Top 10 of 2022: vote for the Central Coast’s biggest sporting stories of the year
There were a number of drought-breaking wins, international success stories and plenty of gold. We’ve taken a look back at the Central Coast’s top-10 sporting moments of the year.
Central Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Central Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
2022 was another massive year for sport on the Central Coast.
Locally, it was a year of fairy tales, with a number of teams breaking longstanding droughts to claim premiership glory.
Meanwhile the Commonwealth Games and other world championship events saw several of the Coast’s athletes test their skills against the world’s best, with some coming home with the ultimate glory.
We’ve taken a look at 10 of the biggest sporting stories of the year.
Don’t forget to have your say by voting in our poll below about what you think was the Central Coast’s biggest sporting moment of 2022.
Umina’s world champion
Umina ironwoman Jemma Smith certainly made up for the last couple of years of Covid-restricted competition, becoming the Central Coast’s newest world champion and creating a slice of history by taking out the ocean ski title at the Ocean Racing World Championships in Portugal.
The 23-year-old finished ahead of New Zealand’s 2019 world champion Danielle McKenzie to become the first Australian woman to win the world title, backing up her under 23 world championship she won back in 2019.
That wasn’t the only success for 2022, with Smith defending her Forster Ocean Classic title in the 20km race.
In recognition of her excellent performances, Smith was named the Central Coast Sportsperson of the Year at the Central Coast Sports Awards.
Looking ahead, Smith will be hoping to use her world championship success as a platform to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Hynes’ record-breaking Dally M win
In a sign that nice guys don’t always finish last, former Umina Beach Bunnies and Woy Woy Roosters junior Nicho Hynes took out rugby league’s highest individual honour by winning the 2022 Dally M Medal.
Securing a record 38-point haul in the count, Hynes polled ahead of NSW and Australia captain James Tedesco and Dragons’ skipper Ben Hunt to take home the prestigious prize.
It was the 26-year-old’s first season with Cronulla, helping the team to finish in second place with a record of 18 wins and six losses.
Perhaps even more remarkably, it was Hynes’ first full season playing at halfback in the NRL, having spent much of his career to date as a utility player, predominantly at fullback and five-eighth.
He was rewarded with his performances by being named 18th man for NSW in game one and two of this year’s State of Origin series.
Faith’s golden year
Few Central Coast athletes had a more successful year than Berkeley Vale’s Faith Nathan, who took home Commonwealth Games and World Cup gold with the Australian rugby sevens team.
The 22-year-old played in every game during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and starred with two tries in the 22-12 victory over Fiji in the gold medal match.
Nathan then carried this red hot form into the rugby sevens world cup, held in South Africa in September.
She led the way with a tournament-high nine tries as Australia backed up its success in Birmingham with another gold, which included a nailbiting 24-22 victory over arch rivals New Zealand in the final.
Toukley’s drought-breaking success
In one of the most heart-warming stories of the year, Toukley broke a 55-year drought to win its first ever first division rugby league grand final.
Going into the game as underdogs, Toukley blew minor premiers Erina off the park in the first half, racing out to a 20-0 lead, much to the delight of the boisterous Hawks faithful at Edsaac Oval.
Although coming under a barrage from the Eagles in the second half, Toukley’s defence held firm and the team held on for a historic 20-10 victory that sparked wild scenes of celebration as supporters rushed onto the field to celebrate with the squad.
Dawson’s back to back gold
Killarney Vale’s Matt Dawson became a dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist as Australia won gold in Birmingham.
The team went through the tournament undefeated, scoring 39 goals and conceding just four throughout the tournament.
In a sign of how dominant the team was, Australia beat India in the gold medal match 7-0.
It was a second-straight Commonwealth Games gold for the defender, who was part of the tournament-winning team on the Gold Coast four years ago.
Central Coast’s kings of the country
Central Coast’s representative rugby union side was crowned NSW country champions for the first time in 15 years after a dramatic victory in the country championships in Tamworth.
After beating Mid North Coast (47-5) and Far North Coast (39-26) in the opening rounds, Central Coast took on Central West in a thrilling final.
Central West were quicker out of the blocks, and ran out to 17-12 lead at half-time. However some excellent running rugby saw the Central Coast turn things around and lead 29-22 late in the game.
Just when it looked like success was on the cards, Central West scored a converted try after the full-time hooter to send the game to extra time.
Not to be heartbroken a second time, the Central Coast slotted a penalty goal to win the see-sawing 32-29 and claim the Caldwell Cup for the first time since 2007.
Killarney Vale’s Black Diamond success
In what was a year for drought-breaking wins, the Killarney Vale Bombers won their first flag in 15 years after taking out the Hunter Central Coast AFL’s Black Diamond Cup.
After an excellent season that saw the team lose just one game and claim the minor premiership, the Bombers took on local rivals Terrigal-Avoca in an all-Central Coast grand final, winning 71 points to 58 at Adelaide Street Oval to claim the club’s first premiership since 2007.
The team was led by star forward Tom Oosterhoff, who kicked more than 100 goals throughout the season to win the Elliot-Davey Medal 2022 as the Black Diamond league’s best and fairest.
The Bombers went close to doing the double, with Killarney Vale’s women’s team narrowly going down to Newcastle City 24 points to 21 in the women’s final.
Killarney Vale and Terrigal’s epic rivalry
The Black Diamond Cup was just won of multiple high-profile clashes between Killarney Vale and Terrigal across various sports throughout the course of the season.
While Bombers overcame the Panthers in the Aussie rules, it was a reversal in the Central Coast Football Premier League, with Terrigal coming from behind to beat Killarney District and claim back to back premierships.
In what was one of the matches of the season, Terrigal came back from a 3-1 deficit at half-time to claim the stunning 4-3 victory.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Killarney boys, who had won 19 games straight in what was a previously undefeated season.
Coast trio’s cycling success
They might have been representing NSW, but Central Coast cyclists Liliya Tatarinoff, Nicole Duncan and Maya Dillon ensured that the state’s success at the National Track Championships was well and truly made on the Coast.
The trio, who race for the Central Coast Cycling Club, won an incredible 15 medals between them in various women’s under 17 events over the course of the meet in Brisbane in March.
This included all three joining forces to win gold and set a new national record in the Team Sprint final against Victoria.
By the end of the meet, Tatarinoff had won an incredible five gold, while Duncan picked up four.
The Mariners at the World Cup
The Central Coast Mariners solidified its status as having one of the country’s best football development nurseries when three current players, plus a recently departed star, represented the Socceroos in the World Cup.
Goalkeeper Danny Vukovic, striker Jason Cummings and young gun Garang Kuol were among the current Mariners with the squad in Qatar, while defender Kye Rowles, who left the club in June to join Scottish club Hearts, was one of Australia’s best performers as the team made it through to the round of 16.
It was a further vindication of the Mariners’ excellent youth system, considered one of the best in the country, with Vukovic, Rowles and Kuol all coming through the club’s academy.
Don’t forget to vote below for what you think is the Central Coast’s biggest sporting moment of the year.
Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments if you think any other key moments should have made the list.
‘Clinical performance’: Clean sweep for Country Colts champs
With some brutal batting and quite brilliant bowling, one side has taken out the Country Colts championships in emphatic fashion.
U19 Country Champs: Team of the tournament
There are devastating batters, destructive quicks and classy tweakers. Find out who made the under-19 Country Championships team of the tournament.