'Where did we go wrong?': Sheridan steers the Bears to redemption

The North Tamworth Bears halfback had just overseen a loss in his first match as lone captain of the club's first grade side, against the Moree Boars.

Over the following few days, Sheridan grew introspective.

"It was tough, going home thinking about it through the week," the Farrer alum said.

"What could we have done better, where did we go wrong? But I've got to keep it in my head that it's round two, we've got plenty of time to build."

It is built into Sheridan's DNA to lead by example. And, according to coach Paul Boyce, the stand-in skipper never fails to do so at training.

"Sherro's been coming down probably half an hour before every training session and working on [his kicking]," Boyce said.

"I think he's got a goal of 150 kicks each session. He's been working hard."

With regular leader Josh Schmiedel still out for today's clash against the Dungowan Cowboys, Sheridan again took on the captaincy.

That effort he puts in at training did not go to waste, and clearly fed into the rest of the team as the Bears outclassed the visitors at Jack Woolaston Oval, 38-18.

Three Sheridan chips led to a try and two near-misses in the first half as North Tamworth took early control.

"The boys came up against a good Dungowan side and really ripped in and played for each other," Boyce said.

"I'm really happy with that effort."

The Cowboys opened the scoring through future star, Braydon Allan, before the Bears responded with tries to Jone Marau and Senirusi Rauqe.

The two sides traded the scoring for a time before Norths began to pull away and eventually led 26-12 at the break.

Though they conceded another early try after half time, Norths were near-faultless for the remainder of the match.

With 10 minutes to go, five-eighth Ethan Collins made a break before offloading the ball to fullback Lynken Dickson whose last-ditch, diving effort put the nail in Dungowan's coffin.

"We turned over too much ball, there were too many silly penalties," Cowboys co-coach, Kieran Croft, said .

"In the end, it took a toll on us when you defend too much throughout the game. It's too hard to keep them out for too long."

Prop Tom Woolaston was both Boyce and Sheridan's pick for best on field, while Collins, Dickson, and hooker Liam Ball were also applauded by the coach.

"I can't speak highly enough of Tom Woolaston," Boyce said.

"I don't think you'll see a better performance from a prop than what he gave today."

Sheridan left Jack Woolaston Oval immensely proud of his side, and said "What we did wrong last week, we did better today".

Having played first grade for Norths since 2017, Sheridan has long been earmarked by the club as a potential leader of the future.

After making his captaincy debut in tandem with Ben Jarvis last year, the Bears continued to show their belief in him by making him Schmiedel's vice captain this year.

With every game, Boyce becomes more convinced they have put their faith in the right man.

"Sherro's leadership's really good for the club. He brings his own style and leads from the front," he said.