Rugby League Central Coast: Wrap, results, talking points from round 12
There were extraordinary scenes in the RL Central Coast as one almost unbelievable statistic explained the difference between two sides in one rout.
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A couple of teams have torn up the form guide with some big upsets during round 12 of the Rugby League Central Coast first grade competition.
In two games, teams sitting in the bottom half of the ladder kept their thin finals hopes alive with nailbiting wins against more favoured opponents.
While there were some surprise results, the RLCC’s two big guns broke away at the top with some emphatic victories.
Catch up with some of the major talking points and a wrap of the action below.
TOP TWO BREAKING AWAY
After a couple of upsets took place over the weekend, both Erina and The Entrance have broken away at the top of the ladder.
The Eagles remain in first place on 20 points with a record of eight wins and one forfeit from nine fixtures, while the Tigers are just one point behind with eight wins and two losses from 10 games.
The pair now have a little bit of breathing space over third-placed Toukley, who remain in 16 points after the team’s local derby loss to Wyong.
Similarly, Woy Woy’s shock defeat to Kincumber also sees the Roosters remain on 14 points to round out the top four.
TEAMS KEEP FINALS HOPES ALIVE
While the big guns at the top stretched away from the pack, round 12’s results breathed life back into the race for the top four, as a string of upsets helped tighten things in the middle of the table.
Wyong was among the biggest winners of the weekend, with the Roos’ bruising 8-4 win against local rivals Toukley moving the team up to sixth on 11 points, three behind fourth-placed Wyong.
And despite Wyong’s poor start that saw it lose its first four games of the season, the Roos have won three of their past four – and the side isn’t giving up hope of a late charge to the finals.
“It was great to have a tough, gritty win. We said before the game that we need this if we want to have a shot at the semis,” said captain-coach Todd Lewis.
Wyong faces a string of crucial but winnable home fixtures, kicking off this week with fifth-placed Dora Creek before taking on Berkeley Vale (eighth), Terrigal (ninth) and Kincumber (seventh).
Another to benefit from the weekend was indeed Dora Creek, who moved within two points of the top four after having the bye.
The Swampies’ fixture with the Roos this Sunday looms as a crucial game in the race for the finals.
KINCUMBER BREAKS ‘LOSING RUN’
Another team that fooled most tipsters over the weekend was Kincumber, who held on for a nailbiting 22-20 win over Woy Woy in what was the team’s second win of the season.
The Colts’ fans and coaching staff would have been forgiven for dreading the worst as two late Roosters tries saw the side’s margin cut from 12 points to two, however the team held firm for a thrilling win.
“I was very nervous,” said coach Brad Bennett. “There have been a lot of games that we’ve kind of lost ourselves through silly errors or lapses. We know when we put it together and dee (defend) well that we can give these teams a shake,” he added.
“At the start of the season when we weren’t playing back to back it was hard to get out of that losing run, but the last couple of weeks we’ve been building and we finally got the results.”
Indeed, the Kincumber coach had been rueing his side’s inability to close out tight games. Last weekend the Colts went down to heavyweights The Entrance by just two points (16-14), while they were held to a 14-all draw with Berkeley Vale in the team’s preceding game.
THE ENTRANCE’S HIGH STANDARDS
The Entrance was once again outstanding during round 12 by running in nine tries in a 50-4 thrashing of Berkeley Vale.
It took the side’s points scored tally for the season to 342 from 10 games, 54 more than the next best team in Erina, while the Tigers also have the best defence, having conceded just 86 points.
And while pleased with large parts of his team’s performance against the Panthers, The Entrance coach Jarod Hamer identified areas for improvement.
“I don’t want to be too hard on them but I was a little disappointed in the try (we conceded), that’s something we probably could have defended.
“We need to be better in those areas and when we play other sides in the back-end of the year who are sitting up in the same area as us we need to defend them,” he said.
The approach forms part of the high standards the coach has set for the side as it seeks to break a five-year premiership drought in the local first grade competition.
“We’ve set standards with our squad, so for anybody who comes up or down, we expect them to adhere to those standards, which we hold pretty high,” said Hamer.
“We play the same style that we want to play every week but it has been hard for us over the past few weeks because we have had a few injuries and have lost some players, but it just goes to show the depth that we’ve got. The pre-season’s really starting to show its worth at the moment, so we’re really happy with that.”
STATS BEHIND INCREDIBLE ROUT
In case anyone forgot that Erina was on top of the table, the Eagles produced a quite remarkable second-half performance in the team’s 59-16 rout of Terrigal on Sunday.
Leading just 20-10 at halftime, the Eagles really turned it on after the break to pile on seven tries and blow the Sharks out of the water.
While the scoreline was impressive enough, a deeper look at some of the statistics reveals the true nature of Erina’s domination as it ruthlessly starved Terrigal of the ball.
Remarkably, between the 42nd and 72nd minute of the game, the Sharks had one set in possession and forced the Eagles to make just two tackles before losing the ball, with the team failing to complete a single set for half an hour of play.
During that time the Eagles completed 14 sets from 14 and scored seven tries as the scoreline blew out from 20-10 to 58-10.
More incredibly, between the 57th and 66th minute Erina scored four tries in successive sets, which formed part of a stunning run that saw the side pile on seven tries in eight sets.
“We got four tries back to back where we scored four in a seven-minute period. That was sort of the game in itself, we put on 24 points in 10 minutes,” said Erina coach Dane Allen.
“It was a case of when they did get the ball they came up with an error, then they gave us a penalty and we marched up field and then we scored again.”
ROUND 12 WRAP
There were plenty of upsets during round 12 of the RLCC, with a couple of teams pulling off performances off the season to knock over their more highly fancied opponents.
Elsewhere, there were also some fireworks as the competition’s leaders went to work with blistering displays.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
WYONG SNAPS 800-DAY DROUGHT WITH DERBY WIN
Wyong has snapped a five-game losing streak against rivals Toukley and in the process broken an 800-day local derby drought with a nailbiting 8-4 victory on old boys’ day at Morry Breen Oval.
A couple of second half penalty goals proved to be the difference in the bruising encounter, which saw the Roos get the better of the Hawks for the first time since round three 2022, a whopping 798 days.
“It was huge. We haven’t beaten them for two and a half years, and the fact that they’ve got us in two major semis as well, it was very rewarding,” said injured Roos’ captain-coach Todd Lewis.
“It was one of the toughest games of the last few years, it literally went down to the last minute. I think both teams ended up with just one person on the bench, so it was pretty chaotic. It felt like a grand final, that’s for sure.”
In particular, Lewis was pleased with how his forwards matched it with Toukley’s double premiership-winning pack.
“That’s how they (Toukley) have won the comp over the last few years: they’ve played 80 minutes and just ground teams out,” he said.
“Today it was that for both sides, so to beat them at their own game and go head to head – and it wasn’t a pretty game – was huge.”
He added: “Everyone played really well today but (prop) Matt Sheppard, (lock) Jye Boyle and (hooker) Zac Gillett were huge.”
Coming into the game with just two wins to their name so far this season, the Roos started well and crossed first through forward Bowen Hunter. It was a tight affair played through the middle, and with points scarce, Wyong took the chance to extend its lead to late in the half with a penalty goal to give the side a 6-0 lead at the break.
The slugfest continued in the second half. While Toukley back-rower Jakob Giles finally broke Wyong’s resolve with a try 25 minutes from time and the Hawks pushed hard for a late winner, the Roos held firm for the rest of the game and added another penalty goal late as they claimed a hard-fought two points.
“It was very, very physical. It was a tough game as both sides were sort of bashing each other for fun,” said Lewis. “It was great to have a tough, gritty win. We said before the game that we need this if we want to have a shot at the semis.”
In a weekend of upsets, the loss leaves Toukley in third place, while the Roos bounce up into sixth, three points outside the top four.
Wyong 8 defeated Toukley 4
‘PUMPED’: KINCUMBER DOWN WOY WOY IN THRILLER
Kincumber has pulled off another upset with a nailbiting 22-20 win over Woy Woy at Woy Woy Oval.
After an even first half, the Colts pulled away from the Roosters with back-to-back tries before holding off a late Woy Woy comeback to close out the seesawing match and record the team’s second win of the season.
“It was a huge win. We’ve been building towards this for a few weeks,” said Kincumber coach Brad Bennett. “Last week against The Entrance we were in it until the end (before losing 16-14). We’re slowly building on it, we’re all playing for each other, which makes a big difference.”
It was a welcome victory for the side, who not only narrowly lost to the Tigers last weekend but was also held to a 14-all draw with Berkeley Vale in the preceding game.
“It makes a massive difference to close out games. We grinded it out and held on at the end there. We stuck in there and all just turned up for each other – and that’s what showed in the end.”
In particular, Bennett praised the work of his forwards, who took it to Woy Woy’s big pack.
“We were good all over the park and really dug in. But I thought our middles were awesome, they just kept turning up,” he said.
The coach was also pleased with his side’s work with the ball, as the team scored four tries for just the second time this season.
“The longer we kept the ball in play, the better we looked. Errors sort of got us out of that routine but when we completed, held the ball a bit and built some pressure we looked dangerous just about whenever we were down there, which was good,” Bennett said.
“Both sides played some good footy to score some points. At stages there were errors from both sides. But it was a physical game, so you can sort of expect that.”
There were plenty of twists and turns in the contest, which saw Woy Woy open the scoring early before tries to Ben Thomas and Josh Woutersz put the Colts up 10-4.
Roosters lock Luke Moore then continued the tit-for-tat nature of the opening stages with a try to ensure things remain locked up at 10-all.
From here, Kincumber enjoyed a strong period with Thomas crossing for his second and winger Finn Mitchell going over as the Colts streaked out to a 12-point lead midway through the second half.
However in a game full of swings in momentum, Woy Woy came back again, with Jake Hardman and Wade Hannell both going over in the final quarter of the match. And while the Roosters pushed hard to find a winner late on, Kincumber held on for a morale-boosting win.
“I was very nervous. We’ve got ourselves in those positions before but let it slide at the end. So to get the win it was a much better feeling,” said Bennett, who noted that spirits were high after the match.
“They were pumped. Our effort’s been building for the past few weeks and it’s good to get the result and give them some credit for the hard work they’ve been doing.”
Kincumber 22 defeated Woy Woy 20
RED-HOT ERINA RUN RIOT
Erina has maintained its spot at the top of the table and in the process continued its hot streak of form with a 59-16 thrashing of Terrigal at Duffys Road Oval.
Centre Finn Douch chalked up an individual haul of 25 points as the Eagles ran riot with a blistering seven-try second half that saw the side well and truly blow the Sharks away to keep its unbeaten run intact.
“Last week I gave a wrap to the middles but this weekend it was all about the outside backs – they were outstanding,” said Erina coach Dane Allen.
Indeed, the Eagles put on an attacking masterclass with four tries in consecutive sets during a ruthless period early in the second half that starved Terrigal of the ball.
“I think we got four tries back to back where we scored four in a seven-minute period. That was sort of the game in itself, we put on 24 points in 10 minutes.”
Despite the big win, it was a slow start from Erina as the team conceded the first try of the match after four minutes before striking back to lead just 20-10 at the break.
“At halftime we were up 20-10 but we played so poorly and so flat, and our focus areas as a team is our effort,” said Allen.
“We talk about ‘effort, effort, effort’ and to come out and play those first 40 minutes and have absolutely no effort in our team was pretty disappointing from a coaching staff perspective and I thought we were so far south of where we needed to be.
“That was sort of the chat at halftime, I gave them a bit of a spray in regards to having such poor effort and attitude in that first half. We were keeping them in the game and then obviously the boys flicked the switch in the second half and scored 20 or 30 points in a really short amount of time and that made the difference.”
While pleased with the overall team performance, Allen singled out one of his players for special praise.
“I thought our fullback Jack Frasca was outstanding. He would have had 200m from 20-odd carries but he was just a threat as well – he’s such a big, strong body and he was a handful. I thought he was probably our best.”
The victory keeps Erina at the top of the table and extends the side 2024 record to eight wins from eight, while Terrigal remains in last with just one win to its name so far this season.
Erina 59 defeated Terrigal 16
THE ENTRANCE HAMMERS BERKELEY VALE
The Entrance has maintained second place on the ladder and kept the heat on competition leaders Erina with a 50-4 hammering of Berkeley Vale at Edsacc Oval.
Five-eighth Haydan Ritchie scored two tries in a 22-point haul as the Tigers ran in nine tries to one in the lopsided encounter.
“It was a pretty slow game, unfortunately, but there were areas of the game that we were really happy with,” said The Entrance coach Jarod Hamer.
“I’m definitely happy with our attack. We know the areas where we want to attack, where we want to score our points and we’ve got a lot of push around those areas.”
Despite the heavy win, which saw fullback Max Trueman also bag a double, Hamer said there was room for improvement.
“I don’t want to be too hard on them but I was a little disappointed in the try (we conceded), that’s something we probably could have defended. We need to be better in those areas and when we play other sides in the back-end of the year who are sitting up in the same area as us we need to defend them.”
The big win ensures the Tigers remain in second place on the ladder, just one point behind leaders Erina. The side has scored an incredible 342 points from its 10 games so far this season, more than 50 more than its nearest rivals, and conceded just 86 to leave it with a points difference of 256.
Meanwhile, the loss was another concerning sign for Berkeley Vale, who experienced its second heavy defeat in consecutive games after a 60-0 loss to Erina last weekend.
The Entrance 50 defeated Berkeley Vale 4
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