Central Coast Rugby League: wrap, results, talking points from round three
The reason behind the success of one of the competition frontrunners has been laid bare, while one team hopes a ‘catapult’ can kickstart its season in the Central Coast RL.
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From year-long droughts being broken to historic wins, round three was full of highlights in the Central Coast Rugby League.
After a round one thrashing, one team pulled off an epic turnaround to record its first win in a long time, while a newcomer celebrated its introduction to the division in style.
Meanwhile an early frontrunner has emerged after a huge result against last year’s premiers.
Catch up with wrap of round three action, the biggest talking points as well as some of the best photos from Edsacc and Ted Doyle Oval below.
ROCK-SOLID DEFENCE DRIVING TIGERS
The Entrance certainly put the competition on notice after thumping back-to-back premiers Toukley 30-4 on Saturday.
It was a huge statement of intent from the Tigers, who kicked off their season with a 48-0 drubbing of Berkeley Vale in what has been a fantastic start to the season.
And while the team has scored 78 points in its first two games, coach Jarod Hamer said he’s happier with what his side has done at the other end of the field.
“Probably the most pleasing thing is that we’ve only conceded four points. So that’s one of the biggest focuses for us over the past couple of rounds, our defensive efforts,” he said.
“To hold the back-to-back premiers scoreless for more than the first 60 minutes is another massive achievement. I thought the boys defended really well.”
And while it’s been a blistering a blistering start, Hamer said his team has plenty of improvement in them.
“You don’t want to pick too much, the boys have won the two games they’ve played with good scorelines, but we’re still definitely not completing as high as we want to in possession, we’re still a fair bit off our target.”
TIGERS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
The Entrance’s first grade team isn’t the only side in the club to make a strong start, with the Tigers making headlines across the board.
Of the five teams playing in the local Central Coast competition, The Entrance have won nine of their 10 games this season, with the open grade side’s 24-10 loss to Toukley on the weekend the only defeat so far.
Echoing the exploits of the CCRL first grade team, the reserves – who beat Toukley 50-0 on Saturday – have scored 78 points and conceded just six in its first two games.
The women’s tackle team has scored 42 and conceded just four in its perfect start to the season, while not to be outdone, the league tag side has piled on an incredible 98 points and let in zero in an utterly dominant start to the year.
Add in the fact that the Denton Cup team has also won both of its two games, it makes for incredible reading.
The Entrance isn’t the only club to have gotten off to a flyer, with Erina winning 13 of its 15 games so far this season.
THE ‘CATAPULT’ FOR BERKELEY VALE’S SEASON
Berkeley Vale was another team to stun the competition in round three as the Panthers bounced back from a 48-0 thrashing at the hands of The Entrance to defeat Wyong 20-14 at Ted Doyle Oval.
“The one thing that relieves pressure is wins, and that didn’t look likely after round one, but there were some things to improve on and we did that,” said coach Michael Sullivan.
Indeed, while not too many would have tipped Berkeley Vale to take the points against Wyong, Sullivan said he had enough reason to believe his side was in with a shot.
“I was devastated with the (round one) result but not in a way that I wasn’t positive. I understand how strong The Entrance are going to be, I actually had them as the team to beat at the start of the year with how they’ve recruited in the Denton Cup and the players that have dropped back,” he said.
“There were a lot of basic errors and basic penalties (against The Entrance),” he added. “I feel a day game made a big difference for us as well. Being a new side, that greasy ball in round one made it really clunky to shift, and then again some of the tries we gave up was through pure fatigue and they’re things we can work on. They’re really easy fixes.”
Berkeley Vale frustrated the Roos with a much more controlled performance that saw the team take an early lead and then grind the game out.
“We were a lot more methodical, we simplified things against Wyong,” he said. “We managed the game well. Our halves, spine and forwards, for them not to make errors at crucial stages was pleasing.”
The victory was the team’s first since round four last year, and Sullivan said he hoped the confidence gained from it would lead to plenty more this season.
“It is a catapult for our year. We aren’t getting ahead of ourselves, it’s one win at the end of the day,” he said. “We need to build, it was good to get a win early but we obviously need a few more to be taken seriously in the competition.”
DORA CREEK STILL LEARNING THE ROPES
Dora Creek kicked off its inaugural season in the Central Coast division with an impressive 20-12 first-up win over Terrigal at Duffys Road.
Despite not having played for about a month thanks to a bye and wet weather, the Swampies came firing out of the blocks to race to a 20-0 lead at the break. And while they still comfortably took home the two points, coach David Hoban said the sloppy second half performance was somewhat of a wake-up call for his side.
“The whole playing group are confident that we’re going to be competitive. It’s just about making sure that we do all the little things right and play for 80 minutes.”
Indeed, the first game on the Coast for Dora Creek – who joined the CCRL from the Newcastle and Hunter A-grade competition – proved to be a learning exercise in more ways than one.
“We’re also still learning about some of the ruck interpretations in this competition, just around dominant tackles and the play-the-ball area, but that’ll come with more games and an understanding of how the rules are interpreted at this level,” said Hoban.
“We’ve got our season under way now and hopefully we get a clear run, but looking at the weather forecast for this weekend it’s not looking very good.”
ERINA’S YOUNG GUNS STEP UP
It might be strange given that they featured in the last two grand finals, but there was a sense of the unknown surrounding Erina coming into the 2024 season.
After having lost key players Nick Newman and Noah Easton in the off-season and not having made any many major signings, some footy observers were curious as to how the Eagles would fare in 2024.
However three rounds in, Erina sits alone at the top with a perfect record in what has been a fantastic start to the season.
After defeating Terrigal 38-8 in round one and then accounting for the highly fancied Woy Woy 14-4 in round two, the Eagles were clinical in their 24-0 defeat of Kincumber at MacKillop Oval on Sunday.
Much of the success has come down to the club’s young guns, who’ve so far shown that they can step up to the rigours of A-grade football.
Next up it’ll be Berkeley Vale, who are scheduled to travel to Erina Oval for their round four clash this Sunday.
ROUND THREE WRAP
It was a huge weekend of footy in the Central Coast Rugby League, with a couple of upsets and headline performances shaking up the competition.
Catch up with wrap of round three action and some of the best photos from Edsacc and Ted Doyle Oval below.
THE ENTRANCE MAKES HUGE STATEMENT
The Entrance has made a huge statement and sent a warning shot to the rest of the competition in the process after thumping back-to-back premiers Toukley 30-4 at EDSACC Oval.
Back-rower Zane Griffiths scored a double as the Tigers ran in six tries to one to wipe away last year’s premiers.
“It was a good result and I’m proud of the boys for what they did,” said coach Jarod Hamer.
“I think we matched them in the forwards. They’ve still got a lot of quality players and haven’t lost too many. But I think things just went our way: we just stuck to our processes and came out on top.
“Toukley dropped a bit of ball in areas where later in the year I don’t think they will, but we just matched them in the forwards, stuck to our game plan and it worked for us.”
The home side set up the victory with a dominant first half that saw it race out to an 18-0 lead, before closing out the game in the second half.
And as much as scoring 30 points against the competition’s best defensive side of recent years was impressive, the coach said he was more pleased with his team’s efforts without the ball.
“To hold the back-to-back premiers scoreless for more than the first 60 minutes is another massive achievement. I thought the boys defended really well.”
The win is the Tigers’ second in as many starts in what has been a very strong start to the season, while the result is a rare heavy defeat for the Hawks, who have a record of one from two to kick off the year.
The Entrance 30 defeated Toukley 4
DORA CREEK RECORD HISTORIC WIN
Dora Creek has capped off its historic first game in the Central Coast division in style, defeating Terrigal 20-12 at Duffys Road.
A blistering first-half, which saw the team race out to a 20-0 lead, laid the platform for the win and ensured that the Swampies’ first grade side got off to a winning start in their debut season in the competition.
“It was good to get the two points and finally play a game of football. We haven’t played since the day before Easter, for four and a half weeks, so it was good to get the win,” said coach David Hoban.
“It was a great day at Terrigal, they’re a fantastic club. They welcomed us in and were great to deal with.”
Despite not having played for a month thanks to an opening round bye and washed out round two fixture, Dora Creek showed no signs of rustiness early as the team piled on four first-half tries to blow the Sharks out of the water.
Winger Aaron Simon bagged a double, while fullback Mathew Simon and centre Cody Boyle also crossed for tries.
“We just built everything around our defence, first and foremost, and then when we got into good positions on the field we moved the ball well, got to the right spots and executed really well with our shapes,” said Hoban. “It was very pleasing to lead 20-0 at halftime, that’s for sure.”
However things changed in the second half as errors and a drop in intensity allowed Terrigal back into the match, with the Sharks scoring two late tries to bring the final score to 20-12.
“There were a lot of positives but it was a very disappointing second half: too many mistakes, completion rates were at 65 per cent and discipline probably let us down,” said Hoban. “I think we’re probably still learning in this comp that you need to play for 80 minutes.”
He added: “It’s a good start, we could be better but we’re happy to get the two points and we roll on to next week.”
The victory ensures the Swampies kick off their new era with a victory, while the loss is the Sharks’ second from as many starts in what has been a tough start to 2024.
Dora Creek 20 defeated Terrigal 12
BERKELEY VALE BREAKS 370-DAY DROUGHT
Berkeley Vale has bounced back from a disappointing round one loss and pulled off arguably the biggest upset of the season so far after defeating Wyong 20-14 at Ted Doyle Oval.
A fast start and impressive final 20 minutes was enough to secure victory against the Roos, who finished the game with 12 men after skipper Todd Lewis was sent from the field midway through the second half.
“We were a lot more methodical, we simplified things against Wyong, who had a lot of debutants but are a strong club and are always going to be hard to beat,” said Berkeley Vale coach Michael Sullivan.
“I think we were a lot better and any time you can beat a leagues club-backed side – someone identified that it had been 10 years since we beat Wyong – you take it.”
He added: “We just simplified things and used our strength, which is through the middle, and when we went for a shift we went on our terms.”
“Their completions were exceptional for a new squad, which contributed to us getting some points on the board.”
After a 48-0 loss to The Entrance in their first game, the Panthers started with much greater intensity against a Wyong team featuring five debutants and took the lead early through fullback Logen Dillon.
“We had to be physical early and got points on the board early, which gave us a lot of confidence. Scoreboard pressure is huge,” said Sullivan.
The team led 10-4 at halftime, and while an error after the break directly led to a Wyong try, Berkeley Vale hit back to extend the team’s lead and ultimately hold on for the side’s first win in more than a year.
And while Wyong were reduced to 12 for the last quarter of the game, Sullivan said he was pleased with how his side closed out the match against the fast-finishing Roos.
“That was probably the most impressive thing: our last 20 minutes when they were coming home hard, we had fatigue and sometimes you can drop your head after an error but the guys regrouped, got points back on the board and then completed sets at the end of the game.
“We made it a real contest where they had to take the game off us, whereas in the past we probably have taken the game away from ourselves.”
The victory is the Panthers’ first since April 23 last year, in round four of the 2023 season, and is a huge shot in the arm for the club after a tough opening game.
Meanwhile the loss extends Wyong’s tough start to their campaign, with the side winless after their opening two games.
Berkeley Vale 20 defeated Wyong 14
ERINA KEEPS ROLLING ON
Erina has continued its strong start to the season and maintained its spot at the top of the table after a comprehensive 24-0 victory over Kincumber at MacKillop Oval.
The Eagles ran in four unanswered tries against the Colts, with Riley Burke, Tom Peters, Jack Frasca and Nathan Dwyer all crossing the stripe.
After a fairly even opening, the Eagles broke the deadlock 25 minutes in when a nice spread to the right and sharp work from five-eighth Toby Elliot put Riley Burke over in the corner.
Erina started to take control of the contest and went further ahead on the stroke of halftime when interchange hooker Peters took advantage of some tired defenders to score from dummy-half and give his side a 10-0 lead at the break.
A penalty goal early in the second half pushed the lead out to 12, and then when Peters made another break down field the Eagles capitalised on good field position to put Frasca over and go up 16-0.
The Colts were reduced to 12 men on 65 minutes after a player was sent to the sin bin for a scuffle in the in-goal area, with Dwyer putting the icing on the cake with a try on the left edge eight minutes from time to wrap up the win.
It was another dominant performance from the Erina, who kicked off the season with a 38-8 victory over Terrigal and then accounted for Woy Woy 16-4 in round two.
Given that the team is the only one to have played all three games so far this season, the two points leaves the Eagles clear at the top on six points.
Erina 24 defeated Kincumber 0
PHOTO GALLERY
Berkeley Vale v Wyong – first grade at Ted Doyle Oval
The Entrance v Toukley – first grade at Edsacc Oval
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