27°C | Thursday November 13, 2025 
23 June 2025
Norths Basketball
Revenge was on the mind of both the Bears men’s and women’s sides as they hosted the Newcastle Falcons. Twelve rounds into the NBL1 East season, the Falcons women are one of only two sides to have beaten the Bears this season, making for a tense battle at the Bear Cave. Norths came out firing, looking in control for the whole first half. Issy Morgan, a Bears Junior who recently returned to the side after 4 seasons in the USA playing college basketball, was on fire early on. She ended the game with 15 points. Although Newcastle did outscore the Bears in the second half, it wasn’t enough to narrow the margin, with the game finishing 82-76. Maddy O’Hehir continued her dominant season with 22 points, with the same going for Carla Pitman who added 15 points and 8 rebounds.
The men were up next, also looking to make it three wins in a row and continue to push for a finals spot. They were locked in, delivering their best performance of the year on both the offensive and defensive end. In the first half they managed to keep Newcastle to only 35 points, while pouring on 56 points of their own. The second half was even better, dominating in the third quarter to sail away to a season-high 102-70 victory. Star Iggy Mitchell and Hunter Goodrick both had 17 points each, while Lachie Bofinger, another recent junior to return home, posted 15 points in 15 minutes of play. A crucial win for the men as they move to a 7-7 record, now placing sixth on the ladder.
Next week sees two huge match-ups at the Bear Cave as rivals Manly-Warringah come to visit on Sunday.
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North Shore Bombers
Earlier this year in Round 3, the Bombers’ Premier Division women had a thumping 172-0 victory over Parramatta. This time around, the two clubs met on Parra’s home turf, with North Shore feeling confident about their chances. They got off to a perfect start, booting four goals in the first quarter to get out to a 26-0 lead. Things only got better in the second quarter, extending the lead to 58-0. By half-time the game was essentially over, with the score blowing out to 77-0 in the third quarter, then 98-0 by the full-time hooter. Captain Tilly Eder and Charlotte White both had doubles, while Teigan Collister, Lili Kablau, Lil Micheletti, and Lauren O’Sullivan all had a goal each. Outside of the scorers, Heidi de Saxe, Amelia Rainbow, Lily Sullivan, and Grace Hill all received best on ground votes.
The North Shore men headed to Rosedale Oval to face South West Sydney Blues, looking to continue their seven-game winning streak. In Round 3, these two teams clashed at Gore Hill, where the Bombers dominated with a 113-point victory. The first quarter was tight, as the sides couldn’t be separated with 22 points each. The Blues flicked the switch in the second quarter, booting 6 goals, while the Bombers struggled to score, not registering a six-pointer all quarter to make it 59-26 at half-time. The Bombers coach must have read out the riot act to his side, as in the third quarter they flipped the script, stacking 6 goals on the Blues, who scored none. With both sides showing they could take momentum, tension was high heading into the fourth. The Bombers just managed to pull ahead for the win in a far more competitive match than their prior meeting, 10.11.71 to 11.17.83.
Both Bombers sides remain in second place on their respective ladders. Next week they will be back at Gore Hill Oval, hosting St George.
Norths Rugby
It doesn’t get much harder playing at Woolhara Oval, especially with Easts in dominant form at the top of the Shute Shield ladder. To add even more to the match-up, this was a rematch of last year’s grand final, which Norths tragically lost.
The game got off to a promising start for the visitors, awarded a penalty try 9 minutes into the game. Easts were able to bite back just 5 minutes later to tie things up. A tense phase of the game was eventually broken by Baden Godfrey who dived over after a Reece Mau’u line break. The home side would again respond with a try but couldn’t contain Norths who were over again in the 30th minute after an incredible team effort led to a Tom Bacon try in the corner. Back and forth, and back again as Easts struck back just minutes later to make it 17-19 Norths’ way at half-time.
The Shoremen would concede just minutes into the half, giving up the lead, only to concede again in the 45th minute after a dramatic full-field try from Easts. The home side continued their momentum, scoring again just 4 minutes later. Norths were staring down a 38-19 margin until Marshall Le Maitre crossed in the 61st minute. 5 minutes later Norths were over again when Tom Bacon bagged his second for the afternoon. Ultimately the Shoremen ran out of time, unable to run down the ending with a 38-31 loss.
With 7 games left in the season, Norths sit in sixth place on the ladder as they gear up for another huge game next week against local rivals Gordon.
North Sydney Bears
It’s been a hot and cold kind of season for the Bears, showing signs of greatness followed by slumps in form. Still in the hunt for a finals spot, they hosted the Newtown Jets in yet another edition of the Frank Hyde Shield. On a perfect Sunday afternoon at North Sydney Oval, the Bears conceded two early tries to go down 10-0 just 15 minutes into the game. They would respond when Jesse Marschke pounced on a grabber kick to score a try, followed by a barging run from Coby Thomas minutes later to give the Bears a 12-10 lead at the half-time break. Unfortunately, Norths fell apart in the second half, conceding 3 unanswered tries to drop the game 12-20. Next week the Bears have a bye, followed by a rematch against Newtown at Henson Park the week after.