CENTRAL COAST RUGBY UNION
RESULTS
MAJOR SEMIFINAL
WOY WOY OVAL
SATURDAY, 27th AUGUST, 2016
PREMIER 1
Terrigal 23
Phil Heard, Sekope Maea, Dan Sargeant tries;
Aaron Tait 1 conversions, 2 penalty goals
defeated
Avoca Beach 17
Emile Thomas, Nathan Brown tries;
Nathan Brown 2 conversions, 1 penalty goal
PREMIER 2
Woy Woy 13
Damien Fleming try;
Jack Fletcher 1 conversion, 2 penalty goals
defeated
Ourimbah 9
Adam Williams 3 penalty goals
PRESIDENT’S CUP
Gosford 13
Karl Verhoef try;
Damien Montgomery 1 conversion, 2 penalty goals
defeated
The Lakes 12
Cameron Borg, Ben Garrett tries;
Jake Du Chateau 1 conversion
UNDER 19’s
Ourimbah 45
Rob Peden 3, Blake Andrews 2, Oliver Dark, Jonte Witt tries;
Jayden Pearson 5 conversions
defeated
Terrigal 13
David Warner, Sam Cusick tries;
Jye Cornish 1 penalty goal
REPORT :
In the Premier 1 Major Semi-final at Woy Woy Oval, Terrigal defeated Avoca Beach by 23 points to 17. It was a very tightly fought encounter from start to finish and neither team was able to get more than a few points away from the other team on the scoreboard.
The opening minutes saw play go from one end of the field to the other but with neither team able to break through. It was however at the 9th minute that Avoca Beach were able to open the scoring. After a period of attack their fullback Nathan Brown crossed for a try in the corner. His conversion of his own try from near touch had taken Avoca Beach to a 7 points to nil lead early in the match. Terrigal then had its period of attack and controlled things in the time just after the Avoca Beach try. They could not cross the line for a try however but were able to kick two penalty goals through their five-eight Aaron Tait. So at the midway point of the first half Avoca Beach led the match by the single point, by 7 points to 6. The match was developing into a real arm wrestle with both teams trying everything to get the break through. If anything, Terrigal may have had the better of the latter period of the first half but simply could not get through the Avoca Beach defence. In fact, Avoca Beach kicked a penalty goal to further go ahead and led by 10 points to 6 at the 30th minute mark. The feature of the first half was the great defence of both sides and this was causing some frustration and also forcing some handling errors from both teams. It was close to halftime, in the 36th minute, that Terrigal was able to cross for their first try and to take the lead in the match. A forward surge saw lock Phil Heard cross for a good team try that took Terrigal to the lead by 11 points to 10. This remained the score at the halftime break. The closeness of the scores reflected the intensity and tightness of the match. Terrigal had several very good players in the match. Hooker Ethan McInnes was involved in everything, and he was well supported by players such as flanker Sam Kenny, halfback Sekope Maea, and centres Tom Lowe and Mitch Hirst. The same could be said for Avoca Beach. They had some excellent performances but none were better then that from No.8 Peter Steele, centre Matt Anderson, lock Emile Thomas, and fullback Nathan Brown. The second stanza continued in much the same way. But it was Terrigal who did commence this half the better. They attacked for a sustained period of time and were finally rewarded with a try to their halfback Sekope Maea. The conversion of this try had jumped Terrigal to a lead of 18 points to 10, in what was to prove the biggest margin in the match on the scoreboard. Avoca Beach were quickly to respond however and their lock Emile Thomas was able to reduce the lead to 18 points to 17 with a try in the 12th minute of the half. It was certainly proving an intense and closely fought battle. There was still just under half an hour to go in the match and only a single point separated the two teams. Terrigal went further ahead with a try in the 25th minute of this half when winger Dan Sargeant finished off an excellent backline move for the Terrigal side to go to a 23 points to 17 lead. Everyone knew a converted try to either team at this stage would secure the win. Avoca Beach certainly did most of the attacking in the final 10 minutes of the match. They threw everything at Terrigal and went close to scoring on several occasions. Despite this very good attack by Avoca Beach, it was the wonderful defence from Terrigal that was a feature of this final 10 minutes. They got to the break down in numbers and Avoca Beach simply could not get that necessary try. Terrigal were able to hang on for victory. They will go straight through to the Grand Final in 2 weeks time, while Avoca Beach will take on Ourimbah next Saturday in the Preliminary Final in an tempt to have another battle with Terrigal.
Woy Woy defeated Ourimbah in Premier 2 when they won the Major Semifinal by 13 points to 9. There was absolutely nothing between these two sides and the match went right down to the wire. The match was locked up at 6 points apiece at halftime, and it was the only try of the match, in the second half, that saw Woy Woy home. Flanker Damien Fleming capped off a great game when he scored the try after a strong run to the line. Both teams put on a display of structured rugby where defence proved to be the key to the match. Both teams knew they could have won this clash but it is the Woy Woy team who go straight through to the Grand Final in 2 weeks time while Ourimbah will meet Avoca Beach next Saturday in the Preliminary Final.
In another close match, Gosford were able to win the President’s Cup Major Semifinal, defeating The Lakes by 13 points to 12. This match was so even that the win could have gone either way. In fact, The Lakes did score two tries to one, but the goal kicking of Damien Montgomery got the Gosford team home. This was a very physical clash and both teams certainly threw everything at each other for the entire match. Gosford go straight through to their second successive President’s Cup Grand Final while The Lakes and Terrigal will meet next week to see who gets the chance to take on Gosford in the Grand Final.
In a one-sided game of rugby, Ourimbah defeated Terrigal in the Under 19 Major Semifinal by 45 points to 13. Ourimbah totally dominated this match from start to finish. They led by 33 points to 3 at the halftime break and the match was all but over even then. Ourimbah No.8 Rob Peden was outstanding and crossed for 3 personal tries. Terrigal did score two late tries but the win had already been secured by Ourimbah.
Preliminary Final next week …………………
Woy Woy Oval 3rd September
10.20 am Under 19’s Terrigal v. Avoca Beach
11.50 am President’s Cup Terrigal v. The Lakes
1.20 pm Premier 2 Ourimbah v. Avoca Beach
3.00 pm Premier 1 Ourimbah v. Avoca Beach
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