Back at Davies Park, the Magpies came up against a strong Bears outfit and were made to work hard all afternoon, eventually going down 26-20 in a match that had plenty of twists.
The Bears raced out to an early lead, Nivea Te Hokowhitu-Wynne opening the scoring in just the 4th minute and Zara Canfield adding the extras for 0-6. Tavarna Papalii crossed in the 15th minute to make it 0-10, and Memory Paitai grabbed her first just before the 19th minute to push the margin to 0-16. The Magpies needed a response, and they got one, April Ngatupuna finishing off a break in the 22nd minute to get the Magpies on the board at 4-16. The Bears hit back through Paitai again just before halftime, and with Canfield's boot doing the damage all afternoon, the Magpies went into the sheds down 6-20.
The second half was where the Magpies really started to click. Te Rina Pearse crossed in the 50th minute, then Chante Bates followed it up five minutes later, and suddenly the margin was just six points at 20-26 heading into the final stages. Kiarah Siauane got her side within touching distance late, but the Bears' first-half lead proved just enough to hold on, running out 26-20 winners.
Plenty to take from this one. The Magpies were down 0-20 at one stage and clawed their way right back into the contest, showing real character across the back end of the match. The building blocks are there, it's just about putting a full 70 minutes together. Onwards to next week.