Coach Gary Freeman felt optimistic after his first match in charge of North Sydney’s Premier League team, despite losing 28-4.
The Bears were well beaten by Newtown in a trial at Henson Park on Saturday in the first of three Frank Hyde Shield matches played by the foundation clubs each year.
Freeman’s focus was on the bigger picture, however. He is mostly concerned about building a competitive team and climbing off the bottom of the NSWRL ladder.
“I’m pretty happy that we fronted up and had a go,” he said. “For the amount of guys we had out there who had never played Premier League before, I think we did quite well.”
The Bears used no less than 33 players in the 80 minutes, but none from their NRL allies Melbourne Storm. The club has just six survivors from last year’s squad.
“The front rowers weren’t scared to take them on and the kick-chase was excellent,” Freeman said.
“There is plenty of improvement in this team. I’m sure we’ll get better.”