Report: NSW Cup Round 21 vs Bears

With both teams entering the Round 21 clash neck and neck on the ladder, it was the Magpies who seized control early. Livewire dummy-half Joe Lovodua caught the Bears napping to crash over in just the second minute, before Alex Lobb sliced straight through from close range to double the lead.

Charlie Murray capitalised on more soft middle defence to extend the Magpies’ advantage to 18-0 at half-time, as Wests punished North Sydney’s poor ruck control and errors.

But the Bears roared to life after the break, crossing three times in quick succession through Jayden Yates, Riley Meyn and Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown to claw back to 18-16.

The turning point came in the 66th minute when Wests centre Josh Feledy found Luke Laulilii in the corner - only for Bears fullback Jake Toby to clatter him high. A try was awarded and despite Kurt Falls missing the sideline kick, the Magpies received an additional conversion from in front, taking the lead out to 24-16.

North Sydney weren’t done, with Kieran Hayman pouncing on a loose ball to cut the margin to two with ten minutes to play, but Wests held on in a frantic final few minutes to secure a massive two competition points.

The result sees the Magpies leapfrog the Bears into ninth place, and with a softer run home, their finals hopes remain alive - albeit just.

Magpies 24 (Lovodua, Lobb, Murray, Laulilii tries; Falls 4/5 goals) defeated Bears 22 (Yates, Meyn, Tuimalatu-Brown, Hayman tries; Hayman 3/4 goals) at North Sydney Oval.