Bears ground Jets at Pizzey

Despite going into the break trailing 18-4 the Jets eventually subsided to the consistent pressure from a home side determined to force their way back into the winner’s circle.

The Jets opened the scoring in the second half through Ngangarra Barker before Burleigh turned it on for the home crowd scoring another 34 unanswered points.

Taine Tuaupiki showed why he is leading the Petero Civoniceva Medal tally, terrorising the Jets defence with his kick returns and electric attacking ability across the park.

Tuaupiki also submitted his nomination for selfless play of the year, gifting Bears hooker Pat Politoni a try in the 65th minute despite already being across the line himself.

Bears coach Rick Stone was critical of his side’s defensive efforts in the first half.

“We struggled to put the Jets on the ground and we just weren’t working together well enough," Stone said.

"In the second half we were a lot better. I think our first priority is probably to tighten up our defence. They scored the first try [in the second half also] and caught us off guard a little bit.

“I was really happy with the second half, particularly scoring some points in the back end of the game… We stuck at it and didn’t try to complicate things and came away with a decent win in the end which is nice."

What’s next:

The Bears will prepare to take on the Townsville Blackhawks who will come out firing following their 72-0 thrashing of the Souths Logan Magpies this weekend.

Meanwhile the Jets will be on the road again, this time heading north to Mackay to face off against the ninth-placed Cutters.