At the halfway point of the Central Coast Rugby Union competition, five teams are fighting to make the top four in the Premier 1 finals series.
Terrigal is locked in top spot, with Warnervale sitting in second position.
The Razorbacks, Avoca Beach and Lake Macquarie are only separated by a single point on the competition ladder which is so close that anything could happen in the second half of the season.
Round 7 on Saturday, June 1, saw Avoca Beach and Warnervale meet at Heazlett Park in very damp and overcast conditions.
Warnervale caused a minor upset when they defeated the reigning premiers Avoca Beach by 18-12.
It was an wrestle from start to finish in extremely difficult conditions with continual rain during the match and an occasional heavy downpour.
Warnervale opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a penalty goal, with Avoca Beach responding with a converted try at the midway point of the first half to take the lead by 7-3.
Avoca Beach went further ahead right on half-time when flanker Fionn Henderson-Foley crashed over for a try wide out, taking the half-time score to 12-3.
It was in the second half that Warnervale really came to the fore, playing some great wet weather rugby.
They scored the first of their two second half tries in the 15th minute of that half and the second not long after, taking a 15-12 lead.
The win was cemented late in the half when Warnervale kicked a penalty goal to make the final score 18-12.
The Warnervale forward pack dominated proceedings and their best players were props Jacob Gaul, Tupou Soane and lock Enosi Falekaono, who scored a vital try.
Best players for Avoca Beach were hooker Cooper Elliott, lock Emile Thomas, centre Liam Jenkins and wing Tyke Harvey.
Warnervale also took home the Challenge Shield for the first time since its inception in 2014.
At Gosford Showground, Gosford hosted Terrigal.
It was all Terrigal for the huge majority of the contest and they defeated Gosford 40- 5.
Terrigal scored early with a converted try and never really looked back from that point.
The match was played in very trying conditions, with Terrigal going into the half-time break with a 26-5 lead.
Gosford scored their only points in the first half when prop Karl Verhoef crashed over for a try.
Terrigal maintained the rage in the second half and went on to post a further 14 points.
For Terrigal, top players were flanker Sam Kenny, five-eight Adam Danckert, lock Issac Riviere and hooker Ethan McInnes.
Gosford was best served by locks Taylor Mildren and Brad Porter and flanker Marley Williams.
The match between the Lake Macquarie and Woy Woy at Walters Park was a fierce contest from start to finish.
Lake Macquarie won the match by 26-17 but they certainly did not have it all their own way.
They scored the opening try and led by 7-3 early on, soon increasing this to a 19-3 lead before Woy Woy scored their first try late in the half to reduce Lake Macquarie’s lead to 19-10 at the half-time break.
Each team scored seven points in the second half securing the win for Lake Macquarie.
Best players for Lake Macquarie were flanker Joe Lewer, centre Ifan Hunnam and No.8 Rob Buaserau.
Woy Woy’s better players were halfback Mitch Hyde, No.8 Tali Sitani and hooker Sione Fanua.
Jacob Mills posted 12 personal points in the match for the visitors.
The Women’s 12s competition saw Lake Macquarie record a pleasing win over Woy Woy, with The Lakes and Avoca Beach also victorious in their respective matches.
At the halfway point of the competition, the ladder sees three teams – Terrigal, Lake Macquarie and Avoca Beach – in a three-way struggle for the Minor Premiership, while the remaining teams fight for the final spot in the top four.
In the President’s Cup competition, The Lakes, Lake Macquarie, Terrigal and Warnervale all recorded victories on Saturday.
The competition ladder sees Terrigal and Warnervale at the top at the halfway point in the 2024 season.
Kariong and The Lakes make up the other two teams in the top four at this stage of the year.
There will be no Premier 1 rugby on Saturday, June 8 as representative teams – Senior Men’s 1st XV, Women’s XV and Colts – travel to Tamworth for the NSW Country Rugby Championships over the long weekend.
The Central Coast competition will resume the following Saturday, June 15, with Round 8.
The Premier 1 points table sees Terrigal on 26, followed by Warnervale on 22, the Razorbacks on 18, Avoca Beach and Lake Macquarie on 17 and Gosford on 5.