By Steve Cuff
The Snowy River Bears started their season in sensational fashion, with both the women's league tag and the men's team notching compelling wins.
After a scratchy first twenty minutes littered with mistakes, the men turned a small 6-10 deficit into a huge win, running away with the game in the second half to beat UC Stars 42-10.
In the earlier game, the women were embroiled in a tight tussle for much of the game before etching out a 20-12 victory.
The afternoon also had a touch of sadness as the Snowy River Bears Rugby League Club paid tribute to Max Old, who recently passed away.
Max was a long-time scorer in games with his father, Steven, who was often by his side.
A minute's silence before the game and a jersey placed on the sideline for the duration of the men’s game were a great tribute as the club and supporters acknowledged the family and Max’s passing.
A jersey was positioned on the sideline as part of the tribute to Max Old.
“If we are talking about the first half, it was messy, we were letting a lot of penalties go and a lot of stupid stuff that we shouldn’t have been. The boys needed to calm down, settle it down and just play our game, and in the second half we came out and did that and we put 40 on them. We all played for the badge and we played for Maxy, it was lovely, it was awesome,” said Bears’ hooker Mitchell McMahon after the match.
The Bears looked anything but victors in the first stages as they played dumb footy and handed over possession through a litany of unforced errors. Running the ball into touch, throwing suicide passes that were never on, only dug a deep hole for themselves in defence.
Luckily, they evolved from their silly syndrome and started to show promise. Even with a player in the sin bin they still managed to score points and rattle their Canberra opposition.
There was no shortage of good players once the men settled into their rhythm, with prop Harry Denford showing plenty of go-forward, and Ben Freebody scoring a brace of tries. Jason Dyball had several strong hit-ups, and their close line defence was strong.
They still need to work on defence outside of the ruck area, where the UC attack made inroads.
Highlight photos from the game. Click to enlarge.
Young captain Kohen Pearce showed some flair with several chip and chase kicks, and the backline has speed with the centre pairing of Zac McKenzie and Zane Smith, both of whom scored tries.
"We just couldn't find our groove, but to watch the comeback, that second half, that was great. Probably the best game of footy I have played, felt real nice and natural in the second half," said captain, Kohen Pearce.
He said his chip and chase came naturally, which could be a good weapon during the season in the right circumstances. “I love that type of stuff.”
“Definitely got way more confident after doing the simple stuff right, we just were able to throw that around, it was great.”
Zane Smith’s diving try in the corner was a standout moment in the game and a great finish to put the ball down in mid-flight.
When Mikey Barber scored off a fortuitous bounce of the footy, there were celebrations as the Bears could sense victory.
The side consists of many young locals, and if they can combine their attacking weapons with solid defence and fewer errors, they can win their fair share of games this season.
Womens Tag
The ladies were in for a tight game from the outset, with both teams’ showing competitiveness and eager to promote the footy.
The midfield organisers once again shone brightly, with Leonie Burnes Sams and Nikita McBryde running the show, backed up by captain Summer McGladrigan.
There were several unwanted penalties that did not help the Bears’ cause, but once they find their feet after a few more games, the team will gel much better.
Down 6-8 at halftime, the Bears rallied in the back half of the game to run out winners 20-12 in what was an entertaining game of tag.
