Central Coast Rugby Union: Inside the Lake Macquarie Roos’ rugby revival

The Lake Macquarie Roos have gone from being on the brink of collapse to rugby premiership contenders. Read about the club’s remarkable revival.

The Lake Macquarie Roos have continued their revival with an excellent start to the season. Picture: Brooke Westwood

They say a week is a long time in sport. So for the Lake Macquarie Roos, the last couple of years must have felt like a lifetime.

On the weekend the club continued its excellent start to the Central Coast Rugby Union season with a clean sweep of all four grades against Woy Woy.

It started with a tight 19-17 win in third grade before the women’s team put on a clinic to win 75-5. Second grade kept the good times rolling with a 54-7 thrashing before first grade edged out the Lions 25-24 in a thriller to cap off a perfect day for the club.

It leaves the Roos sitting in third place in firsts, seconds and the women’s competitions, with all three sides a genuine chance of challenging for their respective titles heading into the second half of the season.

“It’s really pleasing considering where we were as a club a few years ago,” said coach Neil McDonald. “A lot of people have done a lot of hard work to make the club successful again. There were some tough times so it’s been good to enjoy some wins.”

The Roos secured a clean sweep of all four grades against Woy Woy on the weekend. Picture: Brooke Westwood

Indeed, as anyone associated with the Roos knows, completing clean sweeps of rivals and challenging for premierships isn’t something to take for granted.

As recently as 2022 the club was in crisis.

Dwindling player numbers left the first grade side, then playing in the Hunter Rugby premier competition, on the end of some brutal scorelines.

After being hammered 113-0 by Wanderers early in the season, the Roos hit a particularly low point when they were demolished 172-5 by Hamilton.

A fortnight later a 96-0 thrashing at the hands of Merewether sealed their fate as the Hunter Rugby board made the decision to demote the club to the second-tier divisional competition for the remainder of the season.

This led to an even bigger drain on players as the Roos, established way back in 1929, were at serious risk of folding.

With the prospect of re-entering the Hunter’s premier competition looking unlikely, Lake Macquarie took the bold step of joining the Central Coast association for the 2023 season.

And while the first grade team finished second last in its debut season, things have improved since then. Firsts finished fifth last year and the women’s team won the premiership, while 2025 looms as the club’s most promising season on the Coast.

The Roos’ women's team won the 2024 premiership. Picture: Central Coast Rugby Union

Player recruitment and sound admin have obviously been key factors in the revival, with the return of fly-half Brendan Holliday and the signing of half a dozen Fijian recruits significantly strengthening the club’s playing stocks.

“With Brendan you get a lot of experience and he’s been excellent for us,” said McDonald.

“The new recruits have also been fantastic. They’re great footballers and that’s obviously good for the team but they are also really good people.

“They’re very happy and create a good atmosphere around the club. They’re often down there on the guitars singing. And that’s another thing about the culture of the club: we definitely want to win but you’ve got to have a good time as well.”

Indeed, while the addition of quality players has certainly played a big role in the revival, a shift in mentality has also been key.

“We’ve changed the culture around the club quite a bit,” said McDonald. “When I first came back the approach to training was very lackadaisical but we’ve increased the intensity at training, we’re getting good numbers and that’s translating into results.”

Some new recruits have made a big impact on the club. Picture: Brooke Westwood

The Roos can also call on some serious rugby expertise, with former Wallaby Gary Ella part of McDonald’s coaching staff.

“Gary moved up to Morisset a few years ago and then approached the club about getting involved. He’s fantastic to work with. Obviously with Gary you’ve got such a wealth of experience and he’s been excellent for the club.”

And while the players might clock up a few more kilometres for away games, the club isn’t regretting its decision to move down south one little bit.

“We’re really happy on the Central Coast and don’t have any plans to go back,” said McDonald. “The atmosphere is different. The clubs are all really welcoming, it’s very social and we’re really happy to be here.”

And while the Roos’ strong start to 2025 has rivals looking over their shoulders, the coach is staying grounded as the club looks to build in the back half of the season.

“Of course everyone wants to win the comp. But for us, we’re focused on trying to make the semi-finals and then going from there.”