Rugby League Central Coast: Wrap, results, standouts from round five
There was drama at both ends of the table in the RLCC, with two premiership contenders meeting in a tight battle and a perennial struggler breaking through for an emotional win.
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There were some huge moments during round five of the Rugby League Central Coast competition, with two heavyweights clashing in a local derby and one of the competition’s battlers breaking through for a famous win.
Check out a wrap of the action below.
AUSTIN INSPIRES BERKA TO BIG WIN
After winning just three games over the past four seasons and collecting four-straight wooden spoons, Berkeley Vale has broken through for a much-celebrated victory after defeating Ourimbah 32-22 in front of an extremely happy home crowd at Ted Doyle Oval.
Led by an outstanding performance from former NRL star Blake Austin, the Panthers blew their opponents away with four tries in a crucial 25-minute period in the second half to secure the 10-point victory.
“It’s one of those things that the boys have needed for so long,” said coach Mark Jurd. “It’s a breath of fresh air. We’re rebuilding the club and the boys loved it.”
The coach paid tribute to the club’s high-profile recruit Austin, who crossed for a try and was instrumental in setting up the win.
“The way Blake Austin took the reins and pushed our boys round the park was immense,” he said. “His kicking game was immense, that really brought us home.”
After going down to last year’s grand finalists Toukley in heartbreaking fashion the dying stages of their round two clash before being hammered 52-6 by premiers Erina last weekend, the Panthers showed plenty of character to stick it to the Magpies, who themselves are led by two-time NRL premiership winner James Maloney.
The teams traded tries in the first half as Berkley Vale went into the break up 10-8.
While the match was well and truly in the balance, a stunning 25-minute period after halftime ultimately decided the match as the home side piled on four tries to stretch out to a 24-point lead.
And although Ourimbah fought back with three tries in the final 10 minutes, the damage had already been done as the Panthers held on for the win.
In addition to his star recruit, Jurd said that the platform for victory was laid by his forward pack, who shone early in the second half as Berkeley Vale ran away with the game.
“We’ve got good depth in our middles and having so many who can keep rolling forward for us was probably the turning point,” he said.
“We’ve got these young forwards that are big, tough and strong and they’re just rising to the occasion. They’re just tough young kids and we just rolled off the back of that,” he added.
“Ourimbah played really good footy and tried hard, but I think our depth in the middle got us over the line.”
The victory, which comes off the back of a narrow six-point loss to Toukley and a thrashing at the hands of Erina, is a big shot in the arm for the side, which is looking to break its wooden spoon spell and climb up the ladder in 2025.
“The biggest thing that I said to the boys when I took over last year was, ‘Help is on the way. We’ve got good guys coming to the club and change is here,’” said Jurd.
“And you can see that change. The culture is really good, it’s probably one of the best cultures on the Coast at the moment. We’re all in it, everyone hangs around. We had everyone in the rain all day and then everyone hung around past the presentation, on Mother’s Day as well. We just had people turning up, which was awesome.”
Berkeley Vale 32 (Anderson, Williams, Austin, Yalisaya, Russel, Crutcher tries; Austin four goals) defeated Ourimbah 22 (Gerdol 3, Bell, Va’enuku tries; Bissaker one goal)
ERINA CLAIMS HEAVYWEIGHT DERBY WIN
Erina has stood up to yet another challenge as the team continues its excellent start to its title defence, holding off a star-studded Kincumber side 18-12 in a physical local derby at MacKillop Oval.
In a clash between the defending premiers and a team that many expect to be the main challengers for the title, the Eagles jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first half before holding off the Colts in a game that ended three tries apiece.
“It was a tough one, average conditions,” said Erina coach Dane Allen. “It certainly played into their hands with the crowd and the weather but the boys just stuck to the task and, the same as last year, played some tough footy and came out on top.”
He added: “We didn’t play great but to come out with a really positive win is a good team-builder and morale-booster for us. We’ll take it, and to come away from Kincumber with the two points is always handy.”
Playing against a side that features five former NRL players – headlined by internationals David Fifita and Matt Moylan – and arguably the most impressive forward pack in the competition, the Eagles did well to match it with the Colts in the middle, with Allen paying particular credit to his forwards.
“Our blokes were up to the challenge and gave it to them. It was a nice physical contest as we expected in the wet with their big boys.
“But our smaller blokes just got up under the ball and got some reward for our effort. I was very impressed. Our middle third got all of our three, two, one points, so that’s an indication of how well they played.”
In what was a highly anticipated local derby between two previously undefeated sides, the Eagles enjoyed the better of the first half as tries to Jack Smith, Seb Plaister and Tim Fitzpatrick saw the side jump out to an 18-6 lead at the break.
Errors crept into the game during the second half and Kincumber capitalised, with winger Josh Woutersz going over to reduce the deficit before a late try to star recruit Matt Moylan slashed the lead to just six and gave the Colts one late chance to snatch a draw.
And although the home side kept Erina scoreless in the second half, goalkicking ultimately let the side down as it failed to convert any of its three tries.
In addition to the all-important two competition points, the win carried a little bit of extra meaning in what was a highly anticipated local derby, with the two sides among the most impressive throughout the early stages of the season.
“We’d spoken during the week about what it means to them (Kincumber) as a team, and to get down there, put it to them and test us a little bit and give us an indication of where we’re at is what we were excited about,” said Allen.
“To not play great and still come out with the two points against a decent footy side is a positive for us.”
The win sees Erina extend its lead at the top of the ladder with four wins from four. Meanwhile for Kincumber, the loss is the team’s first of the season after kicking off with two strong wins.
Erina 18 (Smith, Plaister, Fitzpatrick tries; Douch two goals, Davies one goal) defeated Kincumber 12 (Davis, Woutersz, Moylan tries)
In other round five clashes, Wyong defeated The Entrance 18-4 and Toukley hammered Terrigal 34-0.
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