Central Coast Rugby Union: Huge comeback, stunning result sets up final round shootout

After giving up a big lead, Avoca looked done for. But the Sharks pulled off a remarkable comeback to set up a huge final round of the season in the Central Coast Rugby Union.

The Avoca Beach Sharks kept their finals hopes alive with a stunning comeback in round 14. Picture: Supplied

The Central Coast Rugby Union is set for a blockbuster final round of the regular season that will decide both the minor premiership and who makes the top four after a couple of crucial results over the weekend.

One of the big results from round 14 came up at Walters Park, where Avoca Beach came from behind to beat Lake Macquarie 33-26 in a must-win clash to keep its finals hopes alive.

After giving up a big lead early, the Sharks showed remarkable ticker to work their way back into the game and take the all-important win.

“I was hugely impressed with the boys, especially because we gave them a 19-point head start, where they capitalised well off the back of a few of our errors,” said Avoca coach Mitch Magrath.

“So the boys made it pretty hard for themselves but we cut the errors out, starting playing to our structures, dug in and played well. I was really, really impressed with them.”

He added: “We took the bus up there so the boys had a pretty fun time on the bus back.”

Given Warnervale’s 55-7 win over Gosford-Kariong, anything less than a win would have spelled the end for Avoca’s finals hopes.

The Sharks remain just three points behind the fourth-placed Wildcats, setting up a winner-takes-all contest against Warnervale this Saturday in the rescheduled round six clash at Woongarrah Sports Field to see who will play finals football this year.

The game comes just a fortnight after Warnervale edged out Avoca 46-38 in round 13, with Magrath confident his team will be able to deal with the occasion.

“The way we’ve treated it since Warnervale knocked us off is that every week has really been a grand final for us because the moment you lose it’s the season done and no chance of making the semis,” he said.

“We won’t be hyping it up too much, it’s just another week. We’ve just got to play our structures, stick to what we know and get the job done.”

In what has been somewhat of a trend in recent times, the Sharks coughed up a healthy lead against Warnervale in their round 13 clash before launching a stirring comeback but ultimately falling just short.

Ahead of Saturday’s game Magrath said his side will focus on the fundamentals in order to get over the line.

“Tackling in the first 20 minutes helps,” he laughed. “We didn’t do a whole lot of tacking in the first 20 the other week and they did get off to a 20-point headstart before we got into the game.

“Again, they just capitalised on errors we made, so if we can cut those errors out at the start it’ll put us in a good position to knock them off.”

Ourimbah handed Terrigal its first loss in two years to keep the race for the minor premiership alive. Picture: Scott Gardiner Photography

The clash at Woongarrah is just one of a string of crucial fixtures that could shake up the final standings.

Remarkably the minor premiership is still up for grabs after Ourimbah handed Terrigal its first defeat in two years with a thrilling 25-21 win at The Haven.

The result sees the Razorbacks move to just three points behind the Trojans ahead of the final game of the season.

While Ourimbah takes on sixth-place Woy Woy, Terrigal faces a tricky clash in the form of third-placed Lake Macquarie up at Walters Park.

If the Trojans, who before Saturday hadn’t lost a game since 2023, do slip up again, it could remarkably hand the minor premiership over to their rivals ahead of the semi-finals.

In the other round 14 game, Woy Woy recorded its fifth win of the season with a 55-19 win over Northlakes/The Bay.