The side went down 38-18 after putting in a strong fight, making the Mungoes work hard for their points.

CSU co-coach Billy Dickinson, who again steered the Mungoes superbly from halfback, praised the efforts of his pack as they muscled up well against the physical Bears.

He knows they have also been key in the Mungoes' current winning streak and will be crucial as they look to build on their momentum.

"Our forwards are the best on the team, they carry us every week, they're great. They help to make us look so much better out in the backs," Dickinson said.

"They're playing great, we are stoked with that win and very pleased with the way things are headed at the moment. We are looking forward to finals footy."

While there was a minute's silence before kick-off on Saturday as a mark of respect to the late Stan Kowalski and former Kandos player Matthew Hundy, once the whistle blew that calm was replaced by intensity.

A fired up Mungoes side struck early - opening their account with just over 90 seconds gone - as the forwards carried the hosts up field then Dickinson stepped his way through the Bears defence.

The Bears also showed muscle when they hit back in the ninth minute, centre Michael Parsons diving over in the right corner. Blake Collins' sideline conversion locked it up at 6-all.

The wrestle for the lead continued as Mungoes five-eighth Joe Coady exploited an overlap on the left flank while Bears hooker Nathan Annetts barged over following a CSU knock-on.

But it was the Mungoes who went to the sheds with the lead as a Blake Schaefer fend helped him cross and Dickinson converted to make it 16-12.

That try not only stung the Bears on the scoreboard, but left them a man short as a resulting scuffle led Daniel Coleman being sin-binned.

Seven minutes into the second half CSU's Jamie Crawford and Lithgow's Ethan Parsons were also sin-binned, but at the same time the Mungoes kept the scoreboard ticking over.

Josh Byron benefited from a nice Dickinson pass as he crossed on the right edge and when second rower Matt Knight steamed over, the Mungoes held a 28-12 lead with 17 minutes remaining.

All the while Kennedy, Madden and Ferguson made good yards.

Read more:

Two more CSU tries in the space of four minutes - Byron bagging his second while Sam Groom added the other - sealed a Mungoes victory.

"We scored some good tries and showed what happens when you stick to good footy," Dickinson said.

Bears coach Blake Collins said to only be beat 20 points by CSU was a big statement for the team.

"They're undefeated, so I think we can take away a few positives from the game.

"I'm proud of all the boys, we defended really well but it's the silly penalties that cost us in the end," he said.

Collins said he had the team to win, there was just room for improvement.

"We were in this game to win it, we just left our run too late, we need to work on these little things and play the whole 70 minutes of football.

"We have to get those mistakes out, especially those fifth tackle penalties we gave at least eight of those away and that's enough to tire any team out in a game," he said.

Standout players for the Bears were Jayden Whalan who had a strong tackling game with the likes of Ben Beecroft and Nic Tomazin who show up each week like tackling machines.

Collins said he was positive the Bears could snag up a few more wins and come into the semis.

"Who knows it could even be an upset for the season, it's there for the taking but depends on how bad our boys want it," he said.

Players player went to Cody Duncan who also scooped up three crowd points.

Coaches award and two points went to Michael Parsons and one point went to Blake Collins.

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Lithgow Mercury. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.