The robust 21-year-old scored one try, had another disallowed and was always launching a platform for the Bears with fellow prop Bill Jeffery, second-rower Shane Wadwell and lock Nic Dobson.

It was a powerful performance from the Bears, easily their best of the season for much of the 80 minutes.

After a good first half where they led 24-nil, they took the Blues apart systematically in the second 40 crossing for 10 tries.

Byrnes polled the two points, with teammate Scott Blanch grabbing the three and Wadwell the one.

In Armidale, Phil Beaton polled the three points in his side's 98-18 win to move him up to six points with teammates Chris Hunt and Dylan Lake while Keegan Loughrey snared his first  best and fairest points in Gunnedah's 40-16 win over Oxley Diggers at Scully Park.

For Byrnes, the players' player award sat nicely for a young forward coming into his own.

"Two weeks in a row I've got players' player points," he said. "I got a point last week too."

He said a rationing of alcohol intake in recent weeks might have been the catalyst in his lift in form but  an emphasis on defensive plays had also been a major ingredient for the side.

"They had two or three sets on our line there in the first half," Byrnes said. "We held them out well."

Byrnes played all his junior football with West Lions before heading across to Norths in 2014.