The North Sydney Oval curse has been broken, with the Bears coming out on top over the Wentworthville Magpies in a brutal defensive-orientated encounter.
The Bears uncharacteristically lost four of four matches at the venue in 2017, but turned it around today, winning 16-8 and forcing their way back into the top four.
Abbas Miski put in a powerful performance on the left wing, an effort that went far beyond the two tries he scored.
It was a scoreless opening quarter to the match, with neither side able to crack their opposition defence in what started off as a fast paced match. Both sides were guilty of errors, however the rain and slippery conditions were a huge factor.
After a defensively perfect opening 20 minutes, Gregory Leleisiuao pumped the legs and broke through three Bears defenders to score a powerful opening try for the Magpies.
The Bears were able to work their way into good field position after forcing a Magpies error, and scored a polarising try to the one Wentworthville scored just minutes earlier. Instead of raw power, this try was pure was finesse, and Luke Kelly was able to create space with a cut-out ball for Ed Murphy to athletically plant the ball down in the corner.
Abbas Miski made a dash down the left sideline off the kick-off set, and the Bears earned a penalty on the next tackle, immediately putting them back onto the attack. They converted their opportunity when Eli Levido threw a brilliant cut-out pass to the man who started it all, Miski, who strolled over untouched to take the lead.
That was the final try before half-time and the first scoring play of the second half game through a penalty goal to Troy Dargan, which locked the scores up at 8-all.
The Bears then got a penalty off the back of a forced dropout, and nudged the lead back out to two on the hour mark, before taking another shot at goal from a similar position shortly after.
With the game being in the balance for the entire 70 minutes, the Bears finally sealed it thanks to Miski, who had been unstoppable on the left wing for the duration of the match.
North Sydney Bears 16 (A Miski 2, E Murphy tries; E Levido 2 goals) def Wentworthville Magpies 8 (G Leleisiuao try; T Dargan 2 goals)
