Bears claim win in Page's milestone match

Eventually the Bears class shined through, as they regained control of the game and broke away for their 13th win of the season.

Souths Logan came out firing and scored the opening try through Matt Soper-Lawler in just the third minute.

The Bears struggled with their ball-handling in the first quarter, largely due to the physical pressure applied by the visitors.

Burleigh got their breakthrough try in the 27th minute when some sleight of hand at dummy half from Pat Politoni presented Troy Leo with a saloon passage to the try line.

Already the competition’s leading try-scorer, Leo took his season tally to 18 when he scored his second try in the 36th minute, giving Burleigh an 8-6 lead at halftime.

Souths managed to regain the lead in the 44th minute after a Bears error gifted them some excellent field position. Cody McIntosh crashed over under the posts in the following set.

It would turn out to be the last gasp of the visitors, however, as the Bears took control in the next 15 minutes.

A Jamal Fogarty grubber kick found space in the in-goal area where Kurtis Rowe loomed to score his 12th try of the season.

Dylan Phythian came off the bench soon after and reached into his bag of tricks to produce a no-look offload after poking through the defensive line. The ball deflected off some Magpies defenders and the loose ball was grounded by Sami Sauiluma.

The boot of Fogarty produced even more points in the 64th minute, with Sam Stone planting the ball down for his first try as a Bear.

A pin-point cross field kick was scooped up by Linc Port for a Magpies try in the 71st minute, but a Brenko Lee flick pass gave Tyronne Roberts-Davis a 78th minute try as the Bears completed a 12-point win.

The Bears return to action next Sunday when they travel to Piggabeen to take on the Tweed Seagulls in a derby match.

The Magpies will next weekend face off against the Devils.