CENTRAL COAST RUGBY UNION
RESULTS
MAJOR SEMIFINAL
WOY WOY OVAL
SATURDAY, 2nd SEPTEMBER, 2017
PREMIER 1
Ourimbah 30
Tyler Jones 2, Owen Turner, Caleb Pritchard tries
Ryan Fenning 2 conversions, 2 penalty goals
defeated
Terrigal 25
Josh Vainikolo, Dylon Calabria, Dan Sargeant tries
Adam Danckert 2 conversions, 2 penalty gals
PREMIER 2
Terrigal 16
Diego Duyn, Brent Merritt tries
Aaron Tait 2 penalty goals
defeated
Ourimbah 8
Nathan Grey try
Ryan Pike penalty goal
PRESIDENT’S CUP
Ourimbah 21
Ryan Keegan, Andrew Littlefield tries
Jim Holt conversion, 3 penalty goals
defeated
Gosford 17
Adam Beavis, Adam Carlisle, John Sullivan tries
Damien Montgomery conversion
UNDER 19’s
Kariong 30
Brandon Shillingsworth 2, Lachlan Bell, Jake Hubbard tries
Ben Flakus 2 conversions, 2 penalty goals
defeated
Avoca Beach 28
Will Grassby, Tim Newton, Connor Kondrat tries
Isaac Barnes 2 conversions, 3 penalty goals
REPORT :
Ourimbah caused an unexpected upset in the Premier 1 Major Semi-Final at Woy Woy Oval when they defeated Terrigal by 30 points to 25. Early in the second half it looked as though Terrigal would have another win under their belt but the Razorbacks had other ideas and staged a wonderful comeback to book their spot in the 2017 Premier 1 Grand Final. Terrigal dominated early on and within the first thirty minutes they’d taken a handy 13 points to nil lead and were certainly in charge of all aspects of play on the field. They had control of the set pieces with a strong scrum, solid lineout and they looked very organised in general play. Ourimbah seemed to have no answers for the Terrigal attack and everything was going the Trojans’ way. Just before half-time though, Ourimbah were able to get on the scoreboard with a converted try after a period of sustained pressure and later a penalty goal had closed the gap at half-time to 13 points to 10. Both teams knew they had work to do as they went into the break. Two quick tries to Terrigal immediately after half-time to their winger Dan Sargaent and number 8 Josh Vainikolo, got Terrigal well ahead on the scoreboard and most in the large crowd assumed they would go on to secure an expected win. At this stage, they were certainly playing well enough to give the crowd this impression with flankers Sam Kenny and Ryan Metcalfe in everything, providing their backs with the ball needed to have plenty of attacking chances. Slowly but surely though, Ourimbah worked their way back into the contest. Ill-discipline by the Terrigal side gave Ourimbah some momentum and enabled them to work their way up the field with easy metres from penalties. A Caleb Pritchard try to finish off a slick backline move by Ourimbah pegged the score back, and another try soon after to centre Owen Turner under the posts, tied the scores up at 25 all, with just under 20 minutes left to play. The nerves took hold of both sides and the game stagnated, with neither team able to create a scoring opportunity for the next 15 minutes. With 3 minutes to go, Ourimbah were the ones who created a chance and lock Tyler Jones was able to score in the corner to claim his second try of the match and put his team ahead 30 points to 25. Terrigal knew they still had time and were able to get on the attack as the hooter blew, but even with a scrum close to their tryline and a pushover on the cards as well as their backline ready to attack, they were unable to cross the try line and Ourimbah took the spoils in the Major Semi-Final. Terrigal lose their undefeated status and will meet Kariong in next Saturday’s Preliminary Final. It was a great effort by the Ourimbah side and while a shock to most people at the ground, it was a well deserved win. Terrigal will go back to the drawing board and work hard this week to prepare for a tough clash against Kariong who are coming off a solid Minor Semi-Final win over Warnervale.
The Premier 2 Major Semi-Final saw Terrigal defeat Ourimbah by 16 points to 8. Terrigal kicked a penalty goal early and were never headed on the scoreboard for the entire match. They went into half-time up by 8 points to 3 and both sides were playing good rugby and knew if the bounce went their way, they could win. In the second half Terrigal got on top and were able to score another try and secure the win. Best for the victors were hooker Mitch Clack and fullback Martin Wahbe, while Ourimbah’s centre Jack Stonestreet always looked dangerous in attack. Terrigal head straight to the Grand Final while Ourimbah will play The Lakes next Saturday.
The President’s Cup Major Semi-Final was a heated affair which saw Ourimbah claim a minor upset by defeating Minor Premiers Gosford by 21 points to 17. Gosford suffered only their second loss this year, to an Ourimbah side who didn’t allow Gosford to play their usual free flowing game of rugby. Ourimbah were up by 15 points to 7 at half-time and never lost this lead. They extended it to 21 points to 7 before Gosford scored two late tries to have their chance to win but it wasn’t to be the Red Devils’ day. Ourimbah are now in the Grand Final in two weeks time and Gosford will play Avoca Beach in next Saturday’s Preliminary Final, the only other side to have beaten them in 2017.
In a high scoring U/19’s Major Semi-Final, Kariong kicked a late penalty goal to defeat Avoca Beach 30 points to 28. Avoca got off to a great start and were up 10-0 mid-way through the first half. Kariong were able to even the game up and just before half-time tied the scores up at 17 all, but an Avoca Beach penalty goal to five-eight Isaac Barnes sent them into the break up by 20 points to 17. Kariong’s talented backline scored two tries just after half-time and put their side out to a 27-20 lead but it wasn’t going to end there. Avoca Beach scored a try and kicked a penalty goal to reclaim the lead but it wasn’t to be a win for Avoca when Kariong’s five-eight kicked a long range penalty goal to claim the 30-28 win for his side. Kariong are into the Grand Final and Avoca Beach will play Terrigal in next Saturday’s Preliminary Final.