TITANS winger Kevin Gordon says he felt his fitness level is near where he wants it to be after scoring two tries in Burleigh Bears’ 32-18 victory over the Redcliffe Dolphins on Sunday.
A dominant first half from the Burleigh Bears set up the Bears’ first win at Dolphin Oval in ten years.
Gordon and centre Jamie Dowling were only Titans players in action in the Intrust Super Cup over the weekend, with Tweed Heads Seagulls having a bye and several Burleigh-based Titans out injured.
Gordon, in his second game for the Bears after being sidelined for a fortnight with a nose injury, played the full 80 minutes, with Dowling also a good contributor for the entire match.
Gordon the first try of the match when he leapt high to take a bomb and his second came from a 95-metre intercept run.
“I scored an intercept in the second half and had to run 95 metres,” he said.
“It was a good first half, we had 19 from 19 completions. Redcliffe came out hard in the second half and we had a bit of a slump, but we managed to hold them off in the end.
“It was good to get a full 80 minutes my belt, my fitness is getting better every week.”
Bears coach Jim Lenihan was pleased with his side’s performance, despite the shaky second half.
“Redcliffe is a good scalp for us,” he said. “We started well, got a bit of a wobble in the second half but I was happy that the boys were able to find their way through that.
“Even though we’re winning a little bit ugly at the moment, we’re winning well over 80 minutes.”
Gordon opened the scoring for the Bears, scoring the first of his two tries with a terrific catch off a Todd Seymour bomb to score in the corner.
Just eight minutes later, fullback Tyler Chadburn scored off a classy team move. Chadburn then converted a pair of penalty goals to extend the lead before Jason Chan capped off a great start with a try shortly prior to half-time.
The Dolphins mounted a spirited comeback in the second half, but could not pin back the large half-time deficit. Burleigh put the contest to rest when Josh Ailaomai crossed in the last 15 minutes to cap off a good win for the Bears.
The victory was the third in a row for Burleigh who now sit in sixth position, just two points off first place Townsville.
Both feeder teams are at home this Sunday. The Bears play Easts Tigers at Pizzey Park (2pm kick-off) while the Seagulls take on Sunshine Coast at Piggabeen (3pm).
BURLEIGH BEARS 32 (Kevin Gordon 2, Tyler Chadburn, Jason Chan, Josh Ailaomai tries; Tyler Chadburn 6 goals) def REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS 18 (Joe Bond, Josh Beehag, Evander Cummins, Josh Benjamin tries; Oliver Regan goal) at Dolphin Oval.
Burleigh Bears: 1 Tyler Chadburn 18 Jamie Dowling 3 Dimitri Pelo 4 Connor Broadhurst 5 Kevin Gordon 6 Todd Seymour 7 Ryley Jacks 8 Mitch Sharp 9 Nafe Seluini 10 Pele Peletelese 11 Ayden Lee 12 Jason Chan 13 Darren Griffiths 14 Tom Rowles 15 Louis Fanene 16 Josh Ailaomai 19 Kyle McConnell
