David Hala was the lone Titans player in the Intrust Super Cup during the weekend with the big prop making his return from a knee injury in Burleigh’s 46-12 loss to Townsville on Saturday.
With the NRL side having a weekend off the with the bye, Tweed Seagulls also enjoying a bye and Jamie Dowling a late withdrawal with a knee injury, Hala toiled away, clocking up 40 minutes against competition leaders Blackhawks after missing the past three weeks with injury.
Hala said while he was still regaining match fitness, his knee felt good after the hit-out.
“I got through 40 minutes of game time off the bench slotting into in the front row,” Hala said.
“The body and knee felt good, I was a bit gassed after the first few minutes I was out there but that was to be expected after not playing for three weeks. I’ll play bigger minutes in the coming weeks and try to push for a spot in the NRL side.”
The Bears were more than competitive against the in-form Blackhawks than their previous encounter (78-6 in round 8), trailing by only 16-6 at half-time.
“Our first half was pretty good, we were actually playing pretty well, the scoreline blew out a bit but we were better than that,” Hala said.
Burleigh Bears coach Jim Lenihan agreed with Hala’s sentiments, telling the Gold Coast Bulletin the contest was a lot closer than the scoreline reflected.
“We tried really hard and played a little bit different which was good,” he said.
“We probably got a bit of confidence out of the firs half but we got outclassed in the second half. They put 20 points on us in the final 20 minutes and blew the Score out. It probably didn’t reflect the game.”
The Bears host the Redcliffe Dolphins at Pizzey Park on Sunday in a game which carries extra significance for Hala, who played for the Dolphins regularly in the past few years while contracted to the Broncos.
“I played all my junior football at Redcliffe, I was there a long time,” Hala said. “It will be strange against my old club this week. I still know a lot of the guys there from my junior days. I’m sure there will be lots of banter but it’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”
TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS 46 (Samsen O’Neill 2, Zac Santo, Kyle Feldt, Mosese Pangai, Jonathan Reuben, Tom Humble, Jack Kelleher tries; Kyle Feldt 7 goals) def BURLEIGH BEARS 12 (Jamie Anderson, Dimitri Pelo tries; Khan Ahwang 2 goals) at Pizzey Park.
Burleigh Bears: 1. Khan Ahwang 2. Corbin Kiernan 3. Jamie Anderson 4. Dimitri Pelo 5. Connor Broadhurst 6. Conner Toia 7. Ryley Jacks 8. Mitch Sharp 9. Tom Rowles 10. Josh Ailaomai 21. David Hala 12. Louie Fanene 13. Darren Griffiths (c) 14. Marino Allen 15. Ayden Lee 16. Shaun Maloney 17. Pele Peletelese
INTRUST SUPER CUP
POINTS TABLE AFTER ROUND 17
Team |
Played |
Won |
Draw |
Lost |
Bye |
For |
Agnst |
Total |
Townsville Blackhawks |
16 |
14 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
600 |
214 |
30 |
PNG Hunters |
16 |
12 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
502 |
340 |
27 |
Ipswich Jets |
16 |
12 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
522 |
354 |
26 |
Wynnum Manly Seagulls |
16 |
12 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
453 |
288 |
26 |
Easts Tigers |
16 |
9 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
434 |
269 |
21 |
Mackay Cutters |
16 |
9 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
367 |
303 |
20 |
Northern Pride |
16 |
9 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
351 |
330 |
20 |
Burleigh Bears |
16 |
8 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
303 |
428 |
18 |
Tweed Heads Seagulls |
15 |
5 |
1 |
9 |
2 |
350 |
352 |
15 |
Redcliffe Dolphins |
15 |
5 |
1 |
9 |
2 |
393 |
406 |
15 |
Souths Logan Magpies |
15 |
4 |
0 |
11 |
2 |
351 |
488 |
12 |
Sunshine Coast Falcons |
16 |
4 |
1 |
11 |
1 |
276 |
459 |
11 |
Norths Devils |
16 |
3 |
1 |
12 |
1 |
254 |
513 |
9 |
CQ Capras |
15 |
1 |
0 |
14 |
2 |
222 |
600 |
6 |
