Rugby League Central Coast: Wrap, results, talking points from week one of the finals
One side has continued its remarkable big-game record against its rivals after a thrilling lower-grade clash in the RLCC.
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The field has been narrowed to three after a dramatic first week of the RLCC finals.
In the minor semi-final one team has reinforced its status as a bogey side after an impressive victory.
Meanwhile there was a try at the death as the competition’s top-two teams slugged it out in a thrilling major semi.
Catch up with some of the biggest talking points and a wrap of the action below.
ERINA’S RESSIES CONTINUE BIG-GAME HOODOO
There was a sense of deja vu in reserve grade, with Erina knocking over The Entrance 20-18 in the major semi-final.
After both regular-season fixtures between the two sides had been washed out, the teams clashed for the first time in 2024, with the Eagles handing the Tigers their first loss of the year to go straight through to the grand final next weekend.
It continues Erina’s remarkable recent run of success over The Entrance in big games.
The Eagles have beaten the Tigers in the last two reserve grade grand finals, including upsetting the previously undefeated The Entrance outfit 18-10 in last year’s decider.
And while Erina once again ruined the Tigers’ 100 per cent record over the weekend, assistant coach Ryan Owens said he doesn’t feel as though his side has it over their rivals.
“We beat them the last two years in a row in the grand final but I don’t think we’ve got the wood over them because they’re a different side once again and, to be honest, they nearly had us again in that game,” he said.
“They were missing a few players and so were we,” he added
“I think it just comes down to our team. We’ve got a real good mix of age and youth in our side. We hadn’t played them this year before, this was the first time. But if we played them earlier in the season it might have been different.
“I can’t really put an answer down as to why. Good coach, great players and that’s about it.”
The victory sees the Eagles go straight through to the reserve grade grand final, where they will be out to win their third-straight premiership.
“The first time we won in ’22 was the first time the club had won a second grade premiership in 28 years,” said Owens. “So now to be going for three in a row, that’s massive not just for the boys and coach but for the club as a whole.”
EAGLES PREVAIL IN LEAGUE TAG BATTLE ROYALE
It was also a good weekend for Erina in league tag, with the Eagles knocking over The Entrance 16-12 in a major semi-final blockbuster to move straight through to the decider.
Just like in reserve grade, the teams hadn’t played each other in 2024 due to a series of washouts and entered the game as the top two teams in the competition.
And despite finishing the second on account of a couple of forfeits throughout the season, the Eagles prevailed 16-12 to hand The Entrance its first loss in more than two years.
“We hadn’t played each other all year because of washouts. Neither team was really sure what to expect, but it was really good. I wish all the games were like that, to be honest,” said Erina coach Adam Carlisle.
“Defence was strong, attack was good. I know all the girls enjoyed it.”
In fact, a look the statistics shows just how big of a game it was.
Both sides went into the game undefeated after flawless seasons. In defence, both teams had remarkably conceded just 44 points over the course of the 18-round season, while The Entrance had piled on 530 and Erina 498 points in a truly dominant year.
“A lot of the girls know each other through Oztag rep teams, so they’ve all played together and against each other for a long time. They’re both very skilful sides and I think we’ll be playing them again in the grand final,” said Carlisle.
The win has given the Eagles plenty of confidence as they look to break the Tigers’ stranglehold on the competition.
“They’ve been the best side for about the last four years,” said Carlisle. “Our girls knew we could match it and beat them, we just had to do it. Now we’ve just got one more to go.”
WOY WOY’S UNSUNG HERO LEADS ROOSTERS
Woy Woy has surged to within one game of the RLCC grand final after knocking over The Entrance 26-12 in the minor semi-final.
The victory was the team’s fourth straight as it hits form at the right time of the season.
And while the Roosters have the likes of big-name stars in the form of NRL premiership winner Andrew Fifita, halfback Reece Piepers has emerged as a key man for the side.
“He’s been really good, just kicking long, bringing a voice and being a general to get the lads around the park,” said coach Blake McLean.
After having spent most of the season in reserve grade, Piepers has arguably been one of the biggest reason behind Woy Woy’s late season charge.
Indeed, after a tricky mid-season spell that saw the Roosters lose three on the bounce and slip into a dogfight for fourth place, the halfback was first called up for the round 15 clash with Berkeley Vale. Since then Woy Woy has defeated the Panthers, Terrigal and The Entrance twice while not losing a game.
“He didn’t really knuckle down until about two months ago, then he started coming to training and putting some really good performances in second grade,” said McLean.
“In the end he just put that much pressure on that we had to pick him and he’s been awesome. I think we’ve been awesome since he came up.
“He’s definitely brought a calmness to the team that we didn’t have. He’s only 22-23 years old but he’s got an old head on his shoulders and a good footy brain – he’s been really good for us.”
OURIMBAH FLYING HIGH
It was a big weekend for Ourimbah, with the Magpies featuring in three games to kick off the finals series.
And although the under-19s went down to Kincumber 28-12, both the reserves (20-10 v Wyong) and open grade (12-4 v Wyong) won their respective finals.
This means that the reserves team will take on The Entrance in this weekend’s preliminary final, while the open grade team will progress straight through to the grand final next weekend.
“We’re happy with the way the club’s progressing and going in the right direction,” said president Warrick Faint. “We missed out in the 19s but that was their first year together, a whole new team, so they did very well to get there.”
Indeed, it has been a positive season for the Magpies, who entered sides in reserves, opens, league tag and the under-19s, with the club entering a 19s team for the first time since 2021.
“If you’d have told me at the beginning of the year that we’d have three out of the four in the semis, with one in the grand final and one maybe, then I’d have taken it,” said Faint.
The strong performances of the lower grade teams has also given Ourimbah confidence that it can successfully make the step up to entering a team into first grade next season.
“It’s happening, it’s already in the plan,” said Faint.
“There’s still a long way to go with organising but it certainly does help with the lower grades going well.”
And while the club managed to entice to some local juniors back to the club for 2024, it is putting out the call for more former Magpies to return in 2025 and beyond.
“We’d love to try and get all our local juniors back – that’s our goal,” said Faint.
FINALS WEEK ONE WRAP
There was plenty to play for as the RLCC finals series kicked off over the weekend.
Grand final spots were up for grabs, while other sides were looking to keep their season alive as the minor and major semi-finals took place at Darren Kennedy Oval.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
TOUKLEY EDGES ERINA IN THRILLING MAJOR SEMI
Toukley has stormed into its third-straight grand final and given itself a chance at pulling off a remarkable three-peat after defeating Erina 10-8 in a gritty major semi-final at Darren Kennedy Oval.
One try in the second minute of the game and then another at the death sealed the dramatic victory for the Hawks, who continued their incredible form in big games to hand the Eagles their first loss of the season.
“We had three or four guys who came back from six weeks off with injury, there’s probably another two or three of us who haven’t played for three or four weeks, so I was pretty concerned about the match fitness, particularly being a major semi-final with things being end to end,” said Toukley captain-coach Jake Fitzpatrick.
“But like always, you can’t doubt their effort and commitment, and essentially that’s what gets us over the line in these big games. They’re just committed to get the result, no matter how, and do what has to be done. I’m pretty proud of them.”
There were shades of last year’s grand final, in which Toukley defeated Erina 8-6, in the contest, as both sides defended well and didn’t give up too many opportunities to their opponents.
“In these big games and especially against Erina, there’s no room for error,” said Fitzpatrick. “They scored their two tries off our errors, and both from kicks, which isn’t ideal.
“It was end to end, opportunities don’t come around that often. The side that minimises those errors as much as they can and then takes the opportunities when they arise essentially comes out on top.”
In amongst the joy there was also plenty of relief for Fitzpatrick who, with his side trailing 8-6, missed an opportunity to level things up late in the game.
“I had a penalty goal with about six to go pretty much in front and bloody missed it. It hit the upright and I thought, ‘What have I done?’ But then with two minutes to go we went down the short side and scored,” he said.
It was a wonderful finish for the Toukley fans, who had the chance to watch their team at home after the RLCC board moved the game from Erina to Darren Kennedy Oval during the week.
“The crowd was unbelievable,” said Fitzpatrick.
“It’s the first time it’s ever happened at Toukley to be able to host the major semi-final and have a Toukley side there. I always wondered as a kid what that’d be like, what the scenes would be like, and Sunday just fulfilled all of that.”
In a clash between the top two teams in the competition, the game started just as it end, in dramatic fashion.
Erina got off to a horror start when halfback Cameron Davies dropped the kick-off cold. It presented the Hawks with a golden opportunity and they didn’t miss out, with lock Josh Kessler crashing over with just the third play of the game for the first try after just 75 seconds.
While the Eagles handed the home side a gift early on, Toukley repaid the favour 11 minutes in when fullback Kiran Page spilled an Erina grubber on his own line, with the Eagles putting the ball through the hands for centre Riley Stevenson to score. In windy conditions Finn Douch put the conversion attempt wide as Toukley led 6-4.
From here the Hawks enjoyed the better field position as they sought to pin Erina in its own half. But just as the team had done all season, Erina’s defence held firm and repelled set after set deep in its own end.
The extra defending seemed to be having an impact, with the Eagles making a string of crucial errors coming out of their own end.
And while Toukley’s middles were making good yards through the guts, it seemed as though the Erina was able to diffuse every attack thrown at them, with the Eagles holding on to ensure the score remained 6-4 at the break.
Erina had weathered the storm towards the end of the first half and started to enjoy some possession in better territory on the back of a few penalties.
The game moved into a grind for field position, while both sides struggled to find the finishing touch as knock-ons and forward passes crept into the game.
Erina’s Luke Maljevac was put into space down the left wing but the ball was called forward, while a few minutes later Toukley centre DJ Goolagong made a break, only for the final pass to fail to hit a flying Page on the inside.
A couple of minutes later Erina looked destined to score when Page failed to hold a grubber from Erina’s Finn Douch, only for Douch himself to spill the ball over the line.
There had been 50 minutes of football without points but the Eagles were knocking on the door and finally broke through midway through the second half when hooker Zade Besley dummied and dived over close to the line. Douch hit the post with his conversion attempt and Erina led just 8-6 with 20 remaining.
Suddenly it was Toukley who needed points, and when Fitzpatrick was hit high, he jumped at the chance to take the two. However the wind was making things hard for kicking, and the Toukley captain hit the upright.
Smarting from the miss, Toukley’s main man nevertheless helped have the last say, darting down the short side to put Goolagong into space, before the centre passed on to Ben Neville to dive over in the corner to put the Hawks in front and claim another famous win.
While Toukley will move straight through to the decider, Erina will take on Woy Woy in the preliminary final this weekend.
Toukley 10 (Jarrod Kessler, Neville tries; Josh Kessler one goal) defeated Erina 8 (Stevenson, Besley tries)
WOY WOY ROLLS ON WITH STATEMENT WIN
Woy Woy has fired the first shot in the 2024 finals series after putting in an impressive performance to defeat The Entrance 26-12 in the elimination minor semi-final at Darren Kennedy Oval.
A blistering first half display and a bit of NRL magic from star player Andrew Fifita helped the Roosters knock the Tigers out and book their spot in the preliminary final next weekend.
“I’m really happy with the win. With these games, it doesn’t matter how much you win by, you just wanna win and we’re through to the prelim now,” said coach Blake McLean.
“We made it a little bit harder than what it needed to be. We were up 20-0 and then we just went away from what we were doing well at the start and what was working for us for a 15-20-minute period there and they put on two tries. But then it got back into a grind and we got back on top and finished well.”
Indeed, Woy Woy came firing out of the blocks and at one stage led by 20 points, with the Roosters running riot through The Entrance defence before ultimately taking a 20-4 lead into the break.
And while the Tigers started the second half well and scored two quick tries to reduce the margin to eight, Woy Woy once again reasserted its dominance over the contest and scored a late try to put the game to bed.
“We just played our gritty footy. We just rolled the sleeves up, tried to knock the front door down, kicked long, chased hard and just backed our dee,” said McLean.
“We just got in the grind, did what we planned and applied some pressure. We pretty much started that 40 like we finished that 40 against them a few weeks ago (in round 17).
“I said at the time that that second half against The Entrance was probably the best footy that we’ve played this year and then we rolled that straight into this half.
“We got lost a little bit at the start of the second half but they kept coming and they’re a good side. Losing 20-0, a lot of teams could give up but they kept fighting and made us work for it.”
And while the team caused all sorts of trouble for The Entrance in attack with its second-phase footy, McLean said he was impressed with what his chargers did without the ball, particularly in the first half.
“I was proud of our defence. I think they might have had five sets with good ball on our line and we kept turning them away,” he said.
“That can be disheartening for any team when you throw everything at the opposition and you come back with nothing, so I was definitely proud of the lads’ commitment in attack and defence, especially in that first 40, and then the way we finished the game, which was really good.”
Coming into the game having finished the regular season four points behind their rivals in fourth, Woy Woy scored in just the third minute when The Entrance failed to deal with an attacking grubber and forward Joel Body picked up the scraps to plant the ball down.
While the Tigers had plenty of opportunities in good field position, the Roosters’ defence firm and Woy Woy proved to be more ruthless, with Andrew Fifita charging over from close to put the side up 10-0 after 18 minutes.
The Roosters had looked the more dangerous in the opening stages and they rammed home their advantage 27 minutes in when hooker Justin McDermott brushed aside some sloppy defence to break the line before putting in a brilliant grubber for fullback Jessi O’Neill-Pethebridge score an excellent try.
There were gaping holes in The Entrance’s defence and another line break and quick play-the-ball from Jake Hardman allowed McDermott to put O’Neill-Pethebridge over again for his second to give the Roosters a commanding 20-0 lead after 35 minutes.
The Tigers were struggling, but back-rower Lachlan Bell pulled one back on the stroke of halftime to make it 20-4, while the team struck again early in the second half through Haydan Ritchie.
The Entrance was on a bit of a roll and winger Taine Peterson got the team right back in the game with a brilliant solo effort.
Carting the ball out from his own line, the winger sliced through the defence and then made a break up the touchline. Showing plenty of strength and speed, he bumped off Woy Woy fullback O’Neill-Pethebridge and then beat two others to score a brilliant 95m try to make it 20-12 with 27 minutes remaining.
The match remained in the balance until deep into the second half, when Fifita produced a bit of magic to put the game out of reach. Picking the ball up five metres out from the Tigers’ line, the big forward put a clever grubber in behind the line and then followed up on his kick to dive on the ball to put the side up 26-12 with just over 10 minutes remaining and ultimately seal the match.
The victory continued Woy Woy’s dominance over The Entrance, with the Roosters having defeated their rival on all three occasions this season.
Woy Woy will now move into the preliminary final against the loser of Sunday’s major semi-final between Erina and Toukley.
As for The Entrance, the loss marks the end of what was a promising season for the team. At times the Tigers looked like premiership favourites on the back of some free-flowing footy, however injuries and the loss of players to the club’s Denton Cup team took its toll on the side towards the back end of the season.
Woy Woy 26 (O’Neill-Pethebridge 2, Fifita 2, Body tries; Piepers three goals) defeated The Entrance 12 (Bell, Ritchie, Peterson tries)
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