Rugby League Central Coast: Rival clubs call for sterner measures against Woy Woy

Some club officials have called for sterner measures to be imposed on Woy Woy after a brawl and alleged racist abuse took place at a rugby league game on the Central Coast.

Some rugby league officials on the Central Coast have called for greater sanctions to be imposed on the Woy Woy Roosters following a brawl and allegations of racial abuse that took place at the club’s home game against Wyong on the weekend.

The Rugby League Central Coast board made the extraordinary decision on Wednesday to ban spectators from the Roosters’ upcoming home game with the Terrigal Sharks, set to take place at Woy Woy Oval this Sunday.

“The decision to temporarily ban spectators at Woy Woy this weekend is just to ensure the safety of participants at that ground and we’ll assess it moving forward,” said RLCC chairman Nathan Waugh.

“I’ve spoken to the Woy Woy and Terrigal presidents whose clubs are playing this weekend and they both understand our position.”

The announcement comes after a series of ugly incidents marred Wyong’s 12-6 win over Woy Woy in the local first grade competition on Sunday.

In an issue that has been referred to the authorities for investigation, a Woy Woy player was allegedly racially abused by a member of the crowd during the game.

A fight also broke out between players on the field towards the end of the match while another altercation involving some Roosters players and crowd members is believed to have taken place in the grandstand after the full-time whistle.

In addition, footage circulated in group chats and on social media shows a separate brawl spilling out of the gates and in front of Woy Woy Oval after the match. Some Woy Woy players can be seen in the vicinity of the melee, with some trying to break up the fight.

It is understood that the brawl outside the ground was triggered by racial insults.

While the RLCC board has said that it will wait for active investigations conducted by New South Wales Rugby League and the police to be completed before taking additional action, members of some other clubs have called for sterner measures to be imposed on Woy Woy.

Some rival clubs believe Woy Woy needed a greater punishment. Picture: Sue Graham

“More needs to be done,” said an official from a third party club not involved in Sunday’s game. “It’s embarrassing. It’s not even a wrap around the knuckles.”

The person, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that while the racial allegations needed to be fully investigated, they claimed that there had been multiple incidents of bad behaviour involving Woy Woy in recent times.

“It’s been happening for the last couple of years. There were numerous issues with them last year,” the person said. “They’ve had too many chances to change their behaviour and there’s been absolutely no change at all. If anything, it’s gotten worse.”

In a story that created headlines around the state, three Woy Woy players were charged with affray for their alleged role in a wild street brawl in Tamworth following the club’s pre-season match with the North Tamworth Bears in March.

RLCC chairman Nathan Waugh said he was aware of the alleged incidents involving people associated with Woy Woy over the course of 2024.

“Ultimately there have been some unfortunate events that have occurred this year and that culminated in a discussion with the board last night and the outcome for this weekend,” he said.

An official from another club, once again not connected to either Woy Woy or Wyong, also expressed concern over the actions of certain Roosters members and raised the prospect of their teams refusing to play against Woy Woy later in the season if they did not feel the matter was adequately addressed.

Responding to those claims, Waugh said: “No clubs have indicated that to me directly when I’ve spoken to the clubs.”

He added: “Ultimately we’re here to ensure the safety and enjoyment of rugby league on the Central Coast and hopefully what we’ve done with the decision for this weekend will help ease some of the concerns that some people might have within the clubs.”

Woy Woy president David Carr declined to comment on the matter while the various investigations were still underway.

On the matter of clubs claiming that the Roosters had a longstanding behavioural problem, Carr said that other clubs and officials were entitled to their opinion and that he was focused on working with the authorities to resolve the most recent incidents stemming from Sunday’s game.

Police and rugby league authorities are investigating claims that a player was racially abused during a local rugby league game on the Central Coast. Picture: Sue Graham

EARLIER: The Rugby League Central Coast board, New South Wales Rugby League and police are investigating after a player was allegedly racially abused during a local senior match over the weekend.

It is understood that a Woy Woy player was the victim of the alleged racial slur from a member of the crowd during the Roosters’ game against Wyong in the local first grade competition on Sunday at Woy Woy Oval.

Club officials have declined to comment on the matter while it is still under investigation, with the incident to be addressed at the Rugby League Central Coast board meeting on Tuesday night.

“We have our board meeting this evening, this will be discussed,” said RLCC chair Scott Openshaw. “But the matter is also before the NSWRL code of conduct and is with police, so the police trump everything else. We can’t comment or say much about it until the police are done with their investigation and the NSWRL code of conduct process is completed.”

The bodies are also investigating a brawl that took place outside the ground after the game, which it is believed was also allegedly racially motivated.

It is not yet known if the incidents are connected in any way.

“We’re still trying to piece together what happened outside of the ground,” said Openshaw. “There weren’t any players involved as far as fighting or throwing punches, there were some people trying to break it up, but that’s about all I can say.”