Central Coast Rugby League: Erina Eagles meet Toukley Hawks in top-of-the-table clash

One’s a young, fast team piling on the points, the other is a battle-hardened defensive powerhouse. Find out how Erina and Toukley are preparing for their top-of-the-table clash.

It will be a case of the best attack versus the best defence this Sunday when Erina and Toukley face off in a top-of-the-table blockbuster at Erina Oval.

Both sides will come into the round nine clash in equal first position on 14 points, with a record of seven wins and one loss so far this season, three clear of third-place The Entrance.

And while they have identical records and are both very good football teams, that’s about where the similarities stop between the two sides.

“It’s a real tale of two very different footy sides: we’re a very small side, quite fast; while they’re a big side, very bash and barge,” said Erina coach Dane Allen.

“Our attack has been great this year and Toukley’s defence has been their focal point, so it’ll be a good contest this weekend.”

Jack Weir in action for Erina against Terrigal in round six. Picture: Jodie Ward

Indeed, the Eagles’ young guns have been running riot, seemingly scoring points for fun this year.

The team is by far the best attacking force in the competition, racking up an incredible 280 points from its eight games, at an average of 35 per match. Remarkably, they’ve scored 82 more than the second-best attacking side, The Entrance.

Toukley’s defence has been excellent so far this season. Picture: Sue Graham

Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, Toukley is an experienced, battle-hardened defensive powerhouse that has proven to be incredibly hard to crack.

The defending premiers have been comfortably the best defensive side in 2023, conceding just 82 points so far, at 10.25 per game – 36 points better than the next-best defensive teams Erina and The Entrance.

It’s a trend that hasn’t been lost on the coaches.

“It’s a tale of two stats there: they’re winning with the points and we’re winning with the defence,” said Toukley captain-coach Jake Fitzpatrick.

“Erina is running away with their games, whereas we’re sort of in a bit of a dogfight.”

Big guns and danger men

For Erina, while skipper and fullback Lincoln Tubridy has been excellent, and outside backs Finn Douch and Josh Martin have both been impressive, it is arguably a rookie in the form of winger Riley Burke who has been the Eagles’ most damaging player.

After making his first grade debut in round two, the junior rep star has scored an incredible 12 tries in seven games to top the try-scoring chart, including nine in the last three.

“He’s got a very good football sense and knows when a try’s about to be scored,” said Allen. “He seems to put himself in very good positions and is one of those young guys where the bounce of the ball seems to find him. But the kid is a freak, he’s a great talent and we’re very lucky to have him on our side.”

Riley Burke has been in incredible try-scoring form for the Eagles. Picture: Jodie Ward

With so much youth and attacking flair in the Eagles’ side, Toukley skipper Fitzpatrick says the Hawks will need to match them with enthusiasm on Sunday if they are to come away with the two points.

“They’ve got a lot of young outside backs that are full of energy. Whenever you’ve got young kids full of energy you’re always gonna put points on the board,” he said.

“They’ve also got a pretty experienced pack with Benny Stevens and Noah Easton there, so I just feel like we’ve got to be consistent in our energy and make sure we’re matching them in that department.”

Blake Carter has been a standout for Toukley. Picture: Sue Graham

As for the Hawks, their forwards have been the team’s driving force this year.

Led by middles Blake Carter and Brady Barwick, the Toukley pack has laid the platform for their victories by bullying the opposition through the middle – something Erina coach Allen is well and truly aware of ahead of Sunday’s game.

“Their middle third of the field is their strength, and we’ll need to match them there,” he said.

“We’ve got to try and we’ve got to try and slow them down in the middle so we can get the ball to our speedy blokes out wide.”

Lessons learned

The clash will be the first between the sides since round two, when Toukley prevailed 18-10 in a tight encounter at Darren Kennedy Oval.

And while the Hawks have had the better of the last two encounters – also winning 20-10 in last year’s grand final – Erina is arguably coming into the match as the form team in the competition, having won six games straight and failing to score 30 points just once – in their 28-16 victory over The Entrance in round four – over that period.

“We played Toukley in round two and we’ve learned a lot from that game,” said Allen.

“We’ve changed a lot of our structures so we’d be better the next time we came up against them, and thankfully for us they’ve worked really well against other opposition, so it’ll be interesting to see how we go this weekend.”

Erina has changed its structures since losing to the Hawks in round two. Picture: Jodie Ward

As for Toukley, while they have an excellent record, the team tasted its first defeat a fortnight ago against Terrigal, with Fitzpatrick lamenting his side’s tendency to drift in and out of games.

“The Terrigal game was a perfect example of that,” he said. “Not taking anything away from Terrigal, but we were up 12-0 and then just fell into that inconsistency that I’ve been talking about.”

Brady Barwick has been another one of Toukley’s star performers this season. Picture: Sue Graham

However the team bounced back in style with an impressive 28-4 victory over Wyong in the local derby last Sunday.

“On the weekend I felt like we put a good 60/70-minute performance in, which was good, and the result shows that we were playing a lot better there,” he said.

“I still feel like we’re not quite where we need to be, but I think we can take a bit out of the weekend, because I think it was probably our best game of the year.”

And while there is still quite a lot of football to be played before the end of the season, Sunday’s clash could well be an indication of things to come as the teams look towards the finals.

“Early on in the year sides are trying to find their feet, and then obviously in that middle period some sides get plagued with injuries,” said Fitzpatrick.

“As we’re coming into the back end of the year we’re starting to see the best of each side, so I think this weekend will be a good test to see where we’re at.”