Denton Engineering Cup: The Entrance and Wyong in action during round five

There was late drama as Wyong was involved in a thriller decided after the siren, while The Entrance broke a club record with a huge result during round five of the Denton Cup.

The Entrance broke a club record in its huge victory over Kurri. Picture: Sue Graham

While the wet weather resulted in the cancellation of the local Central Coast competition, both Wyong and The Entrance were in action during round five of the Newcastle Rugby League Denton Engineering Cup.

There was plenty of action as the Roos were involved in a thriller that had a final twist after the bell.

Meanwhile, fresh from a bye, The Entrance showed absolutely no signs of rustiness with a stunning record-breaking victory for the club.

Catch up with a wrap of the action below.

WYONG GO DOWN IN THRILLER

Wyong Roos went down in a thriller to South Newcastle. Picture: Sue Graham

A missed penalty goal attempt after the bell has seen Wyong go down 18-16 to South Newcastle in a thrilling clash at Morry Breen Oval.

Trailing by two with less than a minute remaining the clock, the Roos thought they had been given a chance to snatch a point after Souths were penalised for picking up a loose ball in an offside position on the back of a last-ditch Bayden Searle bomb.

Faced with the chance to level things up after the bell with an attempt 15m out and 20m in from touch, Searle put his kick wide to hand Souths a dramatic two-point win.

It was a nailbiting finish to an exciting clash that ended three tries apiece and saw both sides lose two men to the sin bin at different stages.

Wyong started the brighter of the two sides and it was centre Quintin Fui who opened the scoring in the seventh minute, showing excellent anticipation to intercept a pass from Souths halfback Sam Clune and run 30m to score in the corner.

There was plenty of feeling in the contest and it bubbled over on the quarter-hour mark when Wyong winger Malie-J Townsend and Souths’ Frank-Paul Nu’uausala were both sent to the sin bin for a scuffle in the play-the-ball.

The Roos received the penalty for the incident and took advantage shortly after, with Fui once again showing his skill by leaping high to take a clever left-foot chip kick from Max Buderus to score and put his side up 10-0.

While Wyong was in control, an error in trying to clean up an attacking Souths chip kick gave last year’s beaten grand finalists a golden opportunity to hit back on the half-hour mark.

Back on the field, Nu’uausala showed all the strength and determination that earned him a 12-year NRL career to reach out to score.

Then when Souths fullback Reeve Howard put centre Jhett Butler through a gap five minutes later the Lions were suddenly up 12-10 at the break.

While Wyong had been on top for much of the first half, the unbeaten Lions had proved ruthless in attack and this continued early in the second, with a penalty for taking halfback Clune out after kicking ball giving Souths excellent field position.

The Lions then took full advantage when Jack Welsh crossed on the right edge to put his up 16-10 in the 49th minute.

Four minutes later the Roos were penalised for breaking too quickly from marker and Mitch Black kicked the penalty goal to put Souths up by eight.

Jack Stringer in action for Wyong. Picture: Sue Graham

Wyong pushed desperately for a try and Jake O’Meley went agonisingly close to scoring from a Mitch Williams grubber midway through the half, however a Souths hand won the race to the ball and knocked it dead.

Emotions then boiled over again with 11 minutes to go when Souths interchange forward Lochlen Piper hit Wyong’s Sione Vaenuku with an open-palmed hit to the face. The big back-rower retaliated with a hit of his own and both were sent to the sin bin for a rest.

The Roos kept pushing and were finally rewarded when Tarnae Mahon crashed over on the right edge with five minutes to go. Searle drained the conversion from close to the sideline to bring things back to 18-16 and set up a grandstand finish.

And while a late heave to the sky from Searle and resulting penalty gave Wyong the chance to lock things up after the bell, his penalty attempt ultimately went wide, leaving Souths undefeated after three games and Wyong with a record of two wins and three losses from its five matches.

South Newcastle 18 defeated Wyong 16

THE ENTRANCE CREATES HISTORY WITH DEMOLITION

Tjaden McLean bagged a hat-trick for the Tigers in the big win. Picture: Sue Graham

The Entrance has created a slice of history with the club’s biggest ever win in the Newcastle Rugby League after hammering Kurri Kurri 62-10 at Maitland Sportsground.

Interchange hooker Tjaden McLean bagged a hat-trick while winger Allan McGrath and prop Myles Lee-Taueli both scored doubles as the Tigers ran in 12 tries to two over the hapless Bulldogs.

The 52-point victory is the club’s biggest since moving to the Newcastle competition in 2021, eclipsing the previous record margin of 50 points, achieved in the 54-4 win over Lakes United in The Entrance’s debut season in the grade.

The victory sees the Tigers, with a record of three wins from four games, stay in touch with the leaders on eight points, just one behind frontrunner Cessnock.

In a game in which they welcomed back injured trio Brendan O’Hagan, Grant Nelson and Tony Pellow, the Tigers started brightly with lock Ryan Doherty putting Lee-Taueli through a gap and then backing up on the inside to post the first try of the match after just five minutes.

The Entrance was finding plenty of success through the middle as Blake Austin put fullback Pellow through a gap to score the team’s second in just the eighth minute.

Then when McGrath crossed in the corner for the Tigers’ third, the side was up 14-0 after 12 just minutes.

Allan McGrath bagged a double. Picture: Sue Graham

In a sign of The Entrance’s dominance, Kurri had only been tackled with the ball once during the time that their opponents put on three tries. The Bulldogs badly needed a spark and found it through winger Liam Dalibozek, who intercepted an Austin cut-out ball and ran 65m to score in the corner.

Sadly for Kurri that proved to be just a minor reprieve, with Lee-Taueli, Austin, Ryan Shaw and McLean all crossing to give the side a 36-4 lead at halftime.

It was very much a similar story after the break, with Lee-Taueli crashing over for his second within three minutes of the restart and McGrath capping off his double on the 50-minute mark.

Brendan O’Hagan skipped through for a try on his return and then when McLean completed his hat-trick, the Tigers had scored a remarkable 62 points in 63 minutes.

While some all-time records were starting to look like they were in danger, Kurri rallied and posted a late consolation try to ensure the game finished 62-10.

The Entrance 62 defeated Kurri Kurri 10