Central Coast Rugby League: wrap, results, standouts from round 10
One stalwart broke an incredible record, while a huge derby returned to one of the Coast’s most iconic venues for the first time in nearly a decade during round 10 of the CCRL.
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It was a weekend of milestones in the Central Coast Rugby League with one stalwart breaking an incredible club record, while one of the competition’s favourite derbies returned to an iconic Coast venue for the first time in eight years.
Elsewhere, a couple of sides sounded off huge statements of intent with eye-catching performances, one team dug deep to hold off the competition leaders while concerns are building for a couple of strugglers after an alarming form slump.
Catch up with all the action and talking points from round 10 with the CCRL Set of Six.
1) Peninsula derby back at Umina
Normally the first grade game is the main attraction, but on Sunday at Col Gooley Field all eyes were on the open grade fixture as Umina Beach took on their local rivals Woy Woy.
The hill was packed to the rafters as the Bunnies hosted the Roosters in the peninsula derby for the first time in eight years.
Having last fielded a senior team in the Central Coast competition in 2015, the Bunnies returned to senior football this year as part of an agreement between Umina and Kincumber that saw the Bunnies take the Colts’ place in open grade.
While all other home games have been played at Kincumber’s home ground of MacKillop Oval, the clubs agreed to play this fixture at Umina’s home ground to allow for a big crowd for the big derby.
And if the fact that senior football was back at Col Gooley wasn’t good enough, the Bunnies overcame their rivals 14-6, much to the delight of the home fans.
2) Tigers dig deep
In a round of big blowouts and expected results, The Entrance pulled off the upset of the weekend by holding ladder leaders Toukley to a 10-all draw at Darren Kennedy Oval.
Already down on troops due to several injuries in the club, the Tigers showed plenty of resilience to come back from 10-0 down at halftime to claim a point from the game.
The draw takes The Entrance to 12 points, two behind third-placed Terrigal and two ahead of Wyong, with Tigers assistant coach Laurie Weir saying that the result could ultimately prove crucial in the race for the semi-finals.
“I’m always confident that whoever we play every week that we can beat them, because I’m sure on our day that when we play to our potential we can,” he said.
“But a lot of teams won’t pick up anything from Toukley, so to get that point could be the thing that just nudges us one spot up the ladder when it comes to semi-final time.”
But beyond the point on the competition ladder, Weir says the performance will help the team in other ways over the final month of the season.
“I think it’s going to give us a lot of confidence. When you’re behind in a game like that against a dominant team it takes a big effort to come back,” he said. “This game will give them the confidence to know that next time they’re under the pump they’re still in the game.”
3) Jake Fitz breaks Toukley record
He might have been disappointed with the result, but Toukley captain-coach Jake Fitzpatrick etched himself into Toukley history on Sunday by becoming the club’s most-capped first grade player.
Fitzpatrick played his 117th first grade game for the Hawks, eclipsing the 116 played by previous record-holder Sam Cogger.
“I’m a Toukley junior, I started playing at Toukley when I was four, so to still be here at 32 and breaking a record like that is pretty cool,” he said.
While he might well and truly be an established veteran of the local competition now, back in 2009 Fitzpatrick was a fresh-faced up and comer who was first given a chance in the top grade by then first grade coach Mark Burns.
“It was 2009 and we played Woy Woy at Toukley. We obviously got beat but I still remember it well,” said Fitzpatrick.
“My first year of first grade I was only 17 and we won four games all year. We’ve come a long way. It’s a great record to hold but the proudest thing for me is to see where the club was to where it is now – it’s crazy.”
Undoubtedly the highlight so far has been last year’s grand final, when Fitzpatrick led the team that broke a 55-year drought to win its first A-grade premiership.
And while he broke the appearances record over the weekend, the 32-year-old is confident of adding plenty more games to the tally.
“I still feel good. I think I struggled in the middle part of the year a little bit but every player at every club goes through that sort of stuff,” he said. “But the more the years go on the better my body feels at the moment.”
And just what is the secret to the Hawks’ captain’s longevity?
“It’s funny, I put a bit of s*** on the boys because they’re all into their healthy stuff and gym work and that, and I just say to them: ‘I haven’t been to the gym in 14 years, I eat junk food, drink beer and don’t get injured.’ So that might be the key.”
4) Wyong makes huge statement
As the race for the finals heats up Wyong made a huge statement of intent with a thumping 64-4 victory over Kincumber.
The 60-point margin is the largest so far this season, and takes the Roos to 10 competition points, two behind The Entrance in fourth place.
While the win was against the struggling Colts, the emphatic nature of the victory has nevertheless provided the team with a huge boost as it makes a run to the semi-finals.
The Roos’ points difference is now 66, just two behind the Tigers’ for-and-against record of 68, with two blockbuster matches this weekend crucial in the race for the top four.
The Entrance travel to Erina to take on the second-placed Eagles, Wyong will head to Duffys Road to play third-placed Terrigal.
5) Terrigal find their scoring boots
Speaking of the Sharks, they put in an impressive performance of their own on Sunday with a 56-0 drubbing of Berkeley Vale, in what is remarkably the competition’s second-biggest victory of the season.
While the team struggled in attack early in the season, Terrigal have certainly found their scoring boots in recent weeks after beating Kincumber 50-10 in round nine.
The victories have taken Terrigal’s for and against to 100, the third-highest in the competition, which may come in handy later in the season.
6) Concerning signs for strugglers
While the Roos and Sharks are hitting their stride, on the flip side, the weekend revealed more concerns about the competition’s bottom two teams Kincumber and Berkeley Vale, who once again suffered heavy defeats.
Both teams remain rooted to the bottom of the ladder with just one win from 10 games.
After being largely competitive over the first seven rounds of the season – which included losing by just two points to Terrigal in round two, defeating Woy Woy in round five and pushing Toukley and The Entrance during losses in rounds six and seven – Kincumber have slumped to three-straight heavy defeats, conceding 160 points in the last three weeks and scoring just 18.
This rounds off to an average 53-6 loss over the past three matches, with the club’s points differential now -249.
It is a similar story for the Panthers, who have also conceded 160 points over the past three matches and scored just 12 to leave their for-and-against record at -283.
Both sides will be looking to bounce back and build up some much needed confidence when they take on each other this Sunday at MacKillop Oval.
ROUND 10 WRAP
There was plenty of action during round 10 of the Central Coast Rugby League, with some incredible scorelines giving the scoreboard operator a lot to do over the weekend.
While a couple of teams ran riot with huge wins, another clawed its way back from a first half deficit to draw with the competition leaders.
Catch up with a slice of the action below.
Roos hammer the Colts
Wyong has continued its impressive return to form with a 64-4 drubbing of Kincumber at Col Gooley Field.
It was all one-way traffic as the Roos ran in an incredible 12 tries and Aaiden Wright kicked eight goals to record the biggest victory of the season.
After suffering back-to-back losses to Woy Woy and Toukley in rounds seven and eight, the win is Wyong’s second straight after last week’s impressive 30-18 victory over The Entrance.
The win takes fifth-placed Wyong to 10 competition points, just two behind the Tigers in fourth.
As for Kincumber, the loss marks another disappointing performance. After being competitive for most of the first seven weeks, the Colts have suffered three heavy defeats in a row, and will be hoping they can turn around their alarming form slump soon.
Wyong 64 def Kincumber 4
Sharks run riot against the Panthers
Wyong’s win wasn’t the only one-sided contest of the weekend, with Terrigal having a field day in its 56-0 victory over Berkeley Vale.
Caydn Rosemeyer and Max Mitchell both bagged doubles and Josh Moffitt kicked six goals as the Sharks ran in 11 tries in what was the second-highest winning margin of the season.
Other try scorers included Brandon Currie, Nacanieli Tuiqali, Daniel Lotu, Aymn Hamilton, Brock Laver, Eden Syme and Chad Goodhand.
The victory extends Terrigal’s unbeaten run to five games and keeps the Sharks in third place on the ladder on 14 points.
Meanwhile Berkeley Vale remain in eighth after another tough day at the office.
Terrigal 56 def Berkeley Vale 0
Hawks held by the Tigers in tense draw
An injury-depleted The Entrance has come back from two tries down to record a gutsy 10-all draw against competition leaders Toukley at Darren Kennedy Oval.
The Hawks took a 10-0 lead into the break before the Tigers helped clawed their way back into the contest.
After a tight opening period the hosts scored first through fullback Kiran Page before extending the lead to 10 when Kallin Adams crossed.
All seemed to be going according to the form guide until a couple of big moments put The Entrance back in the match.
Early in the second half a charge down from the Tigers set them off up field, with the ball going through several sets of hands before Lachlan Maddams scored on debut to make it 10-4.
The Tigers then levelled things up 10 minutes later when Jake Slee scored after the Hawks failed to clear up an attacking grubber kick.
With the scores level both sides pushed for the win in the dying stages, with The Entrance having a field-goal attempt charged down and Toukley kicking wide as they sought to take the two points.
After leading early and giving up their lead, Toukley captain-coach Jake Fitzpatrick said it was a frustrating day at the office.
“We were below average. I was pretty disappointed, to be honest,” he said. “Effort and energy – outstanding once again. Just our execution wasn’t where it needed to be, unfortunately.
“But we just have to move on and at the end of the day we still got away with a point.”
On the flip side, given that the team was struggling with injuries and had drafted in four or five players from the lower grades, The Entrance assistant coach Laurie Weir was pleased with his side’s effort.
“Considering Toukley’s coming first and they’re the premiers, it was a really good result,” he said. “We worked all week on the defensive side of our game because we knew we needed to excel in our defence if we were going to restrict the amount of points they scored.”
In particular, Weir was impressed with his side’s ability to fight back after going 10-0 down.
“We just dug deep and played hard for each other in the second half,” he said.
“It’s pretty significant. You could have asked people from around the clubs and before the game they would have thought that it (a draw) isn’t going to happen.
“But I noticed the confidence was there throughout the week, the confidence was there before the game, and the important thing is that when Toukley went to that 10-0 lead that the confidence didn’t drain out of us. If anything, we actually lifted.”
The win leaves Toukley in first position on 17 points, one point ahead of Erina, while The Entrance remain in fourth on 12, two clear of fifth-placed Wyong.
Toukley 10 drew with The Entrance 10
Eagles outgun Roosters in battle of the birds
Erina has kept the heat on Toukley at the top of the ladder with a 30-18 victory Woy Woy at Erina Oval.
Outside back Finn Douch scored a double and kicked five goals as the team bounced back from the last out defeat at the hands of Toukley.
In fact, goal kicking made the victory more comfortable for the Eagles, with Douch’s perfect day with the boot giving Erina a 12-point buffer despite scoring just one try more than the Roosters, who only kicked one from four.
Second-placed Erina closed the gap to competition leaders Toukley to just one point following the Hawks’ draw with The Entrance.
The win also ended Woy Woy’s three-game unbeaten run that had seen them defeat Berkeley Vale and Wyong and draw with Terrigal.
Erina 30 def Woy Woy 18
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