‘Monkey off our back’: Warnervale Wildcats pull off historic feat

Struggling for air after two games of rugby, one local skipper dug deep to help his club pull off a historic feat in the Central Coast Rugby Union.

The Warnervale Wildcats pulled off a historic clean sweep during round three of the 2025 Central Coast Rugby Union competition. Picture: supplied

After an almighty drubbing and a horror start to 2025, the Warnervale Wildcats have flipped the script in a huge way with a historic clean sweep during round three of the Central Coast Rugby Union.

Kicking the home matchday off in style, the Wildcats’ third grade team put Woy Woy to the sword with a 52-0 thrashing. This was backed up by the women’s team breaking through for its first win of the season with a 41-7 triumph before reserve grade kept the good times rolling by defeating the Lions 36-6.

Then in what was a seesawing clash, the Wildcats opened their first grade account for 2025 with a thrilling 24-19 win to cap off the clean sweep.

“It was pretty good to get the monkey off our back,” said Warnervale president Guy Lumby.

“And to get all four grades to win, I think that’s a first for our club. We’ve had firsts, seconds and thirds win but we’ve never had the women win as well on the same day so that was a big thing. It was just good to see the whole club in winning form.”

The first grade side completed the clean sweep with a 24-19 win in the main game. Picture: supplied

With history having been made, the Wildcats ensured that the celebrations well and truly matched the achievement.

“The old boys were there and they were all over the moon,” said Lumby. “All the players were really happy and I’d say a few of them had sore heads the next day – and sore bodies.

“It was a great day for the club, especially to get wins in first grade and women’s. That’s the first time I’ve seen our women’s team play that well. And we had good numbers, which was good.”

Indeed, the victories were particularly well celebrated given the club’s tough start to the season.

The Wildcats had lost six of their opening eight games across all grades over the first two rounds, conceding a combined 283 points and scoring just 65. The low point came on the opening day of the season when the first grade side was thrashed 96-0 by defending premiers Terrigal.

“We had a slow start to the season,” said Warnervale head coach Mathew Piukala. “Coming up against the heavyweights of the competition in the first two rounds of the season was a bit daunting for us but it was good to come back after the bye week. We were able to reset and go again, and we managed to make history for the club with a clean sweep,” he added.

Second grade chalked up their second win of the season. Picture: supplied

“We’ve started to get some players back. During the first two rounds we were down on numbers across the club so we had guys doubling up, playing second grade and then first grade.”

And while the club had better player numbers across the board, Piukala was still forced to put in a captain’s knock for the ages in what was a rare personal clean sweep against Woy Woy.

“I actually played all three grades,” he said. “I played third grade then second grade. I wasn’t supposed to play first grade but we started getting a lot of injuries so I chucked on the jersey and went on for the last eight minutes. I was just trying to fill in the numbers.”

Mathew Piukala put in a huge effort for the Wildcats. Picture: supplied

While playing three games in one day is an incredible feat on any occasion, Piukala’s effort was almost superhuman given the circumstances.

“To be honest, after the second game I actually could really breathe,” he said. “I started going a bit white and was short of breath. I had to see our physio to get some airflow back into my lungs.

“I didn’t expect to go on for first grade but we were down on numbers and I thought, ‘Let’s just chuck on a jersey and see how we go.’ It’s a great club and I love putting my body on the line for the club and the boys and trying to get the job done.”

And while the club had a difficult opening to 2025, the wins across all grades have helped raise expectations for the year.

The Wildcats women’s side were very impressive in their win. Picture: supplied

“Last year we made the semis in all three men’s grades and I’d like to see us do the same this year,” said Lumby. “I’d also like to see the women get up there too and if they play like they did last week then they’ll have a chance.”

It’s a sentiment shared by the coach.

“We definitely want to play finals footy,” said Piukala. “Obviously the biggest goal is a premiership and we just work down from there. If we want to win a premiership we’ve got to make the finals and if we want to make the finals we’ve got to win games. We’re just taking it step by step.”