17°C | Wednesday September 11, 2024 
31 July 2023
By James Mullan
North Sydney Bears: Dominant performance keeps Norths on top
Looking to make it five wins in a row, the Bears hosted a deflated Parramatta with only four rounds remaining in the regular season. Regan Hughes got the home team off to a great start, barging over after 15 minutes, closely followed by a simple overlap try to Fetalaiga Pauga just seven minutes later. Over to the left wing now, Tuipulotu Katoa found himself on the end of a bounced pass to stroll over, boosting Norths to a 0-16 lead. Parramatta would finally bother the scoreboard attendants in the 34th minute thanks to Turoa Williams. Three minutes into the second half a perfectly weighted Ben Stevanovic chip kick bounced up for Pauga to cross for his double. The trend continued not long after when Ben Marschke busted through the guts 30 metres out and scored under the posts. Elie El-Zakhem was up next after he jumped on an inside grubber from Katoa, making it 34-4 after the conversion. With just 5 minutes remaining Zac Docker-Clay gave Bears fans dessert when he found himself on the end of an Allan Fitzgibbon grubber, this time down the left flank though. The final score was 40-4 and the result never really looked in doubt. Kieran Haymen was excellent with the boot, punting 6/7 conversions. With this convincing win Norths jumped 5 points clear at the top of the NSW Cup ladder. Up next is a road trip to Newcastle to face the 12th place Knights.
Norths Basketball: Bears Women into final four as boys bow out
It was win or go home as both Bears squads hosted home NBL1 elimination finals. First up, were the men taking on the Sutherland Sharks who despite being the lower seeded team came out firing. The Sharks fast paced offence in combination with their high intensity defence got them a convincing lead heading into half time. Norths managed to fight back in the 3rd quarter and despite Junior Madut’s 20 points, it wasn’t enough as the Sharks took the win 66-85. This marked the end of the Bears season, who punched above their weight considering the amount of injuries, most notably to leading scorers Brennan Rymer and Junior Madut. Sutherland will advance through to face the Centre of Excellence for the chance to advance to the Grand Final.
Norths’ women managed to flip the script against the Maitland Mustangs and gave the home fans a lot to cheer about. In fact, the game went similarly to the men’s match up but in this case the Bears dominated the first half before the Mustangs fought back in the 3rd quarter. Meanwhile young gun Carla Pitman led the scoring with 20 points, import Jolene Anderson had a double double and leading season scorer Emily Simons posted 19 points with 9 rebounds. The news got even better at full time with Sydney Comets upsetting Newcastle, meaning Norths will host the semi final next week. Bears vs Comets will be at 4PM this Saturday in Crows Nest with the winner advancing to the Grand Final.
Norths Rugby Union: Shoremen one win away from Minor Premiership
With only two games remaining in the 2023 Shute Shield, Norths travelled to Wollahara to face Easts. With Randwick hot on Norths’ tails vying for top spot on the ladder, the Shoremen were focussed from the start crossing just seven minutes into the game thanks to Nick Duffy, who was celebrating his 100th grade game. Duffy is originally from Dubbo, attended Joeys and graduated from the Colts program in 2016. The try was converted and shortly followed by a penalty goal then an Easts try. A rolling maul led to a try for Norths’ hooker James Margan in the 18th minute before a short side raid led to another try just 10 minutes later as Jude Gibbs set up Luke Gersekowski. Another penalty goal made it a 7-27 margin heading into halftime. The Shoremen picked up where they left off just six minutes into the second half when Harry O’Donnell hit a gap at point blank range to make it 7-34. East would hit back with a try of their own before O’Donnell made it a double, jumping on a drop ball 10 metres out to essentially seal the deal on the 72nd minute. Winiata Cherrington would put the icing on the cake just before the final hooter when he busted through 40 metres out and simply out paced Easts to make the final score 48-12 with the conversion. A clinical performance by the boys in the red and black to hold top spot on the ladder with just one round remaining. The only other team that could take the crown is still Randwick, who destroyed Souths 63-20. Norths will face the in-form Hunter Wildfire at home this week.
North Shore AFL: Bombers women go back to back while men stumble
The Bombers flew north to Cherrybrook to face the Pennant Hills Demons with some intriguing results considering recent form. First up were the women who did not waste any time jumping to a 19-3 lead in the first quarter. Things would tighten up in the 2nd and 3rd with the Bombers holding onto a 4 point lead heading into the final quarter. Ava Barraclough would end the game with 2 goals, while Matilda Eder, Adrienne Keeffe, Sienna Strauss and Lucy Yates all chipped in a goal each for a 38-32 win. After snapping their losing streak last week, the Bombers are looking rejuvenated, leapfrogging the Demons to claim 6tt spot on the ladder. Just ahead of them by 2 points is USYD who they will face next.
Meanwhile the men’s side headed into this match up in first, with the Demons in second. Throughout the first quarter the Bombers were shell shocked as Pennant Hills slotted 3 goals for a 21-2 lead. North Shore would fight back in the second, booting 3 goals but also considering that many. Despite still being within striking distance in the 3rd quarter, the final stanza was ugly for the boys in red and black, only managing 6 points while giving up 23. At the final hooter the Demons walked away satisfied with a 80-36 win. Tom Drum, Christian Loone, Josh Rayner and Jamie Vlatko were the only players to kick goals, all having one each. The game was a huge statement from Pennant Hills, despite the fact they can’t chase down North Shore on the ladder. The Bombers have sealed the minor premiership with a 8 point lead on the table, a game in hand and only two rounds left. They will look to bounce back next week, but it won’t be easy with 3rd place USYD coming to Gore Hill.