Bears win two on the trot

Bears dig deep to bury the Stags

COVENTRY BEARS 20HEMEL STAGS 18

Mike Hyde, Butts Park Arena, Sunday

Coventry Bears made it two wins in a row as they edged expansion rivals Hemel Stags 20-18 in an encounter where the lead changed hands four times. Having taken an early lead, that lead was lost twice before the Bears summoned up everyreserve of mental and physical strength to get a winning try with minutes to go.

The Bears kicked off in glorious sunshine on a dry, dusty and rock-hard pitch, and Hemel showed they meant business from the very start and they were soon pressing the Bears, with their kickon the fifth testing Jason Bass, who caught it cleanly.

And as Bears then went on the offensive, it was Bass who opened the scoring on just four minutes. Ben Stead bagged the two extras and it was 6-0 to Coventry. A good start for the home side and their fans.

The Bears could and should have added to this, but their next attack completely broke down, and this was not to be the lasttime things went awry in the 30 degree heat.

Then it was Hemel who were in the ascendency, and only some desperate defending bundling the winger into touch saved a certain try.

But the try did come, courtesy of Blake Broadbent who evaded four Bears defenders for a try that was subsequently converted by Kieran Smith.

The Stags pressure continued, with Marcus Stock leading the attack, before the game entered a scrappy and soggy spell in the middle of the first half, with neither side managing to complete their sets.

It was Jason Bass who broke the deadlock with a searing diagonal run to the corner to regain the Bears lead, but no extras were forthcoming, so it was 10-6.

Both sides had now stepped up a gear and the scores became equal as Alex Williams darted over on the right wing for the visitors. 

The referee called half time with the scores even at ten apiece.Fans were then somewhat mystified as the hooter sounded as the players were actually leaving the field.

Hemel started strongly after their half time team talk and were soon attacking hard. But poor handling of that hot ball in the baking heat let them, and likewise let the Bears down at critical moments.

The Stags pinned a Bears player down behind his own line, and then the reverse happened at the other end of the pitch, such was evenness of the game, but for a long spell, neither side looked capable of scoring.

Next was a strong attack by the Bears but once again poor handling prevented their retaking the lead.

It was a penalty given to the Stags following a player being held down after the tackle which gave Kieran Smith the chance to seize two points from a penalty to put his side in the lead for the first time 10-12.

Was the game about to drift away from the Bears?

The Stags were certainly now dominant as they pushed the Bears further and further back, but the Bears regained the lead on a counter attack as Kieran Sherratt zig-zagged over, with Stead adding the extras, 16-12.

Hemel were far from finished as they responded strongly and Kieran Smith was rewarded with a try and a conversion to give Hemel a 12-18 lead with just ten minutes left.

Coventry had the last laugh as Harry Chapman scored three minutes before the end, and the Stags had neither the time nor the energy to reply this time.

It had been a close game.

It hadn’t been a pretty game.

But for the Bears and their fans, this was now two consecutive victories, as they pulled themselves further away from the Stags in the league table, looking up towards the Skolars and aiming to overtake them in the next few weeks and end the season positively.

MATCHFACTS

BEARS

1Jason Bass

2Hayden Freeman

3Jacob Ogden

21 Kam Pearce-Paul

5 Harry Chapman

6Bradley Sheridan

7 Ben Stead

8Chris Vitalini

9 Zac Williams

16Malakhi Lloyd-Jones

11 Kieran Sherratt

12 Chris Barratt

13Ashley Bateman

Subs (all used)

14 Sam Davis

17James Guertjens

15James Mason

10Dan Gover

Tries: Bass (4,23), Sherratt (68), Chapman (77)

Goals: Stead 2/4

STAGS

1 Jack Mitchell

2 Darren Forde

4 Alexander Williams

3 Matthew Welham

5 Richard Williams

6 Shaun Roberts

7 Kieran Smith

8 Reece Williams

9 Jonathon Burns

10 Blake Broadbent

11 Marcus Stock

18 Dean Roberts

13 Sonny Esslemont

Subs (all used)

14 Paul Stamp

22 Corey Hanson

16 Austin Bell

187 Lewis Taylor

Tries:Reece Wiliams (12), Alex Williams(35), Smith (68)

Goals Smith 3/4

Penalty count: 10-10

Half-time: 6-16

Referee: P Marklove

Attendance: 281

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6,10-6, 10-10; 10-12, 16-12, 16-18, 20-18

Bears win in London

Bears work hard for a welcome victory

London Skolars 20 Coventry Bears 24

On Saturday afternoon, a set of long suffering fans at last had something good to celebrate, as
Coventry Bears clinched victory in London.
Not since the opening game of the season had the Bears won a League 1 encounter, and the run of fourteen consecutive defeats was enough to grind down anyone associated with the club.But on Saturday, the Bears fought back bravely in the sweltering city sun to clinch this game 20-24.
The kick off had been moved to1pm on account of the World Cup Quarter Final, and the home side got off to a flying start, crossing over the line in the first minute. Neil Thorman added two more and the Bears were already 6-0 down.
A couple more points from a penalty followed for the hosts, and then Lamont Bryan powered his way over with two Bears defenders still clinging on to him for the Skolars’ second try of the
afternoon. The deficit widened to 14-0 as the conversion sailed over between the posts.
Some inspiration was now needed to prevent the match completely slipping away, and this came from Chris Vitalini’s try and Ben Stead’s ensuing conversion.
Sensing this could be a tight game, the Bears elected to kick for goal rather than attempt another attack, and this decision proved a good one bringing the Bears right back into the game with the score at 14-8, which remained the margin until half time.
The Bears showed they meant business straight after the restart, as they gained first one free kick and then another free kick gave Kam Pearce Paul the opportunity to pounce on the ball and get a try for the away side. Stead was rock-steady as he levelled the scores with the conversion. And now Coventry Bears, so often fading in the second half, were in the ascendency as the Skolars started to look weary in the heat.
The comeback was complete as Hayden Freeman crossed over. The Bears were now in the lead for the first time, 14-18.
However, the home side still had something left in the tank as they seized on some sloppy play by the Bears who conceded two penalties on the trot, with further punishment coming from Mike Bishay’s try and the subsequent conversion. The Skolars had retaken the lead with the score now at 20-18.
Further twists and turns were to follow though as Skolars Mike Greenhalgh was sent off for a
dangerous tackle, giving the Bears a numerical advantage as the game neared its end.
Jason Bass was able to spot the extra space opening up and the ball was then onto Hayden Freeman who bagged his second with Steads conversion sealing the result at 20-24.

So, a win, and an away win too! Now brimful of confidence it’s three home games on the trot for the Bears. Time now to put on a show for the loyal fans at the Butts Park Arena.

This Sunday we take on Hemel Stags at the earlier kick off time of 2pm!

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Skolars Preview

 Bears back to ‘skool’ on Saturday lunchtime.

London Skolars match preview

In a fixture sensibly brought forward a couple of hours so as not to clash with England v Sweden in the FIFA World Cup, Coventry Bears will be travelling down to the New River Stadium, Wood Green, Haringay North London for a 1pm lunch time fixture with London Skolars.

Travelling fans can see a good game of RL, but don’t need to miss the World Cup as they can see it on the big screen at the Skolars’ clubhouse.

We are now into the second half of the season, and yes we had a great time in the cup, and yes we smashed our attendance record twice, and yes we’ve gained many friends and admirers. 

But the harsh truth is that the Bears have only won once in the League this season, and below us are Hemel who have also won once, and West Wales Raiders who haven’t won at all. 

Above the Bears lie Saturday’s opponents London Skolars, who have won four games and drawn onegiving them nine points to Bears’ two. And then above the Skolars are North Wales Crusaders on eleven points.

At this moment in time, the Bears would be talked of in the same breath as Hemel and Raiders, but with home games coming up against these two teams and an away fixture also at Raiders, a realistic ambition for the second half of the season would be to catch up with the Skolars and Cru.

It is only a few weeks since the corresponding home fixture against the London outfit, and the game was agonisingly close, the Bears missing out 20-28, as they faded towards the end, so revenge would be sweet indeed.

19 man Squad vs London Skolars, Away

  1. Jason Bass

  2. Hayden Freeman

  3. Jacob Ogden

  4. Kam Pearce Paul

  5. Harry Chapman

  6. Liam Rice Wilson

  7. Ben Stead

  8. Chris Vitalini

  9. Zak Williams

  10. Mal Lloyd Jones

  11. Kieran Sherratt

  12. Chris Barratt ©

  13. Ash Bateman

  14. Brad Sheridan

  15. James Geurtjens

  16. Peter Ryan

  17. James Mason

  18. Errol Carter

  19. John Aldred

 

Bradford Bulls Match Report

Record attendance for Bears game at the Butts.

COVENTRY BEARS 12 BRADFORD BULLS 62

Mike Hyde, Butts Park Arena, Saturday

The band was playing, the craft beer was on tap, and the sun was shining brightly as a record crowd of 1,465 gathered to see the first visit of Bradford Bulls to Coventry’s Butts Park Arena.

The former World Champions eventually emerged as comfortable winners, but only after Coventry Bears took and held a surprise lead for a quarter of the match.

To the cheers and astonishment of the home fans, some of whom were first time attenders, a strong drive by Ashley Bateman paved the way for an offload to Kam Pearce-Paul who put the home side in front after just four minutes. Ben Stead added two extra points.

Bradford were soon attacking again, but clumsy handling in the sun and dust thwarted them on more occasions than even the Bears strong tackling. But then with sixteen minutes gone, Bulls’ Dane Chisholm cut through to put Ethan Ryan over the line.

Chisholm’s missed conversion meant that the home side still had the lead. The Bears fans still could not believe what was happening, but were grounded enough to just savour that twenty five minutes when their team were actually beating the erstwhile legends of Super League. 

The Bulls dominance in possession eventually paid off as George Milton wove his way through the defensive line. Elliott Minchella was the next over and Chisholm made no mistake with these conversions putting the score at 6-16. Coventry continued to attack until the half time hooter with Dan Gover coming close to narrowing the margin, but just missing out.

John Kear, the Bulls characterful coach would not be happy, and afterwards we found out he had given his side a ‘spraying’ in the dressing room!!!

And so, the Bulls came out a different team in the second half.

Within a minute of the restart, Ross Peltier was over the line, but the conversion failed. Then just two minutes later, a good run by Halafihi put Laithwaite in a great position to pierce the home defence. And two minutes after that, Bradford’s man of the match Minchella was over for another try. With Chisolm getting the last two kicks, the score was now 6-32 and the match surely looked over after that five minute blitz.

However, the Bears were in no mood to curl up and die, as Stead put the ball out to Chris Barratt who was in just the right position to get himself on the scoresheet. Stead’s kick brought the difference to 12-32, but this time it really was to be the end of the contest.

Joe Keyes broke away and sprinted over for a stunning try on 53 minutes, and the difference in fitness was now beginning to show.

After a moment’s hesitation by the Bears defence, Liam Johnson seized the loose ball, and he  bagged another try for the Bulls.

Hallas then led another blitz in the final ten minutes, scoring after a searing diagonal run.

Not to be outdone, his Bulls team-mate Minchella added his third of the afternoon. Hallas then added to his tally with a try straight from the kick off taken by the now weary Bears.

So, the Bulls go marching on, as expected.

But this was a great event and superb advertisement for Rugby League in the Midlands sun, and Bears fans, new and old, also went away happy.

 

 

Bears v Bulls Preview

Bears v Bulls preview

The long-awaited clash is now almost upon us.

Indeed the game, or rather the event looks set to be one of the highlights of an at times difficult season. There will be music, craft beers, tag rugby, and a big crowd all contributing to a carnival atmosphere in the Coventry sunshine.

But for eighty minutes all that matters is what is happening between the Bears and the Bulls-‘the battle of the beasts’ as it has been dubbed.

Bradford Bulls have taken League 1 by storm, in much the same way as Toronto and Toulouse did in the past two seasons. They sit at the top of the table two points clear of York, and have only lost once this season, at Workington, and even that was by just a single point.

Last week they beat Doncaster 56-14 at Odsal, and the week before they managed to beat Whitehaven 20-27. More worryingly, they have achieved high scores against Hemel Stags who they beat 0-68 down in Hertfordshire and they thrashed West Wales Raiders 124-0.

This makes the Bears 52-6 defeat in the corresponding away fixture look decidedly respectable.

So, Bulls are clear favourites, but how will the Bears fare at the Butts Park Arena?

After a shocking 98-6 defeat at Keighley, where everything that could go wrong did just that, the Bears have noticeably stabilised and started to improve with the addition of Dual registration Hull KR. 

The defeats have continued, but once again there are some encouraging signs, and team spirit is good. The aim is to be competitive, to tighten up in defence while keeping the attacking flair and variety of moves that Tom Tsang has coached them.

If the Bears play as they can for 80 minutes then Saturdays scoreline will be closer than many experts think.

Bears Squad From:

Ash Bateman

Ben Stead

Chris Barratt

Chris Vitalini

Dan Gover

Harry Chapman

Hayden Freeman

Jacob Ogden

James Mason

Jason Bass

Kameron Pearce Paul

Kieran Sherratt

Liam Rice Wilson

Malikhi Lloyd Jones

Paul Emmanuelli

Peter Ryan

Rhys Gant

Richie Hughes

Zak Williams

 

Bears v Bulls Live Pre Match Music Line Up

​LIVE MUSIC LINE UP FOR BEARS V BULLS

Alex Norman  

Alex Norman  

Before the match kicks off at Coventry Bears v Bradford Bulls we have a real treat in store for Home and travelling fans alike where a selection of fantastic local musicians kicking off the day!

The big name on the bill is singer-songwriter Alex Norman, who has played all over the world, has racked up thousands of views of his videos online and is currently working on his new album.

Alex is also no stranger to the Bears; in many ways, he grew up around the club. Alex’s dad Chris was one of the key players in setting up the Bears 20 years ago, and a young Alex was often found earning his keep as ballboy, kicking rugby balls around the field after matches and generally supporting the team home and away.

Although his attention on 30 June will be focused on rugby league, Alex has recently released an unofficial England song for this summer’s World Cup campaign - you can hear that, and more of his music, here: Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/AlexNormanUK/videos/1738901672870412/

Joining Alex Norman on the Battle of the Beasts bill is duo Brains For Breakfast, who will travelling from the Black Country equipped with guitar, ukulele, bass and vocals too.

The two-piece love taking the opportunity to sing songs about good times and make sweet sounds to the world and promise to be the perfect soundtrack to accompany the craft beers and food that will be on sale pitch side.

Brains for Breakfast 

Brains for Breakfast 

Brains for Breakfast can be found on Facebook and YouTube, where you can check out their most recent single.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1sCe4Mquoo

And the music doesn’t stop there! Fans at the Butts Park Arena will also be treated to the sounds of singer-guitarist Chrissie Duxson and colourful duo WAVE, whose guitars and vocals are provided by none other than Dave Musson, co-host of the Bear Necessities podcast.

Wave

Wave

​

From Chrissie, expect stunning vocals, intricate guitar playing and probably a cover or two of a grunge classic. As for WAVE, expect the unexpected - they’re normally found in much louder settings but also enjoy an acoustic session when the opportunity arises. Find them on Facebook.

The live music will run from 12.30-2.30pm, pitch side at the Butts Park Arena on Saturday 30 June and comes as part of your match ticket - come and spend a fantastic day!

Get your match tickets HERE  

How big are the Bradford Bulls

How big are the Bulls?

A brief history for Midlands fans.

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The build up to Saturday’s big game is well under way. The pre-match line-up of local musical talent is in place. Extra beer and food has been ordered. Tickets are selling fast and even the weather is going to be good.

But just how big an attraction are Bradford Bulls? Will they help us beat our record attendance set in the February friendly against Leeds?

Beyond any doubt they are one of the biggest names in Rugby League, but events off the field led to a rapid decline in their fortunes and they now find themselves in the third tier of the game rather than at the very top where they were for so many years.

Their plight is very similar to that of Glasgow Rangers whose team and travelling army of fans visited small grounds and small clubs for the first time as they worked their way back to the to the more familiar environment of the SPL.

Bradford Bulls started life as a Rugby League team at the inception of the sport in 1895, gaining the name Bradford Northern in 1907 to differentiate themselves from the round ball teams in Bradford.

In the thirties they moved to Odsal, the giant bowl of a stadium where they still play. The fact that at the time this was the second biggest stadium after Wembley says a lot about the club’s standing in world of sport, not just in Rugby League.

They won the Cup on several occasions and had a record crowd of 69,423 in 1953 in a third round tie against nearby Huddersfield, but bad times lay ahead and a decade later, just 324saw them play against Barrow in their cavernous stadium.Then they went out of business.

But such is the importance of the game in Bradford that they were reformed a year later.

Cup wins soon followed, and the Championship was theirs twoyears running in 1981 and 1982.

All this was in ‘the old days’ when Rugby League was a winter game, but it is the Summer era and Super League which defines Saturday’s opponents.

The name change to Bulls was the first indication of how they were embracing the modern game. Their branding and marketing were slick and modern, and matches at Odsal. became events with cheerleaders, music and entertainment. They were Super League Champions in 1997 and were the best supported club with average gates of over 15,000.

Success continued and 2002 saw them bearing Australian side Newcastle Knights to be crowned World Champions.

The next year saw a clean sweep as they collected all three domestic trophies; The Challenge Cup, The League Leaders Shield and the Challenge Cup.

Further World titles followed in 2004 and in 2006 and Bull-mania was at its peak,

However, ‘trouble at t’mill’ was looming as financial difficulties started to engulf the proud club and they entered administration in 2012.

In 2014 they were relegated from Super League and the downward spiral continued.

But Bradford still loves its team and they have survived, and now the team and their fans are having a ball, touring the country as they visit clubs such as the Bears.

Which brings us to this season, which they started at York City Knights with a York record crowd of over 4,281, half of whom were travelling Bulls fans. Asimilar number saw them recently at Newcastle in an evening game. But their fans also venture down south and over 500 made the journey down the M1 to see their heroes beat Hemel Hempstead,setting a club attendance recordand also scoring 68 points in the process.

Now managed by veteran coach John Kear, they are sitting at the top of League 1 having lost only one game this season, and few would bet against them moving into the Championship next year.

So, they are certainly big, very big in fact, but the best way to judge exactly how big is to come along, savour the atmosphere and see for yourself on Saturday. 

You can buy tickets here through Eventbrite just CLICK HERE