Rugby League Central Coast: Erina defeat Toukley to break 33-year premiership drought
More than three decades after a bunch of mates took their footy side to premiership glory, four of their sons have pulled off a remarkable feat.
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After a year full of washouts, off-field controversies and some brilliant football, the Rugby League Central Coast Rugby League season came to a close with a huge grand final day at Morry Breen Oval.
Redemption was achieved, the longest drought in senior Central Coast footy was broken, while a couple of sides pulled off huge upsets across a huge six-game grand final day.
Catch up with some the biggest stories of the day below.
LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE AS ERINA BREAKS DROUGHT
There was plenty of emotion on show on Saturday as Erina snapped a 33-year drought and overcame back-to-back grand final losses to defeat Toukley 12-6 in a thrilling grand final at Morry Breen Oval.
And while the victory was special for all players, officials and supporters in the tricolours who streamed onto the field to celebrate after the full-time siren, the occasion was particularly touching for four Erina families.
Hooker Zade Besley, forward Oliver Clements, centre Finn Douch and five-eighth Toby Elliott all played key roles in breaking the Eagles’ premiership drought, which remarkably came 33 years after their fathers – Mark Besley, Mick Clements, Warren Douch and John Elliott – won the club’s previous first grade grand final back in 1991.
“It’s special,” said Toby Elliott. “It sounds cliche but there are four boys in the team whose dads played back then and were in the last premiership-winning side, so to do it with those boys, to be honest, there’s relief, disbelief, elation – everything. It’s unreal.”
There was a similar sentiment from Douch.
“It honestly still doesn’t even feel real. After the game it was hard to believe, but a couple of days after it’s even harder to believe,” he said.
The win caps off a wonderful story for the quartet who, given their dads’ friendship, grew up with tight bonds, whether that be from playing junior league, going on holidays or doing surf life saving together.
And while none of them were born to watch the 1991 triumph or see their dads in action on the footy field, Douch said it was special to replicate the achievement and help the club break what was the longest drought in Central Coast first grade footy.
“I think last year we almost made too much of a fuss about how much it mean to us and our dads. But this year, just to focus on ourselves and win it for our dads, means a lot.”
And while the crew of 2024 were locked in an epic battle to finally defeat their rivals Toukley, it’s clear that their 1991 Eagles were in a struggle of their own as they watched on from the sidelines.
“I actually asked dad on Saturday night, ‘What’s better, watching your sons win a grand final or playing in one yourself?’” said Douch.
“He said that it was much easier being on the field and controlling it that way, but that it was just as good to experience both.”
‘FAIRYTALE ENDING’: FRAZER GOES OUT ON TOP
People don’t often get fairytale finishes in rugby league but Erina skipper Joel Frazer went out in the best possible fashion after leading his side to victory in the first grade grand final against Toukley.
After losing 2010 decider against Berkeley Vale and the last two grand finals against the Hawks over the course of his near two-decade career, the forward finally tasted premiership glory with the 12-6 victory.
“It’s everything I thought it would be and a little bit more,” he said. “The support we’ve had to get to this point the heartbreak of the last two years all just makes for a fairytale ending for me and I couldn’t have asked for a better effort from the boys to get the victory. I’m just very honoured, very privileged.”
With the game following a similar pattern to last year’s grand final, in which Toukley put on an incredible defensive display to grind out an 8-6 win, Frazer said his side showed plenty of mental and physical toughness to bury the demons of the past by hitting the lead with 12 minutes to go and then grinding out the result.
“I’ve never played a side that scrambles as well as what Toukley does. I definitely had that deja vu feeling when we were attacking their line – they just kept turning us away.
“But I think the experience of the last two years and the hard work that every single person has put into this year has given us the fitness to keep pushing. We didn’t give up, we just kept grinding away and we did to Toukley what they usually do to us,” he said.
“I’m happy to win like that, it’s the best way to win.”
And while he will no doubt miss the rush of running onto the field, Frazer, who turns 35 this week, said lifting the trophy makes retiring that much easier.
“So much easier, that’s for sure. I’ll ice up at some point over the next couple of days and then never think of this pain that I put myself through again.”
EMOTIONAL SCENES AS ERINA SNAP 33-YEAR DROUGHT
Erina has sensationally snapped the longest-running drought in Central Coast rugby league and in the process scored some redemption for back-to-back grand final losses after a gritty 12-6 victory over rivals Toukley in a pulsating grand final at Morry Breen Oval.
A try to centre Riley Stevenson on the back of an intercept late in the first half and then another to back-rower Nate Dwyer with 12 minutes remaining was enough for the Eagles to win their first premiership in 33 years.
“For us, we knew that our best would be good enough to win in any game this year but those performances were a bit few and far between,” said coach Dane Allen.
“We had some great games, we had some poor games but we just wanted to come out and put our best foot forward. To be honest, we probably didn’t do that.
“We were gritty, and we spoke during the week about how when all else fails, we’ve got a really strong team of blokes who are mates and there’s a real camaraderie amongst the group – and I think that’s probably the difference to the last couple of years.”
Allen paid particular tribute to the togetherness and mental toughness of his players, which came after the club was heavily criticised and penalised for forfeiting all fives grades against Toukley in the final round of the regular season.
“It’s been a tough month for the club, the way that we’ve been slandered with Facebook stuff and all that – it’s been a long month. But we knew coming out today that we had each other’s back and that was good enough. Today we had to prove it and thankfully we got the trophy.”
Indeed, while attracting headlines for their free-flowing attacking football, the Eagles pulled off a tough win more commonly associated with their opponents.
“We ‘out-Toukleyed’ Toukley,” said Allen. “It was one of the conversations we had after the loss to them out there (in the major semi-final): instead of playing our footy, maybe we should try and outplay them at their game, because they’re so good at making you play that style. So instead of going against it, maybe we should try and do it better.”
The victory reversed the result of the past two grand finals, in which Toukley ran out winners over the Eagles.
“Last year we had opportunities and didn’t take them. Today we didn’t have as many opportunities but we took one and that’s the difference,” said Allen.
It also proved to be a fitting farewell for Erina skipper Joel Frazer who, after three grand final losses throughout his career, went out a winner in his final game of football.
“It’s everything I thought it would be and a little bit more,” he said. “The support we’ve had to get to this point and the heartbreak of the last two years all just makes for a fairytale ending for me and I couldn’t have asked for a better effort from the boys to get the victory. I’m just very honoured, very privileged.”
In a tense, end-to-end game that had plenty of similarities to last year’s grand final between the sides, there were some nervous moments early on as both teams gave up opportunities after making errors in their own half.
And it was in fact an Erina knock-on that opened the door for Toukley as hooker Josh Veacock burrowed over from dummy-half for the first try of the match in the 10th minute.
The Eagles were struggling for composure and kept putting themselves under pressure with a string of unforced errors in their own half.
And while the team’s defence turned the Hawks away, Toukley went close to doubling its lead 25 minutes in when a lovely chip from skipper Jake Fitzpatrick found a flying Aaron Heaven down the left. The winger put the ball on the toe again, with Veacock coming within centimetres of bagging his second, planting the ball down on the dead-ball line.
As the half went on Toukley looked the more likely cross again, however a moment of magic levelled things up for the Eagles.
With Toukley 30m out from Erina’s line, Fitzpatrick threw a ball for his back-rower Jakob Giles. However before it could get there, his opposite number Toby Elliott plucked it out of the air and ran up field before passing off to Riley Stevenson to score under the sticks with just three minutes to go until halftime. Finn Douch added the extras to lock things up at 6-all at the break.
With scores level at the restart the contest moved into a grind as both sides fought for field position.
A string of errors continued, however, and Toukley went closest in the early stages when back-rower Giles got within a couple of metres of the line before throwing a speculative flick pass for his outside men that went into touch.
With 25 minutes to go there was a huge moment in the match. Toukley thought it was over again when Fitzpatrick put centre Damon Goolagong through a gap, however play was called back for a forward pass just as the Hawks were kicking off celebrations.
As the game wore on there was plenty of heavy contact as both defences laid on some shots. There were players cramping up everywhere as the game went from end to end.
After spending periods defending its line, Erina started to enjoy some ball in good areas and applied the pressure by earning repeat sets. However with Toukley’s parochial fans behind them at the southern end, the Hawks’ blue and gold wall held firm as they batted away set after set.
Indeed, there were shades of last year’s decider, in which Toukley defended stoically to grind out an 8-6 win, in the contest, but when Jarrod Kessler knocked the ball on while coming out from his own end it proved to be one mistake too many.
In the following set Erina’s Riley Burke put back-rower Nate Dwyer over to give his side a crucial lead with 12 minutes to play. Douch then slotted the conversion to put the Eagles up 12-6.
Now chasing the game, Toukley was after a mistake and when Burke knocked on a grubber deep in his own end, they had a huge opportunity with fresh set on Erina’s line with just three minutes to go.
The Hawks were banging on the door, going from side to side and through the middle in search of a equaliser. After a Brady Barwick charge got the Hawks to within a metre of the line, Veacock tried to emulate his heroics from the first half by burrowing over from dummy-half, but he spilled the ball as he attempted to plant it down on the line.
It proved to be the final chance for the defending premiers as Erina held on for the club’s first A-grade premiership since 1991, sparking passionate celebrations from players, officials and fans alike.
Erina 12 (Stevenson, Dwyer tries; Douch two goals) defeated Toukley 6 (Veacock try; Kessler goal)
PAYBACK FOR THE ENTRANCE IN GF DEMOLITION
The Entrance has snapped two years of heartache and atoned for back-to-back grand final losses by thrashing Erina 30-0 in an emphatic reserve grade decider.
After a tight first half that saw the Tigers take just a 4-0 lead into the sheds, The Entrance ran riot after the break, running in another five tries against the Eagles, who finished the game with just 11 men on the park.
In what was the third grand final in a row between the two teams, the victory helped achieve a sense of redemption for The Entrance, who had lost the past two grand finals to Erina. It also returned the club to the top of the reserve grade stakes with the club’s fifth premiership in the last seven years in the grade.
“There’s a bit of a rivalry there, so it’s good to get one back,” said The Entrance captain-coach Haydn Green. “We worked hard all year for this and it’s just so good to get a win.”
After getting out to an early lead when Green put winger Jack Wilkins over in the eighth minute, the Tigers were in a similar situation to last year’s decider when they led 10-0 early before being run down by the Eagles.
And while the match remained in the balance for much of the contest, Green said there was one major factor that helped his side run over the top of its rivals.
“It was just composure,” he said. “I said to the boys, ‘We’ve been good all year, we just need to control the ball and we’ll win the game.’ We’ve got so much talent. All we needed was to bring some composure and that’s what we did.”
Indeed, after a gritty first half that saw the Tigers lead 4-0, The Entrance wasted no time making an impression in the second, getting off to an explosive start after the break.
The team received a penalty for a strip in the first set of the half before lock Brodie Green crashed over from close range to put his side ahead 10-0.
The Tigers were on a roll and marched up field again in the very next set. Fullback Kalem Surya then made half a break and when his offload came off an Erina player, Joey Stewart was in the perfect position to catch the ball and dive over.
Suddenly The Entrance was up 16-0 and everything seemed to be going the Tigers’ way as they continued to dominate possession and field position.
The pressure eventually paid off when centre Oliver Juras went over to well and truly seal the match with 10 minutes to go. The try saw emotions spill over as both sides got into a melee in the direct aftermath.
Down 20-0, Erina was forced to play out the match with just 11 men when Dayn Marson was sent off and Mitchell Browning sent to the sin bin for their roles in the melee.
Now it was well and truly party times for the Tigers, who scored through prop Shaun Sinclair, before the skipper Haydn Green finished things off with a try of his own at the death.
There was a nice personal connection for the skipper, with Green playing alongside his brother Brodie, who was named man of the match for a huge performance in the middle.
“He’s one of the best, he plays a full game, goes hard and he was so good for us,” said Green.
The Entrance 30 (Wilkins, B Green, Stewart, Juras, Sinclair, H Green tries) defeated Erina 0
BERKELEY VALE GOES BACK TO BACK IN THRILLER
Berkeley Vale has maintained its spot as the number one women’s team on the Central Coast after coming from behind to defeat The Entrance 16-12 in a thrilling grand final to claim back-to-back premierships.
Trailing 12-4 midway through the second half, the Panthers put on a stirring late comeback to surge to the front and dramatically hand the Tigers their first loss of the season in the decider.
“It was amazing,” said Berkeley Vale captain Madeline Watson. “I still honestly can’t believe it. I still have moments where I’m like, ‘Oh my god, we actually won the game,’” she added.
“At halftime we spoke about digging deep, working for each other. We said, ‘We’ve got 30 minutes left of the season so let’s just go out and give it our all.’ That’s what we did and we ended up winning.”
Although the Panthers were the defending premiers, The Entrance came into the game as overwhelming favourites after going through the season undefeated on the back of some brilliant football.
Everything seemed to be going to plan for the Tigers, who raced out to an eight-point lead after 15 minutes thanks to tries to Krystal Bulmer and Jalice Brown.
A try to each both teams either side of halftime left the scoreline at 12-4. And while The Entrance has controlled much of the game, Berkeley Vale started to get a roll on as the second half went on.
“With about 15 minutes to go we started to get a bit of momentum, got a few penalties and when we were attacking their line I thought, ‘We’re on here, we can score a try and give ourselves a chance of winning,’” said Watson.
A huge moment came with 15 minutes remaining, when Berkeley Vale’s Ellie Richardson was hit with a high tackle as she planted the ball down for a try.
The referee awarded an eight-point try, and although Panthers goalkicker Alana Currie missed the sideline conversion attempt, she slotted the penalty goal from in front to make the scoreline 12-10.
From here Berkeley Vale kept rolling on and fullback Emma Frost laid on the crucial blow with five minutes remaining to put the side up by two before a late penalty sealed the victory.
It was the club’s second-straight women’s tackle crown after taking out last year’s inaugural premiership, also against The Entrance.
“We didn’t even really clock onto it until after the game when we realised, ‘Oh my god, we’ve just gone back to back,’ because we hadn’t been focusing on it and I think that took a lot of pressure off us,” said Watson.
“We went into this game with nothing to lose and The Entrance went into it with a lot of pressure because they were the dominant team all year and were undefeated all season until the grand final. So we went into the game without putting too much pressure on ourselves and just played for each other – it’s crazy.”
And while proud of creating history by winning the first-ever women’s tackle grand final, the Berkeley Vale skipper said this year’s win took things to another level.
“Honestly, this grand final win was so much better than the other grand final,” said Watson.
“The comp was so much stronger this year and we had to work so much harder to earn our spot in the grand final, and even to earn our spot in the grand final, because we ended up finishing third.
“So I think that makes this win a bit more special for the club, because we’ve had to work so much harder as a team and as a club.”
The victory also confirmed the side as the comeback queens of the competition, with the Panthers having come from behind late in their last three games to defeat Erina, Toukley and The Entrance in the minor semi, preliminary and now grand final.
“We’ve come together as a team. In our last three games we’ve left it to the last minute to win,” said Watson.
“I think it’s a mental thing for us, just not giving up on each other and to keep going until that final whistle blows.”
Berkeley Vale 16 (Richardson 2, Frost tries; Currie two goals) defeated The Entrance 12 (Bulmer, Brown, B Nathan tries)
OURIMBAH SNATCH WIN IN FAIRYTALE FAMILY AFFAIR
With a motley crew featuring a father-son combination in the halves, returning club legends and players ranging from 18 all the way to 44, the Ourimbah Magpies have pulled off a fairytale premiership win by defeating Wyong 22-20 in a thrilling open grade grand final.
After racing out to a healthy 18-6 lead at the break on the back of some brilliant playmaking from young half Jayden Morgan, the Magpies seemed to fall into a heap after the restart and found themselves trailing midway through the second half before winger Matthew Florido kicked a couple of clutch penalty goals late on to seal a famous win.
“It’s a great feeling,” said captain Chris Morgan. “We blew an 18-6 lead at halftime but the fight and determination from the boys to get back into the game in the last couple of minutes was outstanding.
“With Wyong, every game was close. I think there was only two or four points in every game, three times, so it was a great team effort by them – but the team effort by us was fantastic.”
There was plenty of sentiment in the victory, with a string of personal connections running through the Ourimbah side that showcased a slice of the club’s past and future.
Morgan and his 19-year-old son Jayden lined up alongside each other in the halves, while there was another father-son combination in coach Logan Glover and back-rower Cooper Glover. If that wasn’t enough, Morgan’s brother and nephew Luke and Riley Morgan were the team’s trainers, while club legends Robbie and Chris Trembath returned to the club to help mentor the crop of young Magpies coming through the ranks.
“It’s fantastic,” said Morgan senior. “There’s one club legend (Robbie Trembath) I played about 10 seasons with and we never won a grand final together, so for him to go out a winner at the age of 44, it’s fantastic. To play with my son who got man of the match, words can’t describe what it means.”
There was also a sense of deja vu for Morgan and Chris Trembath, who also both won a first grade grand final together for the Magpies back in 2010.
The premiership was the cherry on top of what has been a fantastic season for the rebuilding club, which is trying to set the foundations for a successful future amid plans to field a full complement of teams and re-enter the first grade competition in 2025.
“From where the club’s been the last five years to where it is now is the main goal,” said Morgan. “What we’ve achieved throughout the whole club – 19s, third grade, second grade – it’s gonna build for us to go into first grade next year,” he said.
Indeed, far from having aspirations of winning the grand final, Morgan made the call to some of his long-retired former teammates to strap on the boots again to simply try and help the club’s youngsters learn the ropes of senior footy.
“That’s what this year was about: for the older guys to come back and help teach these younger guys and help them into next year. I couldn’t be any prouder of the boys. I’ve got my stepbrother, my brothers, my son involved – it’s been fantastic.”
In a spectacle well and truly fit for a grand final, Ourimbah got off to a flying start when young half Jayden Morgan put in a beautiful chip for winger Matthew Florido to score in just the third minute before grubbering for centre Ethan Mantellato to make it 12-0 on the quarter-hour mark.
Wyong hit back in the 25th minute with a try to prop Drew Kelly, but Ourimbah and Morgan’s magical left boot capped off an excellent first half when the young half put in a perfectly weight chip for Mantellato on the wing. Taking the ball in full flight, he then passed the ball inside to Daniel Probert in support to score a brilliant try on the stroke of halftime to give the Magpies a crucial 18-6 lead at the break.
Ourimbah had been the better team in the first half but it was almost as if two completely sides had come out for the second half, with Wyong going over through Tomi Kaati in just the second minute after the restart.
In the very next set they were in again as five-eighth Lachlan Ritchie pulled off a chip and chase from inside his own half to score a brilliant 60m solo try to slash the deficit to four.
The wheels were starting to fall off for Ourimbah, who put the subsequent kick-off out on the full. Then when Shaun Armer charged over from close range, Wyong led 20-18 with just under 20 minutes to play.
While the Roos had all the momentum, they gave away twin penalties shortly after taking the lead. The Magpies jumped at the chance to take to two, with Florido throwing his shot over to lock things up again at 20-all with nine to go.
This gave Ourimbah a second wind, and when Wyong was penalised for lying in the ruck with just four minutes on the clock, the Magpies went straight for the two points.
Lining up 20m out and nine in from the sideline, Florido showed nerves of steel to slot the penalty and win the game for his side in a dramatic contest.
Ourimbah 22 (Florido, Mantellato, Probert tries; Florido five tries) defeated Wyong 20 (Kelly, Kaati, Ritchie, Armer tries; Peachey two goals)
SILVER LININGS IN TERRIGAL’S DOUBLE TRIUMPH
It might have been a tough season for some of their teams, but Terrigal finished off 2024 on a bright note after taking out the league tag and under-19s premierships in thrilling deciders on grand final day.
In the first two games of the day, the league tag team caused arguably the upset of the season by defeating previously undefeated Erina 16-14 with a penalty goal after the full-time siren, while the under-19s scored a stunning late try to also run down the Eagles by remarkably the same scoreline.
“It was great day,” said president Dave Lyons. “It is a real silver lining for the club.”
Indeed, in a season that saw the club’s four other teams miss the finals, the two grand final-winning sides gave the club plenty to cheer about after an at times difficult season.
“It was special back at our major sponsor, who’ve been really good to us this year and for the past four or five years,” said Lyons. “Just to have that place absolutely packed out on Saturday afternoon was great.”
In arguably the most dramatic game of the day, the league tag side tore up the form guide and overcame an early 10-0 deficit to dramatically beat Erina 16-14, with 17-year-old Riley Palmer showing nerves of steel to slot a penalty goal from almost 30m out after the full-time siren.
“It was exciting. It was the feel-good moment of the day,” said Lyons.
The team’s captain, Claudia Symington, agreed.
“It was definitely an amazing game, such a tight contest,” she said. “We just knew that if we stayed in the fight and stayed in the grind with Erina that we could get the job done. We just had that ‘never give up attitude’ and we won it in the last second of the game.”
It capped off a remarkable victory for the Sharks, who handed the Eagles their first defeat of the season. Erina had been one of two dominant sides of the season, scoring a remarkable 498 points and conceding just 44 throughout the regular season.
“Definitely going in as underdogs there was no pressure on us, but we just knew that if we played as a team then we could do it,” Symington. “We had a good game against The Entrance (in the preliminary final) and we just peaked at the right time going into the finals series.”
With scores locked at 14-all, the game finished in dramatic fashion, with Terrigal receiving a penalty after halfback Samantha Redman was ruled to have been hit late after kicking the ball.
Lining up 27m out and 10m out from the posts, Palmer showed incredible composure to slot the conversion and win her team the grand final with the last play of the game.
“I couldn’t even watch, I was so nervous,” said Symington. “We just had so much confidence in her, she’d been practising and the feeling is just indescribable. We worked just so hard the whole game, we were exhausted, so to have that moment where we could all just jump in and celebrate with her was amazing,” she added.
“She got smashed under us. We checked on her to make sure she was OK. But we all just jumped in and couldn’t believe it. It was a crazy feeling.”
The day got even better for the Sharks in the very next game when the under-19s also claimed the premiership.
With a series of parallels to the early game, Terrigal once again came from behind to win a thriller against Erina by the exact same margin of 16-14.
The magic moment came late in the game when, with the team trailing by two, winger Tyler Sturgess did incredibly well to outleap his opposing winger and take a Matthew Crawley cross-field kick, before planting the ball down in the corner to score.
The victory secured the minor-major premiership double for Terrigal’s under-19s team, who in many ways have been the backbone of the club throughout the season.
“You look back at the weather we had, the lack of players due to not having 19s the year before and having to rely on these boys to play grade,” said Lyons.
“I truly believe that grounding they got playing grade, playing against men, helped them a lot. I spoke to a few players later and they had no fear playing 19s. After playing against men all year, they went into that game not fearing any of those Erina boys.”
The twin victories also bode well for the club moving forward, as it looks to rebound from an up-and-down 2024.
“It’s a great sign for the future that the club has,” said Symington. “For the 19s and the girls, who are so young, to be able to do that is really special and the future’s really bright.
“It’s been a bit of a struggle for a couple of the grades but the culture is really amazing and there are some really amazing people who do some great things to keep the club going.”
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