Maybe the Burleigh Bears had Sam Coster in mind when they settled on the grizzly bear as their emblem 102 years ago.
When grizzly bears attack, the advice is simple: don’t get in their way.
They are powerful, relentless and, once they get moving, notoriously difficult to stop.
For the Burleigh Bears, there is perhaps no better way to describe their captain.
This Sunday, in a preliminary final, Coster will become the latest Bear to reach a remarkable milestone when he runs out for his 200th game for Burleigh.
His 200 games comprise 197 Hostplus Cup appearances and two State Championship games, putting him on the verge of surpassing Bears 2004 Grand Final hero Shane O’Flanagan, who has played 201 games for the club.
Before he gets there, however, Coster will join the Bears’ exclusive 200-game club.
He has come to the Bears and found a home.
“When we played the Bears in the State Championship in 2016, I didn’t even know I would be joining them a few weeks later,” Coster remembered.
“I said to my manager I wouldn’t mind joining a team in south-east Queensland and he came back a few days later with, ‘The Bears are keen.’
“We moved and I wouldn’t say I loved the place straight away, but I loved it by the second year.”
Coster arrived at Burleigh in 2017, making his Bears debut against the Dolphins and beginning a journey that has taken him to the biggest stages the competition has to offer.
Of his nine seasons at the club, Coster has played in either a preliminary final or grand final in seven.
That is no coincidence.
Year after year, when the regular season gives way to September football, Coster has been there.
Across his 199 games, Coster has collected plenty of favourite memories and shared the field with a long list of teammates.
“Guy Hamilton and Pat Polotoni are my favourites. Guy is my roomie and Pat and I were little blokes in the middle doing our best,” Coster laughed.
“The Grand Finals stand out, but there was a game in 2021 against the Hunters where we lost our whole bench in the first 25 minutes and had to slog it out with 13 players.
“They are the wins you want to be part of.”
Those 199 games have also brought plenty of change around him.
Coster has shared the field with 167 different Bears teammates during his career and been part of 124 victories.
Players have arrived, departed, retired and moved on, while Coster has remained a constant in the middle of the Bears’ hunt.
Through different coaches, teammates, playing groups and challenges, the one constant has been the Bears’ No. 13.
Coster’s relentless pursuit of the jobs no one else wants has become legendary.
He has made 6740 tackles for the Bears in his 199 games, an incredible figure that reflects both his work ethic and his willingness to do the hard work.
Luke Burt has now coached the Bears in 89 games, including two minor premierships, two grand finals and a premiership, and knows exactly what Coster has contributed to the club.
“Sam will be just the second Bear to play 200 games, so that is a huge achievement,” Burt said.
“He’s such a hard worker. He works five days a week, trains at night and never stops.
“He’s a great role model on and off the field.
“I always say that Coster should have played NRL. That’s how highly I rate him and I have suggested him over the years to clubs.
“He’s a great thinker. He thinks deeply about the game and gives great feedback.
“He reads everything and understands the game.
“He’s one of the great Bears and Hostplus Cup players.”
Sam Coster has become part of the furniture at UAA Park, but there is nothing comfortable about the way he plays his football.
Because that is not how grizzly bears operate.
They attack.
