
“With our big players out, like Jamal (Fogarty) and Dallas Wells and a few other guys, I do have to step up and be more of a leader and have a different approach,” Politoni said.
“In the last couple of years I have always been that bad cop who gets up guys doing the wrong thing and just keeping us on track.
“We have got some new young guys in there and you can’t always have that approach.
“Just sort of learning different personalities and seeing what works with everybody else, it’s starting to work.
“Obviously, everybody is different.
“Some people are able to take criticism and some people can’t really take it in an angry way.
“You have just got to see who you are talking to and learn that guy’s personality and just do what’s best for them.”
Politoni responded to the task of lifting in the absence of injured key players, earning his second consecutive man of the match award to help the Bears reclaim the annual Kokoda Cup at Pizzey Park.
“(Consistency) is something I pride myself on,” Politoni said.
“Just always putting effort plays in and doing my best for the team. I think that’s the attitude that everyone in this side has and that’s why we are reaping the rewards.”
Burleigh scored the first three tries of the match but then fell behind 18-12 before finishing with an avalanche of tries.
The late flurry came after 21-year-old halfback Josh Rogers was dragged, leaving the Bears with makeshift halves of Jamie Dowling and Dylan Kelly.