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Bears Stun Sharks
By DAVID ROWLANDS
NORTH SHORE TIMES - 14/4/2004
Reports of North Sydney’s demise as a Rugby League club would seem to
be grossly exaggerated.
A soulless, aimless rabble would not have even dared to entertain the miracle they produced on Saturday night at Toyota Park, when they stunned the Cronulla Sharks, 24-20 on their home turf.
Quite simply, this was a contest they had no right to reign supreme in.
From the very first play of the match, the side’s fourth Premier League defeat in as many matches appeared inevitable.
Prop Brad McLean was sent from the field for a high shot as Cronulla returned the ball from the kick off, a la Great Britain’s Adrian Morley in last year’s Test series against Australia.
It was the last thing that a winless team who had conceded 110 points in their past three outings needed.
A resilient defensive effort by the Bears restricted their halftime deficit to an encourag ing 8-0 before two converted tries in the first ten minutes of the second half seemingly stretched it out of reach to 20.
At that point, North Sydney coach Gary Larson was simply hoping that that the scoreline would not balloon too much against his willing, but tiring, under-manned troops, rather than having any fanciful notions of an Easter resurrection.
Then at the 63 minute mark, his skipper Ben Black flicked the switch that illuminated the club’s fortunes.
Mall Thurston scored the first of two wonderful tries in the space of four minutes.
When Tristan Ramsay flew half of the field down the flank, the margin was back to eight but surely these 12 brave Bears would run out of steam.
With three minutes remaining, a sweet chip kick ahead by skipper Black ignited a movement that resulted in Scott McLean scoring under the sticks to make it 20-18.
Whereas the game’s initial play had proved disastrous for the visitors, its closing act was nothing but triumphant.
Seconds from fulltime, hooker Ben Fisher found himself pouncing on the dregs from a well- placed cross-field kick by Black, who later said that recording 24 points in 17 minutes under those circumstances was “absolutely amazing”.
However, he did admit he had a slight inkling they could go close to doing something extraordinary, if they received “a touch of luck”.
“It has to be one of the best wins I’ve ever been associated with,” Black exclaimed above the din of an understandably boisterous visitors’ dressing room.
“We knew we had to take a few chances towards the end and it came off.
“I’m very proud of the boys.
“We knew we had to give 110 per cent after the send-off and that’s what everyone did.
“We weren’t going to die wondering and we never gave up ‘til the final siren.”
The death-defying escape from the jaws of the Sharks is just the tonic the club needed prior to their first match of the year at North Sydney Oval, which is this Sunday against the Bulldogs.
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By DAVID ROWLANDS
NORTH SHORE TIMES - 14/4/2004
A soulless, aimless rabble would not have even dared to entertain the miracle they produced on Saturday night at Toyota Park, when they stunned the Cronulla Sharks, 24-20 on their home turf.
Quite simply, this was a contest they had no right to reign supreme in.
From the very first play of the match, the side’s fourth Premier League defeat in as many matches appeared inevitable.
Prop Brad McLean was sent from the field for a high shot as Cronulla returned the ball from the kick off, a la Great Britain’s Adrian Morley in last year’s Test series against Australia.
It was the last thing that a winless team who had conceded 110 points in their past three outings needed.
A resilient defensive effort by the Bears restricted their halftime deficit to an encourag ing 8-0 before two converted tries in the first ten minutes of the second half seemingly stretched it out of reach to 20.
At that point, North Sydney coach Gary Larson was simply hoping that that the scoreline would not balloon too much against his willing, but tiring, under-manned troops, rather than having any fanciful notions of an Easter resurrection.
Then at the 63 minute mark, his skipper Ben Black flicked the switch that illuminated the club’s fortunes.
Mall Thurston scored the first of two wonderful tries in the space of four minutes.
When Tristan Ramsay flew half of the field down the flank, the margin was back to eight but surely these 12 brave Bears would run out of steam.
With three minutes remaining, a sweet chip kick ahead by skipper Black ignited a movement that resulted in Scott McLean scoring under the sticks to make it 20-18.
Whereas the game’s initial play had proved disastrous for the visitors, its closing act was nothing but triumphant.
Seconds from fulltime, hooker Ben Fisher found himself pouncing on the dregs from a well- placed cross-field kick by Black, who later said that recording 24 points in 17 minutes under those circumstances was “absolutely amazing”.
However, he did admit he had a slight inkling they could go close to doing something extraordinary, if they received “a touch of luck”.
“It has to be one of the best wins I’ve ever been associated with,” Black exclaimed above the din of an understandably boisterous visitors’ dressing room.
“We knew we had to take a few chances towards the end and it came off.
“I’m very proud of the boys.
“We knew we had to give 110 per cent after the send-off and that’s what everyone did.
“We weren’t going to die wondering and we never gave up ‘til the final siren.”
The death-defying escape from the jaws of the Sharks is just the tonic the club needed prior to their first match of the year at North Sydney Oval, which is this Sunday against the Bulldogs.
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