Charity rugby league event next Saturday

Ballyfermot Bears RLFC have chosen CanTeen Ireland as their 2012 charity of the year.

The club will host the Galway Tribesmen on August 11th in Markievicz Park in a challenge match, with all proceeds going to CanTeen.

CanTeen Ireland is a nationwide support group for young people who have or have had cancer, as well as their siblings and friends.

Founded in 1990, CanTeen runs several weekends away for young people each year. They also produces a newsletter and have a number of day meetings around Ireland.

Coordinator of CanTeen Ireland, Evelyn Griffith, expressed her thanks for being chosen as charity of the year. “We’re delighted, it’s really great to see.”

“Hopefully it’ll be a big event,” she continued, “best of luck to the lads playing- we’re certainly very grateful.”

http://ballyfermotbears.com/

http://www.canteen.ie/

Ballyfermot Bears v Athboy Longhorns preview

Manager Conor Kelly believes that this will be the week that Ballyfermot Bears reverse a two-game losing streak and draw on the spirit that saw them pick up their first point earlier this month.

But Kelly is acutely aware of the challenge that faces his team as they welcome Athboy to Markievicz Park this Saturday.

“This weekend is a massive game for us as we need to improve on our performances against Clondalkin and Portarlington” Kelly said.

“Athboy will be flying high after beating the Dublin City Exiles two weeks ago so we will be looking to bring them back down to earth. We have been working hard in training and it's time to bring that into a game situation.”

“Our form at the start of the season needs to return if we want to finish off strongly. In particular our defence needs to front up against Athboy on Saturday.”

The Bears have a full complement of players to pick from, pending any late withdrawals, so hopes are high that this can be another memorable day for Ballyer.

Click here for the Rugby League Ireland website.

© JL Pagano 2012

Historic first point for the Bears

It was an historic day for all involved in the Ballyfermot Bears as the club picked up its first ever league point thanks to a rallying 24-24 draw at home with the Tallaght Tigers.

Having been 14-6 down at half time, it looked like the Bears were set to lose by a big margin when they went down by another two tries.

Kevin O'Toole got the first try to give the Bears a lifeline just before half time and converted it, but Tallaght were still in pole position going into the break.

The early stages of the second half were also dominated by the visitors to Markievicz Park, with the Tigers going over twice more to bring the score to 24-4.

But the Bears showed their battling spirit by coming back in dramatic fashion. Conor Mills and Anthony McCreery both went over to set up a grandstand finish in the second home match of the season.

The introduction of Collie ‘Showtime’ Doyle proved to be telling, with Doyle scoring one try in the final three minutes to bring it to 24-20 and setting up another for McCreery in the dying seconds- with the Leinster player duly converting to bring the game level. 

Niall Farrell is PRO of Ballyfermont Bears RLFC

© JL Pagano 2012