With The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup finals series right around the corner, nswrl.com.au previews each side in contention for the Premiership.
Season overview
A bye early in the season (Round Two) didn’t upset the apple cart for the North Sydney Bears in any way.
They began 2022 on fire winning their opening five games, with their first loss not coming until the St George Illawarra Dragons in Round Seven (30-14).
But then it became a little stop-start for North Sydney as they could not string back-to-back wins until Rounds 14-15 over Mounties and the Parramatta Eels.
The Round 20 bye couldn’t come soon enough as the Bears suffered three losses and then a draw with the Dragons in the lead-up to the break.
It raised a few questions about the Bears run home to secure a finals spot, but from Round 21 they didn’t lose a game amassing 174 points while conceding only 50.
By the numbers
Tom Carr is the competition’s leading try scorer (21) playing on both the left and the right wing as well as centre for the Bears during the season.
He also leads the entire NSW Cup with 28 line-breaks and that’s a statistic the North Sydney club has excelled at this season – 142 line busts across 23 games making them one of the hardest teams to defend against in The Knock-On Effect Cup for 2022.
They are also on top for try assists (103) and line break assists (137) across all 12 clubs. They can partially thank halfback Sandon Smith, who leads the competition for engaging the line.
The Bears are second in kick-return metres (3,936) behind the Panthers (4,100) proving their back-five are doing their job.
But the Bears are only 10th when it comes to set completions and fifth worst in the competition for errors.
Player to watch
Adam Keighran is out in front on the NSW Cup top points-scorer list with seven tries and 63 goals from 16 games. The 25-year-old has racked up 10 line breaks and 22 tackle busts making him a dangerous runner as well as an accurate kicker.
Still, Carr is the man who strikes fear with the ball in hand. His 21 tries have come from 20 games before missing Round 23 due to a groin injury. He was a late addition to the Round 24 side.
Among the forwards, hooker Ben Marschke not only finished the regular season with the highest tackle count (777) overall, he’s also sixth for try assists (14).
Prop Terrell May is close to 1,000 post-contact metres in only 13 games. His form in NSW Cup has been so good he’s played eight games for the Roosters in the NRL, including the past four rounds.
Road ahead
The mighty 60-6 win over Mounties in Round 24 put the Bears in third position, removing them from the threat of an Elimination Final.
They will now face the second-placed Panthers in the Qualifying Final on Saturday 3 September at St Marys Leagues Stadium.
NRL Panthers coach Ivan Cleary’s decision to rest a large contingent of first grade players from the last regular season game against the Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday night, means 11 members of the NSW Cup side have been elevated to fill in.
That list includes halves Jack Cole, Kurt Falls and hooker Soni Luke – the three players who touch the ball the most.
