Central Coast Rugby League: Results, wrap, talking points from round six
Despite sitting alone at the top, one team is staring down the barrel of a crisis, while the round six giant killers have revealed how they knocked off a competition favourite.
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One team has made a huge statement with victory over the competition’s form side during round six of the Rugby League Central Coast competition.
The result left just one team undefeated so far this season, while another broke its duck for 2024 with its first victory of the year.
Elsewhere, the new boys to the division have also continued their strong start to life on the Coast.
Catch up with some main talking points and a wrap of the action below.
TEAMS RETURN WITH A BANG
While it was good to get back-to-back weekends of footy in the division, for some teams round six was their first hitout after a long break.
Thanks to a combination of byes and washouts, Erina went into its clash with Wyong not having played for a month, while Woy Woy’s players remarkably hadn’t strapped on the boots for five weeks, with the team’s last game played way back on April 20.
“It was a pleasant surprise to be able to get out of the house and go to the football,” said Erina coach Dane Allen.
Nevertheless, the long break between games created some challenges for coaches trying to keep their players fit, with teams mixing it up between pool, gym and wrestling sessions.
“Trying to come up with alternate training option is tough,” said Allen. “With wet weather, if the weekend game is off it’s likely that you’re going to be off your ground until at least Thursday of the following week anyway, so to try and come up with alternative options for training has been a real tough job.”
He added: “Also the boys with the soft tissue injuries, trying to get them to test out the injuries has been a real tough slog as well. We erred on the side of caution and left a couple of blokes out who were probably 50-50 propositions just because we hadn’t seen them run enough.”
No team was affected as much as Woy Woy, with coach Blake Maclean treating the five-week break between games as a mini pre-season.
“We had three field sessions in five weeks off and we had a blowout on the Thursday prior and just got the ball in our hands last week. I knew we were going in underdone but it was a really good to hold on and get the win.”
The long lay-off didn’t seem to bother either side as Erina beat Wyong 30-18 and Woy Woy claimed the huge scalp of The Entrance with a 16-12 victory.
WOY WOY GETS PHYSICAL
Indeed, arguably the result of the round was Woy Woy’s victory over the previously undefeated Tigers at Edsacc.
After jumping out to a 10-0 lead the Roosters started to tire as a quick double saw The Entrance surge ahead 12-10, before a late try sealed the win for Woy Woy.
“It was a really physical game from both teams. It would have been a good game to watch. It was a bit nerve-racking for me but as a spectator it would have been a good one,” said Woy Woy coach Blake Maclean.
While The Entrance had gone into the game having scored 130 points and conceded just four in its first three games, Maclean said his team had a plan to try and unsettle the Tigers.
“They’ve obviously got good players but they just don’t make mistakes, they don’t give you much, they just keep grinding away.
“They’re like a professional outfit, they play like an NRL team in that they just don’t give you much and just keeping coming, so I thought the way we’d be able to get them was with the physicality and not letting them get into that rhythm. Especially in the first half it looked like it worked, we rattled them a bit and then got away with it in the end.”
And while praising his forwards, Maclean was also quick to point out the danger his side poses all over the park.
“We’re a strong pack but we get all of our points on the edges. We’ve got Andrew (Fifita) playing on one edge, Lima (Teaupa) playing on the other as back-rowers, our halves in Hemi (Knebel) and Jessi (O’Neill) are only young but they’re just getting better each game, and then our centres are our two strike players, Toni (Leighton Tali) and Kyle (Maclean) – they can just pull something out of nothing.
“It’s a cliche but our middles do the tough stuff for us and when they’re winning it makes the backs’ jobs a lot easier.”
FIFITA’S ‘COACHING’ GIG RAISES EYEBROWS
The football wasn’t the only thing catching people’s attention at Edsacc Oval, with eagle-eyed observers noticing a familiar name on the opposition team sheet.
The Entrance forward David Fifita was listed in the matchday guide as one of Woy Woy’s assistant coaches for the local first grade clash, which implied that he was on the Roosters’ bench for the 1:30pm kick-off against his own club, before lining up himself for the Tigers in the later game against South Newcastle in the Denton Cup.
While Fifita plays for The Entrance in the club’s Denton Cup side, which competes in the Newcastle Rugby League competition, he has strong family ties to Woy Woy, with brothers Andrew Fifita and Kyle McLean playing for the Roosters and fellow brother Blake McLean coaching the first grade side.
And while many were speculating that The Entrance’s prized recruit was passing on inside information to help to plot the downfall of his clubmates, Woy Woy coach Blake McLean said that wasn’t the case.
“He was helping us out in the pre-season and The Entrance got their nose out of joint so he hasn’t been able to help us too much since the season started, which is fair enough because they’re paying him.
“He was just a good voice down there for the boys and for me. He’s been around footy and it was just another head to bounce some ideas off. But he hasn’t done anything really since the start of the season,” said McLean.
“We just keep his name in the program list to get one into The Entrance, just to get under their skin,” he laughed.
ERINA DIGGING INTO THE CUPBOARD
The Entrance’s loss means that Erina is the only undefeated team left in the competition, with the Eagles winning all four of their games so far in 2024.
And while the young Eagles have done extremely well to see off Terrigal, Woy Woy, Kincumber and Wyong, coach Dane Allen said it hasn’t come without a price.
“We’ve already used 23 or 24 players so far this season with injuries and that sort of stuff. But to continue to get guys coming in to fill the void is great,” he said.
“I’m just starting to worry about how deep the cupboard is if we keep having to go there. But credit to the young blokes who keep coming in to do the job for us. Because it’s a longer season this year, it feels like a war of attrition and whoever can keep their players the healthiest is going to win the games. It’s a good testament to us at the moment with the depth we’ve got but I think it’s only a matter of time before that cupboard’s empty.”
While Erina has taken part in the past two grand finals, the loss of key players in the off-season, including the likes of Nick Newman and Noah Easton, and the big-name signings from others clubs has meant that the Eagles have somewhat flown under the radar in the opening stages of the season.
“It’s a refreshing change for us as a club,” said Allen.
“I think the expectation over the last couple of years has been one of dominance, where there’s talk of ‘we’ve got this bloke and got that bloke’. But there’s probably seven or eight blokes out of last year’s grand final starting team that aren’t there anymore. So we’ve had a mass exodus and there’s no one in the club, besides Scott Schreiber, who we’ve signed to play first grade necessarily. We’ve just gone to the well.”
TERRIGAL’S ‘BORING’ BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS
Round six was a breakthrough for Terrigal, who secured its first win of the season with a 20-8 win over Berkeley Vale.
After fading away in the second half to lose 38-8 to Erina in round one, the Sharks suffered narrow losses to Dora Creek (20-12) and Kincumber (32-18) to head into the game with three straight defeats.
And while noting that the team still has room for improvement, Terrigal captain-coach Dylan McKeown said that there were plenty of positives in his side’s performance.
“In both of those games (Dora Creek and Kincumber) it was just crucial errors in crucial periods that hurt us,” he said.
“If we had have cleaned that up both of those games could have easily gone our way, so we were in the battle for most of them but you’ve got to make those smart plays at the end of the game, which we did on the weekend but we’ve got to continue to do that.
“If we hold the ball and, it sounds so boring, complete sets, we’re going to be hard to beat on any day. But if you don’t do that you just give the opposition too many chances and they’ll take advantage of it.”
Meanwhile as a team that qualified for last year’s semi-finals on the back of a strong pack and brutal defence, McKeown said his side will look to take a similar approach again in 2024.
“We’ll be in a similar mould. We’ll be a grinding team and that’s why we’ve got to be patient and willing to go the 80 minutes. Our middle is always strong and we’ve got to rely on that pack.
“But it takes time as a team to trust each other and trust our defence, which we finally did on the weekend. Berkeley threw everything they had at us in the first 20 minutes and couldn’t score.”
HISTORY FOR WOODBERRY
It was a historic weekend in the lower grades as newcomers Woodberry recorded its first victory in the Central Coast division with a 16-10 win over Umina in the under-19s competition.
After a 60-0 flogging at the hands of Terrigal in the first game of the season, the Warriors bounced back well to get the two points in the three-tries-to-one victory.
In one of the biggest surprises of the season, Woodberry was a late inclusion in the Central Coast competition after the Newcastle and Hunter Rugby League under-19s competition fell apart just weeks before it was scheduled to begin.
RESSIES CLASHES GO DOWN TO THE WIRE
There were some nailbiting finishes in reserve grade over the weekend with two games going right down to the wire across the competition.
A late Brayden Cain field goal was enough to keep Erina’s perfect start to the season in tact with 19-18 victory over Wyong in a top of the table clash.
Meanwhile up at Dora Creek, the boot of Kincumber halfback Max Hong saw the Colts come from behind to defeat the Swampies 21-20.
Trailing by two points with two minutes remaining, Hong kicked a penalty goal from 30m out right in front to level things up before pulling off the matchwinning play with just 30 seconds remaining.
Once again receiving the ball 30m out from Dora Creek’s line, Hong - who goes by the nickname “never miss” - stepped inside an oncoming Swampies defender before steadying himself and slotting the field goal to not only win the game but also live up to his reputation.
BLOWOUTS GALORE IN LEAGUE TAG
It was a very different story in league tag, which saw a weekend of blowouts across the competition.
In quite a rare sight, all four losing teams were held to zero over the weekend.
The lopsided round was highlighted by The Entrance’s 60-0 thrashing of Umina and Terrigal’s 56-0 hammering of Berkeley Vale.
Elsewhere, Erina romped to a 26-0 win over Wyong and Toukley defeated Ourimbah 16-0.
ROUND SIX WRAP
There were some huge results during round six of the Central Coast Rugby League, with one side surprising the form team of the competition and another side chalking up its first win of the year.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
WOY WOY STUN TIGERS IN CLASSIC
Woy Woy has pulled off one of the biggest results of the season to date by downing The Entrance 16-12 in a thriller at Edsacc Oval.
Coming into the game after a five-week wet weather-induced break, the Roosters competed well with the previously undefeated Tigers’ forward pack in what was a physical clash. Woy Woy raced out to an early lead before The Entrance, on the back of dominant possession and field position surged back to take the lead, only for a late try to the Roosters sealing victory for the side.
“I’m really happy with the result. Not to sound cocky, but we went in pretty confident. I just thought we’d match up well with them with our physicality in our forwards and on our edges,” said Woy Woy coach Blake Maclean.
“Going in a bit underdone was a bit of a worry because we hadn’t had a game since round two against Erina. I hoped it wouldn’t get us in the back end of the game, which at one stage looked like happening. We were up to a 10-0 lead and we just didn’t get any ball in the second half.
“They are a good team, and if you keep giving penalties and cheap ball away they’re going to make you pay eventually. But it was really good that the boys dug deep. I think we only had one set of actual attacking footy in their end the whole second half and we ended up scoring at the end.”
Lining up against the form team of the competition, Woy Woy found itself under the pump early as dropped ball gave The Entrance repeat sets in good field position.
However the Roosters weathered the storm and went up the other end to score first, with tries to Andrew Fifita and Jake Hardman giving the side a 10-0 lead at halftime.
There were some big hits in what was a brutal game in the middle, and as the Woy Woy side tired The Entrance showed why it came into the game on top of the ladder as two quickfire tries to Logan Sipple and Max Trueman locked things up at 10-all.
A penalty goal to Tigers half Nick Newman put the side up by two, however as the clock ticked down a late try to halfback Jesse O’Neill secured the crucial four-point win for Woy Woy.
The victory was the Roosters’ second from what was just its third game of the season, while The Entrance now has a record of three wins and one loss from four.
Woy Woy 16 def The Entrance 12
ERINA MAINTAINS PERFECT RECORD
Erina has extended its unbeaten run to four games as the Eagles downed Wyong 30-18 at Morry Breen Oval.
Trailing by two points at halftime against the winless Roos, the Eagles clicked into gear with a dominant second half to ensure that they remain at the top of the table as the only undefeated side in the competition.
“We felt really comfortable when we were playing well and then I think our mistakes brought them back into the game,” said Erina coach Dane Allen. “So when we thankfully cut out our errors towards the back end, we kicked away from them.”
Despite a month-long break between games on account of the wet weather, Erina didn’t seem to show too many signs of rustiness early on as tries to Jack Frasca and Nathan Dwyer put the side up 10-0.
However some ill-discipline with the ball allowed Wyong back into the game, with tries to Mason Stottelaar and Oliver Young giving the young Roos a 12-10 lead at the break.
The Eagles struck again 10 minutes into the half to once again take the lead, before tries to Daniel Peters and Cameron Davies helped seal the match before a late consolation for the Roos.
While Wyong is still looking for its first win of the season, the victory leaves Erina with a record of four from four to kick off 2024. And despite sitting at the top of the table, Allen said his injury-ravaged team still has room for improvement heading into a round seven blockbuster with The Entrance this weekend.
“We’ve just got to worry about ourselves and try and eliminate those errors to avoid playing those teams back into the contest,” he said.
Erina 30 def Wyong 18
TERRIGAL CRACKS OPEN 2024 ACCOUNT
Terrigal has broken through for its first win of the season following a 20-8 victory over Berkeley Vale at Ted Doyle Oval.
A dominant second half helped the Sharks to the four-tries-to-two victory, which lifts the side off the bottom of the table.
“We certainly needed it. It was good to get the monkey off our back, so to speak, and get that first win of the year,” said Terrigal captain-coach Dylan McKeown. “It’s been a stop-start season, we’ve barely trained, haven’t got on the paddock much as a team which makes it hard for the continuity, but it’s good to get that win to settle things and now we can get on with the season.”
After an opening in which Terrigal was forced to defend multiple sets on its own line, the Sharks were in fact the first to open the scoring on 27 minutes, with a nice cut-out ball from five-eighth Jake Carlaw creating an overlap for the team to score in the corner.
The Sharks had done well to hold Berkeley Vale out for much of the half, however the Panthers struck with an excellent try just three minutes before the break.
About 40m out from the Sharks’ line, Berkeley Vale decided to run it on the last, with hooker PJ Tevaga combining well with five-eighth Kyle Beckett to put centre Tui Afualo into space. He then passed the ball to winger Jesse Abbott, who in turn found Beckett back on the inside to finish off a brilliant try and lock things up at 4-all at halftime.
While the Panthers broke through late in the first half, they gifted a golden opportunity to Terrigal early in the second with a knock-on deep in their own end.
With a full set on Berkeley Vale’s line, Terrigal shifted the ball to the left, with a Jake Ferguson cut-out ball putting Caydn Rosemeyer over in the corner.
The Sharks then surged further ahead 10 minutes later when hooker Ben Mooney went on a weaving run to wrestle his way over under the sticks and give his side a 14-4 lead.
And while Berkeley Vale prop Mark Tepu-Smith crashed over with 10 minutes to go to make it an eight-point ball game, a late Jarrod Dann try to put the game to bed and sealed Terrigal’s first victory of the season.
And while it has been a difficult start to the season for the Sharks, McKeown said he saw some positive signs in the victory.
“It takes time as a team to trust each other and trust our defence, which we finally did. Berkeley threw everything they had at us in the first 20 minutes and couldn’t score.
“So we built that trust in each other and that was a great stepping stone to have that trust on the defensive line and be willing to defend our errors, because you’re going to make them in every game. We finally did that, which we haven’t been doing in previous weeks, and that’s a good confidence-builder for the boys.”
Terrigal 20 def Berkeley Vale 8
DORA CREEK DOWN KINCUMBER
Dora Creek has chalked up maiden home win in the CCRL following a hard-fought 24-12 victory over Kincumber.
After getting out to an early lead the Swampies were forced to come from behind in the second half, with a late double to hooker Chris Marlborough ultimately proving the difference.
The home side opened the scoring in the 12th minute when a spread to the right and some nice hands put winger Luke Smith over in the corner.
In a game with plenty of dropped ball, the Swampies went further ahead six minutes before halftime when centre Cody Boyle burst through the line on the right edge to put his side up 10-0.
The Swampies had been good value for their lead but a mistake shortly after the kick-off handed Kincumber a golden opportunity to strike back and the Colts duly obliged, with centre Samuel Paul crossing to make it 10-6 at the break.
Dora Creek centre Boyle was a handful all afternoon and four minutes after the resumption of play he was pulled up just short of the line after making a break down the right.
While the Swampies went close, an error from the team coming out from its own end put it under pressure and Kincumber once again capitalised, with back-rower Jake Shearer showing plenty of strength to crash over for a try. Tyson Potger slotted the conversion to put the Colts up 12-10 early in the second half.
Kincumber had the momentum and was knocking on the door with a full set on Dora Creek’s line shortly after, however the Colts were also struggling with ball handling and a knock-on and then penalty suddenly helped the Swampies up field.
With a full set on the Colts’ line, Dora Creek hooker Chris Marlborough caught the markers napping with a dummy and ducked over to score. He then converted his own try to put his side up 16-12 with 22 minutes to go.
Errors continued to creep into the game as fatigue increased, with Marlborough once again taking advantage of some tired goal line defence to charge over from dummy-half seven minutes from time to seal the match.
The hooker then put the game beyond any date with a penalty goal with two minutes to go to cap off the 24-12 victory.
The win is Dora Creek’s second from three games in what has been a positive start to the club’s first season in the Central Coast division, while the result leaves Kincumber with a record of one win and three losses from its four games.
Dora Creek 24 def Kincumber 12
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