NORTH Tamworth Bears took a while to find their growl before romping home with an 11-try 62-4 Group 4 first grade win at Scully Park yesterday.
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The Bears hibernated early and led just 12-nil after 20 minutes and 28-4 at halftime after Bareki Knox gave his Digger team-mates something to cheer when he crashed over out wide with a few seconds remaining on the clock.
However, the Bears scored four tries in the first 18 minutes of the second half to lead 50-4 and ambled home against a gallant but unfit Diggers.
One of the stars for the Bears was young back James Duchatel.
He scored three long range tries to cement his berth as the Bears fullback while Scott Blanch, backing up from Saturday’s 62-nil division loss to Newcastle, crossed for two tries in a man of the match performance.
The Bears pack, with Ky Ruru, Nic Dobson and Shane Wadwell in charge, fed off many breaks from dummy half made by Blanch and his dummy half cohorts.
“We did start slowly but warmed up,” Bears coach Brad McManus told The Leader.
“The week off didn’t help us. It was also a big effort for the four boys – Shane Wadwell, Jake McManus, Marshall Barker and Scott Blanch – to back up for us.”
He said Blanch deserved his three points from the referees for best and fairest.
“He was good.
“James (Duchatel) also went well. He was wasted on the wing and he looks good at fullback. And Abel put a dent in them today too,” he said of the Bear pivot.
“Number six might be his spot too.
“But we have new boys in the side and we are improving.”
He said lack of pre-season trials meant the side was still evolving but with the likes of Ky Ruru, who toiled away manfully “as he does every week”, McManus has a strong side to mould with fitness and game time.
“Ky does his job every week,” McManus said.
“He’s honest as the day is long.”
While beaten Diggers captain-coach Tim Coombes feels he has the makings of a good side.
“Our first 20 minutes was good,” he said.
“But we dropped off a fair bit after that.
“They (Norths) do all the little things right. We competed with them well but opened up in the back half of each half. Norths are a good outfit and are where we want to get too. We’ll keep on improving though.”
He has a number of teenagers who are answering the call with the likes of 17-year-old Jack Rumsby, Scott Berry, Kieren Williams and Micah Scarth.
“They are progressing well,” he said.
“But we will improve. That was a tough one to get second up.”
The likes of Zach Hatch and Bareki Knox stiffened up the Diggers defence with some crashing hits but too many times that good work was undone as Blanch and co wreaked havoc from dummy half and around the ruck.
