The Cudgen Hornets hosted the Burleigh Heads Bears at Ned Byrne Field, Kingscliff, on Saturday in what turned out to be a positive afternoon for the Hornets.
Up against a much fitter and faster outfit from the kick off, the Hornets never shirked their roles and although the scoreline was 28-0 in favour of the Bears the Hornets unearthed some fine young players of future A Grade quality.
The performances of Under 19 players Kurt Hawkey (a third generation Cudgen player), Kurt Foggo at 5/8, Jake Sands in the centre and Peter Gilbert at full-back (until injured) left a smile on the face of coach Craig Field who was very impressed with their commitment and abilities against much more experienced rivals.
Except for a 10 minute lapse which resulted in three quick tries to the Bears from basic Hornets mistakes the match was a reasonably contested affair.
The kicking game and organising skills of the newly returned Mark O’Grady put the Hornets on the front foot a number of times but the Bears always looked to be in control as the speed off their defensive line was a feature. The strength and experience of forwards Dan Donovan, Bradie Upton, Matt Slattery and Dan Chaumont will once again lay the foundations for the Hornets up front.
With five experienced first graders missing the match, which included exciting new halves Eden Price and Sam Taylor and with the inclusion of some new faces, the Hornets are looking at being quite competitive in the revamped Gold Coast / Tweed competition.
The Hornets Reggies, who contested the past two Northern Rivers grand finals, were confronted by a mammoth 35 man squad from the Bears.
Not to be intimidated the match was a tough, bruising encounter with the Hornets being pipped late in the match by 16-10.
Young back-rower Fletcher Wyver was outstanding in both attack and defence whilst he was well supported by fellow forwards Vince Lockwood and Dave Nicholls whilst Jackson Hardy on the wing was a constant handful for the defence.
Coach Stephen Roberts was extremely impressed with his under 19 squads 24-24 draw. Top of his list was the relentless performance in both attack and defence by his captain and lock forward Jayden White and the skills showed by Marley Phillips at half and Brock Foggo at 5/8. Second rower Terry Cheers again showed his class by continually splitting the Bears forward defence whilst Adam Mitchell finished with 3 tries capitalising on the good work done inside of him.
Next Saturday, March 17, will see the Hornets tangle with old rivals and last season’s Gold Coast Premiers, the Bilambil Jets in what promises to be a great afternoon of rugby league at the Bilambil ground.
Four matches will kick off at noon (NSW TIME) with the under 17s starting proceedings.
