Rugby League Central Coast: Wrap, results, talking points from round 11
Despite recording a victorious return to football, the future remains anything but certain for Woy Woy after a controversial last month.
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Despite a victorious return to football, one controversial side’s future remains anything but certain for the rest of the season, while a competition newcomer has received a healthy reality check during round 11 of the Rugby League Central Coast competition.
Elsewhere, one of the Central Coast’s best youth production lines blooded another young gun, while one team has been left frustrated after failing to finish off another close game.
Catch up with some of the biggest talking points and a wrap of the action below.
FUTURE STILL UNCERTAIN FOR WOY WOY
It was a huge weekend for Woy Woy, who played its first game in three weeks as the first grade side ran out 28-12 victors over Dora Creek.
It marked the end of a hiatus that had seen Terrigal and Erina forfeit their games against the Roosters due to concerns over the behaviour of certain club figures and in protest to the perceived lack of repercussions for the club’s involvement in the events of June 9, which featured a nasty brawl as well as allegations of racial abuse against a Woy Woy player.
After a difficult few weeks for the club, Woy Woy president David Carr was simply pleased to return to a sense of normality.
“We’re happy to get back on the field, get the two points and move on to next week – hopefully Toukley turn up,” he said.
Indeed, while Dora Creek chose to take to the field against the Roosters, there is no guarantee that other sides will do so in the coming weeks.
“They can’t stop teams from forfeiting because that’s in the by-laws, so we just turn up ready to go next week – that’s all we can do,” said Carr.
“We’d like to get some continuity but we can’t control what other clubs do, so it’s just been great to get back on the field and play footy. It was a great game, the crowd was well behaved. The division were down here and were very happy with what we had.”
He added: “We’re happy to be back on the field and hopefully we can play every week until the semis.”
REALITY CHECK FOR DORA CREEK
The game at Woy Woy Oval also capped off a testing three-week period for Dora Creek, who has faced off against competition heavyweights The Entrance, Toukley and Woy Woy in consecutive weeks in what has been an interesting litmus test for the side.
And while the Swampies lost all three, they certainly didn’t disgrace themselves, remaining competitive for large parts of all games before ultimately going down.
It has proved to be a good test for Dora Creek – playing in its first season in the Central Coast division – to see how the club compares to some of the big guns of the competition.
After seven games, the newcomers are well placed in fifth position with a record of three wins and four losses. They will hoping to get their season back on track and make a charge for the finals with back-to-back games against Wyong either side of a bye.
ERINA’S PRODUCTION LINE KEEPS ROLLING ON
In a story that seemingly keeps repeating itself, Erina has continued its outstanding season by coming from behind to defeat fellow heavyweight The Entrance 28-22 at Erina Oval to remain undefeated.
On a wet and wild day, the Eagles overcame a 22-8 deficit early in the second half and the loss of one of its interchange forwards in the warm-up to leapfrog the Tigers into first place on the ladder.
The victory takes Erina’s record to six wins and one forfeit so far this season.
With a string of injuries already affecting the squad this season, much of the Eagles’ success has been built on the back of the club’s depth and the host of local juniors who have made the step up into first grade.
And Erina had another example of that on Sunday when 17-year-old front-rower Devonte Vaotu’ua put in an excellent performance on debut.
“Obviously with us losing a bench front-rower in the warm-up, that young bloke’s played 50 minutes in the middle against a really strong opposition,” said Erina coach Dane Allen.
“The confidence it gives that young fella is something huge but then also as a team, the knowledge that we can call on these young blokes with so much talent and have confidence in them to do their job is massive.
“Every kid we’ve put in over the past couple of seasons has delivered. And they’ve not just done their job, they’ve really done well and exceeded expectations and credit to them for it.”
KINCUMBER ITS ‘OWN WORST ENEMY’
There was an element of frustration at MacKillop Oval as Kincumber was held to a 14-all draw with Berkeley Vale.
Despite scoring three tries to two and dominating large periods of the game, the Colts were unable to break through for the team’s second win of the season.
“We were our own worst enemy at times,” said coach Brad Bennett. “It’s not about the goalkicking, we shouldn’t have let it come to that. We should have been able to ice it and just didn’t do it.”
It has been a common occurrence for Kincumber in 2024. While the team has been far more competitive than in recent years, it has found itself on the wrong end of the scoreline in tight games against Dora Creek (24-12) and Wyong (20-10), often fading late before ultimately losing.
“When confidence is down it’s hard to get those wins. We put ourselves in positions to win games but we just can’t ice them, maybe because we’re not used to winning,” said Bennett. “If I could pinpoint it, I’d fix it.”
He added: “Playing every second or third week doesn’t help your consistency, confident, combinations and connections. I don’t think we’ve played back-to-back games all season. But we’ll get back at it and go again this weekend.”
BERKELEY VALE’S LOCALS STAND UP
While Kincumber was disappointed to share the points, there was a sense of pride as a young Berkeley Vale side stuck with them for 80 minutes.
With a string of the Panthers’ recruits unavailable for the game, some of the club’s local juniors received the call-up and didn’t disappoint.
“It was a really good local effort from us, to be fair,” said coach Michael Sullivan. “Rhys Greentree was amazing, he changed the game for us with a try in the middle. His energy was outstanding.”
The coach also noted the efforts of forward Vitaliano Fuamatu and interchange players Xavier Taurerewa-Yucel and Baileigh Grim.
“All those young guys had a big off-season and have been knocking on the door. We gave them their opportunity and they definitely took it,” said Sullivan.
“As a club, we were very unlucky to lose third grade, we were in it all day in reggies and to hang in for a draw in firsts – with the players we had out and how it tested the local depth – was pleasing. We really stood up.”
And while the Panthers have recorded just one win and one draw from their six games so far this season, Sullivan has noted an improvement in the first grade side’s performances.
“We’re far more competitive. We’ve already outdone last year with a win and a draw – last year we only had one win. We’ve been more competitive and we’ve stayed with teams for longer in games,” he said.
“We’ve had two blowouts with The Entrance and Toukley and that can happen to any team in this comp if they’re on on their day. So other than that we’ve been competitive in every game and it’s come down to late tries.”
ROUND 11 WRAP
There were top-of-the-table blockbusters, nailbiting thrillers and a huge return to football from the competition’s most controversial team during what was a massive round 11 of the Rugby League Central Coast competitions.
In a highlight of the round, one side came from behind to once again make a premiership statement while two other sides fought out a dramatic draw.
Meanwhile, Woy Woy took to the field for the first time in three weeks in a return against Dora Creek.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
ERINA GOES TOP WITH STUNNING COMEBACK
Erina has reclaimed top spot on the ladder and extended the team’s unbeaten run in the competition with a stunning 28-22 victory over The Entrance in a top-of-the-table clash at Erina Oval.
Trailing 22-8 early in the second half, the Eagles launched a stirring comeback by scoring three late tries to run down the Tigers and leapfrog their rivals into first place on the ladder.
“It was a super effort,” said Erina coach Dane Allen. “We were down 22-8 and found a way to come back and win. I was very happy with how we played.”
Having lost interchange forward Scott Schreiber to a torn hamstring in the warm-up, Erina’s situation became more difficult as the team trailed 16-8 at halftime and then by 14 points early in the second half.
And although they went behind by more than two converted tries, the coach was pleased with his side’s composure to storm home in the second half.
“We spoke before the game about playing our brand of footy and not panicking, no matter what the circumstance, and it was really good to see that come to fruition.
“At 22-8 we could have gone for some Hail Mary plays but we didn’t do that. We stuck to our process and what we spoke about at halftime.
“We knew we had quite a strong wind in the second half and they only had us by eight points at halftime, so we knew if we stuck to our guns that wind would be worth a try or two at least and it worked out that way. We consolidated some possession and put a few tries on quickly, so I was very happy with their performance.”
The victory against the strong Tigers outfit was all the more impressive considering that Schreiber injured his hamstring in the warm-up.
“We were down to 16 straight away,” said Allen. “We didn’t make a big song and dance about it. He came over to myself and my assistant coach to tell us what had happened and we told him to go up to the sheds and make out he was going to the toilet. I didn’t want to give our boys any excuses to play poorly, the weather was bad enough,” he added.
“It was a game where we could have found a few excuses to lose what with the game being off then on, then the weather and an injury – the resilience was there and I was proud of them.”
Being man down in the forwards, Allen singled out Oliver Clements for an outstanding 80-minute performance in the middle and paid tribute to halfback Cameron Davies for his role in getting the team over the line.
“He played his best game for us in a couple of years, he was phenomenal. He set up a couple of tries and his kicking game was unreal.”
Erina 28 defeated The Entrance 22
KINCUMBER, BERKELEY VALE SPLIT POINTS IN ‘SLUGFEST’
There was wind, rain, a bit of dropped ball and plenty of excitement as Kincumber and Berkeley Vale played out a 14-all draw at a very wet MacKillop Oval.
Goalkicking ultimately proved crucial as the Colts scored three tries to two in a game where the lead changed multiple times.
“It was just a wet weather game of footy,” said Kincumber coach Brad Bennett. “We were dominating and then they had a little period of dominating – it just went back and forth. There were errors from both teams and it was just a bit of a slugfest, to be honest.”
There was a similar sentiment from Berkeley Vale coach Michael Sullivan.
“It was a tough, wet weather game. The first half wasn’t too bad, the completions weren’t too bad. But in the second half the wind picked up and with the rain it got a bit scrappy. But we hung in there,” he said.
In a classic tit-for-tat encounter, the Colts jumped out to an early lead thanks to a try to Josh Woutersz, before Berkeley Vale hit back with a converted try and penalty to lead 8-4.
Kincumber then hit back through Blake Fletcher to lead 10-8, before another converted try to the Panthers saw them stretch out to a 14-8 lead.
The Colts did cross again and had the chance to win the game with a shot at goal, however things ended all square.
With his team dominating the game for significant periods, Bennett was left to rue his side’s inability to close out the win.
“We were our own worst enemy at times,” he said. “It’s not about the goalkicking, we shouldn’t have let it come to that. We should have been able to ice it and just didn’t do it.”
On the other side, Berkeley Vale coach Sullivan was pleased with how his young chargers stayed in the game, given that the team had a host of players out.
“It was a really good local effort from us, to be fair,” he said. “Rhys Greentree was amazing, he changed the game for us with a try in the middle. His energy was outstanding.”
He added: “All those young guys had a big off-season and have been knocking on the door. We gave them their opportunity and they definitely took it.”
The result leaves the teams in sixth and seventh position on the ladder, with a record of one win and win draw from their six games so far this season.
Kincumber 14 drew with Berkeley Vale 14
HAWKS EDGE TERRIGAL TO GO THREE STRAIGHT
Toukley has chalked up its third win in a row and in the process solidified its position in the top four after a hard-fought 24-16 victory over Terrigal at Darren Kennedy Oval.
The Hawks were forced to come from behind twice before a try late in the second half sealed the game to eventually down the stubborn Sharks side.
Despite coming into the game in last place with just one win so far this season, Terrigal opened the scoring midway through the first half when centre Brock Laver went over.
And while Toukley’s Jakob Giles hit back eight minutes later, a try late in the first half to Terrigal’s other centre Brandon Currie saw the side take a shock 10-6 lead into the sheds.
The defending champions found themselves in the unusual position of trailing as they came out of the break but hit back with back-to-back tries to Kiran Page and Wade Kemplen to lead 18-10 with around 20 minutes to go.
The Sharks had torn up the form guide in the clash and refused to go away, with back-rower Jake Ferguson crossing for the team’s third to make it 18-16 with 15 minutes to go to set up a grandstand finish.
And while Terrigal was within striking distance, a late try to Toukley captain-coach Jake Fitzpatrick helped seal the win to put the Hawks in fourth spot with a record of five wins and two losses.
Toukley 24 defeated Terrigal 16
WOY WOY RETURNS WITH A BANG
After a whirlwind three-week period that has involved brawls, allegations of racial abuse and back-to-back forfeits, Woy Woy has celebrated its return to football with a 28-12 victory over Dora Creek at Woy Woy Oval.
Lining up in their first game since the controversial clash with Wyong on June 9, the Roosters ran in six tries to two to down the Swampies, with winger Ashton Carroll and five-eighth Hemi Knebel both bagging doubles.
“It was a great to get back on the field and great to get the win,” said Woy Woy president David Carr.
“Dora Creek were amazing. I can’t thank them enough for coming down and everything. They really, really helped make the day a good one. The game was played in good spirits and it was just great to get back on the field and play footy again.”
Indeed, the sense of gratitude was a strong one from Woy Woy officials and alike, who had seen rival clubs Terrigal and Erina both forfeit their fixtures against the Roosters in recent weeks due to concerns over the behaviour of certain club figures and in protest to the perceived lack of repercussions for the club’s involvement in the events of June 9.
“There’s a picture on our Facebook of the guys thanking the people, kneeling down on the field. It’s a Polynesian custom of thanking the crowd and everybody for coming back,” said Carr.
“It’s been tough – very, very tough. For things like sponsorship we’ve had to start again, we’ve struggled for workers at the game but we’re back and we’re just taking it one week at a time – the old cliche.
“I wouldn’t say it’s us against them but we’ve got our backs to the wall – that’s our mentality now. We’re just here to play footy.”
In terms of the game, Woy Woy didn’t seem to show any signs of rustiness after not having played for three weeks as the team ran in a quick-fire double inside the first quarter of an hour.
Although they didn’t have it all its own way though – with star recruit Andrew Fifita breaking his finger early on – the home side proved too strong for the Swampies, racing out to a comfortable lead before the visitors scored a couple of consolation tries towards the end.
“It was only 8-0 for most of the first half but then we just wore them down in the end,” said Carr. “Obviously we were down a player with Andrew being injured in the first seven minutes, so it was a pretty good effort from the guys.”
The victory, which was the team’s third in what was just its fifth game this season, moves the Roosters into third place on the ladder, while Dora Creek remains in fifth.
Woy Woy 28 defeated Dora Creek 12
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