Rested Bears Say Bye To Dream Run
By DAVID ROWLANDS
NORTH SHORE TIMES - 12/5/2004

The fears that North Sydney’s coaching staff had over the impact of the bye were realised on Saturday when the side suffered their heaviest defeat in a month.

The bad habits that were thought to have been exorcised returned in a 42-20 loss to Newtown at Henson Park. After having last weekend off, several Bears were suffering from a virus leading up to the match, however general manager Greg Florimo refused to blame that for the sub-standard showing, which denied them the chance to crack the top eight.

“The areas that we were strong in over recent weeks really let us down on Saturday, such as our control of the ruck and the speed of the play the ball,” he reported.

After leading by 14-4 at halftime, a Newtown try early in the second period broke Norths’ resistance and sent them on their way to a comfortable verdict. It wasn’t all bleak for the Bears however, because their Jersey Flegg (under 20s) side buried the Central Coast Rip 42-12 in a performance that Florimo classed as “clinical and professional”.

Meanwhile, the patience that North Sydney diehards are famous for looks likely to be tested again, as they sweat on the prospect of the club being re-admitted to the National Rugby League, under the banner of the Central Coast.

The NRL’s Partnership Executive met last Wednesday to officially discuss the possibility of a 16th club joining the competition in 2006, however, it looks like simply being the first step in a long process that will see the league firstly determine if it can actually support an extra team, before getting down to the specifics of which consortium deserves the nod.

The Central Coast Bears franchise, headed by media mogul John Singleton with support from the North Sydney club, is bidding for inclusion in an expanded competition, along with the Gold Coast and Wellington (NZ).
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