Bears clawing their way to a strong finish
The North Canberra Bears have thrown the cat amongst the pigeons heading into the Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield league tag finals.
The Keith Miller-coached outfit has sprung major upsets, landing wins over the Harden Hawkettes and Crookwell She Devils in recent weeks.
In Round 11, the Bears toppled the highflying Hawkettes 8-6 to register their most significant win in recent memory.
Following an 18-4 victory over the struggling UC Stars in Round 12, North Canberra proved it wasn’t a fluke, accounting for the strong She Devils side 28-18 in an entertaining Round 13 win.
With their place in the top five guaranteed, North Canberra visits the Bungendore Tigerettes on Saturday as they look to make it four consecutive wins leading into finals.
“It’s a good time,” Miller told Canberra Region Rugby League.
“The Harden win was good for us, and it lifted everyone’s morale; knocking them off was our biggest achievement.
“It gave us that winning mentality and proved to the girls that they could beat anyone.
“Then we beat Crookwell, and the girls now know what they are capable of, and we’re looking forward to finals.”
While the Bears will head into the finals as the underdogs on paper, Miller said his side had their tails up.
“I try and tell all my players, we’re not the underdogs,” Miller said.
“We want to be the team everyone thinks will come out and beat them.
“We can beat any team on the day, and the hard thing has been getting a big group of girls to believe it.
“Now they are doing it and beating these teams; we all believe we can do it.”
North Canberra boasts a lot of star power, with fullback Kaylee Charlton playing excellent footy, Kezia Hughes-Watts a natural leader, and Jorden Donnelly a talented try-scorer.
“It’s been a funny season, and we had a few players out with some going overseas mid-year, but with nearly everyone back, it’s been good,” Miller said.
“We’ve picked up some handy players, and we’re making the most of our opportunities.”
North Canberra will finish fifth, meaning they’ll have to be perfect in the finals and win all four games to triumph in the Grand Final.
“Yes, after this weekend, they are must-win games, but for us, we’ll take every game as it comes,” Miller said.
“We’ve got to win four games to be there at the end, but we’ll take it as it comes. I know if everyone works hard at training and pushes through, we can go all the way.”
While North Canberra will be chasing another win before finals, in other Round 14 games on Saturday, positions in the top three and a second chance come finals are still up for grabs.
Harden has locked up the Minor Premiership, but they will want to make a statement against the fourth-placed She Devils leading into the finals.
Playing at Memorial Oval, if the She Devils lose, they will finish fourth and will face North Canberra in week one of the finals.
If they win, they could finish third and earn a second chance, so there is a lot on the line.
In the game of the round, which all but decides the top three, the third-placed Binalong Jersey Girls hosts the second-placed Cootamundra Bullettes at Binalong Recreation Reserve.
This match is a likely preview to finals, with both sides boasting a lot of firepower across the park.
With nothing but pride on the line, the Roverettes host the UC Stars at Boorowa Showground in the final match of the round.
Both sides will look forward to Mad Monday after a long GTS competition.
Click here for the GTS league tag ladder, draw, and results.
