Newcastle Rugby League: Macquarie upsets Central, Cessnock knock out Souths

After last season’s Covid interruptions, the Newcastle Rugby League finals series returned with a bang over the weekend. Here’s a wrap of week one of the finals.

Week one of the Newcastle Rugby League finals series kicked off over the weekend, with the Central Newcastle Butcher Boys hosting Macquarie Scorpions in the qualifying final and Cessnock Goannas taking on South Newcastle Lions in the elimination final.

Here’s a wrap of the stars, standouts and results.

Macquarie Scorpions 36 d Central Newcastle Butcher Boys 18 at St John Oval

Macquarie tore up the form guide in its qualifying final against Central Newcastle on Saturday, leading from the front to end the Butcher Boys’ 10-match unbeaten run in a game that saw Central at one stage reduced to 11 men.

Fullback Kerrod Holland starred for the Scorpions, setting up three tries and kicking six goals to seal the victory.

Macquarie, who finished the regular season in third place, were quick out of the blocks and led 18-6 before second-placed Central had two players sent from the field either side of half time.

Macquarie's Connor Kirkwood and Liam Higgins tackle a Central Newcastle player during the Scorpions' elimination final win at St John Oval, Charlestown, on August 20, 2022. Photo: Jenny Sharkey Pead

In the 37th minute Central backrower Randall Briggs was sent off for a high shot on Kyle Kingston that saw play halted for more than five minutes while Kingston was stretchered from the field.

Then, just after the break, the Butcher Boys were temporarily reduced to 11 when veteran halfback Luke Walsh was sent for 10 minutes in the sin bin for back chat.

Despite being down on numbers, Central dug deep to level the scores at 18-all through tries to Cameron Anderson and Dominic Murphy, and it appeared as though the game was set for a grandstand finish.

However Macquarie capitalised on their numerical advantage and scored three converted tries in the final 15 minutes to seal an impressive win away from home.

“We were always really up for it. We didn’t put our best foot forward both times we played them this year and they totally outclassed us, so I think the boys were jumping out of their skin to get to them again,” Macquarie coach Steve Kidd said.

While proud of the whole team’s effort, Kidd singled out the performance of former NRL star Holland as being key to the win.

“I think he was the best player on ground by an absolute mile. He’s been playing pretty busted the last 6-8 weeks but he’s just sort of come out the end of it and is getting back to full fitness. He’s done a great job all year, but he was outstanding.”

The Scorpions, in their first finals campaign for five years, will now take on minor premiers Maitland Pickers for a place in the grand final. Meanwhile for the Butcher Boys, the loss was their first since going down to Cessnock in late May, and they now face a do-or-die elimination final on Sunday to keep their premiership hopes alive.

Cessnock Goannas 26 d South Newcastle Lions 16 at Baddeley Park

It was fourth versus fifth in the elimination final on Sunday, with Cessnock twice coming from behind to keep their season alive with a 26-16 victory over Souths in front of a home crowd at Baddeley Park.

The Goannas, who were without captain-coach Harry Siejka, Jarred Anderson and Pita Godinet, trailed early in the second half before scoring 16 unanswered points to seal the win.

Five-eighth Sam Clune had his fingerprints all over the victory, scoring one try, setting up another and kicking five goals in a man-of-the-match performance.

“I thought Sammy Clune was massive for us,” said Siejka. “Brent Mendyke, who came in and did a job on the wing, was huge, as was Josh Charles on the other wing.”

The game was a particularly strange one for Cessnock’s captain-coach Siejka, who was stuck to the sideline after being hit with a one-match ban for contrary conduct in the final round of the season.

“It’s a lot tougher when there’s a lot more riding on the game and when you’re watching instead of playing,” he said.

“I did it a bit at the start of the year and it wasn’t too bad, but I was very anxious sitting on the sideline, because you can’t have any say in the result.

“But I thought our boys were really good. We started a little bit slow, it sort of took us 10-15 minutes to get into the game and we were behind during that period. But I think once we got in front we looked the better team, and once we stuck to the processes and started getting through our sets, we were really good with what we did.”

Cessnock will welcome back Siejka for the elimination final against Central on Sunday, while the club is hopeful former Samoan international Godinet, who has been sidelined for the past month with an ankle injury, will also return.

“We’re more or less full-strength, we don’t have any injuries from the weekend, so we’re shaping up alright. It’s a good headache to have this time of year.”

The loss marks the end of the season for Souths, who finished the home-and-away rounds in fifth place, a vast improvement on the wooden spoon they collected in 2021.

Week two semi-final venues, dates

SATURDAY: Maitland v Macquarie in the major semi-final at Maitland Sportsground, 3pm

SUNDAY: Central Newcastle v Cessnock in the minor semi-final at Townsend Oval, 2pm