The Calgary Bears have shot to a 3-0 lead over the Calgary Cowboys in the Calgary Australian Football League metro series. It’s a welcome return to the top of the ladder for the Bears after going down to the Cowboys last season. Bears coach Matt Bell is linking the Bears’ consistent work on the training track to the skills that are being shown on game days. “Our Canadian talent, new and old players, are what’s winning these games for us”, said Bell at a press conference earlier this week. “Our guys are working hard and getting the most out of training.”
The opening Round 1 clash on May 10 had a lot of excitement pre-match with as many as 10 new players pulling on their respective jerseys for the first time. New goal posts were installed at the Inland Field over the off-season and the ground maintenance staff had the field looking tremendous, and it was the Bears who settled first and led throughout the match to emerge 4 goal victors. Loky Griffiths was well fed up forward and captured his first ‘bag’ for the club by booting 5 goals, and new midfielder Max Parish played a blinder in his first time donning the red and black. Cowboys utility Matthia Singh was hard to handle in all positions and provided tough match-ups for the Bears, but he was constrained to his full-back home when the Bears started to get a run on.
Round 2 brought sunshine and champagne to Inland Athletic Field, as the Kangaroos held their second annual WAGs event to honour, thank and introduce the ladies that keep our lives on track, and the boys put on a splendid performance on the field to keep them entertained. After scoring two quick goals early in the first term, the Bears took their foot off the accelerator and watched some big grabs by Stephen Beal in his first game for the year, and consistent hands from Cowboys coach Dane Rolfe helped the Cowboys to control the game. However, the Cowboys momentum was interrupted with Beal suffering an injured shoulder during a ruck contest in the second quarter, which enable the Bears to reward the hard work of Andy McLean and Andy Yardy in the backline and start putting a few between the big sticks. Bears went on to record a 3 goal win.
The Bears and Cowboys returned on May 31 for an early game ahead of the annual hall party fundraiser, and once again, the supporters were well entertained with a skilled and tough Round 3 match. The Cowboys welcomed back the northern boys, Brett “Bretty” Maddock, Kane “Biscuits” Arnott and Matty “Top Heavy” Ryan, in addition to Matt Sheard, Greg Rowe and Rolfe finding good form and making match ups difficult for the Bears, but without target James “Boof” Lay up forward, the Cowboys had to score through other options and inaccurate kicking kept the Bears in the game. New Canadians Adam "Buzz" Lightning and Jared Dougherty held down key positions and put a few goals on the scoreboard, and Dave “Swiz” Swinden restricted "Top Heavy" to only one goal and gained possession out of the backline to create scoring opportunities for the Bears. Matt Kidd played well for the Cowboys, and DK Kalinowski worked tirelessly in the guts as the Bears won by 9 points.
The Bears and Cowboys combine to represent as the Calgary Kangaroos this weekend in the Kelowna tournament vs Vancouver, Burnaby and Edmonton, and we wish the boys the best of luck ..and smash out a win!!
Last Modified on 25/02/2016 09:10