Hunter Rugby Union: Gary Ella to weave magic at Lake Macquarie

Now, he hopes to sprinkle some of that Ella brothers magic dust at Lake Macquarie.

The 61-year-old recently moved to Morisset Park and has joined forces with first-grade coach Seru Rainima at Walters Park.

The former silken-skilled centre and younger brother of twins Mark and Glen was at training on Thursday and will be in the stands for the Roos' round -three date against Wanderers at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday.

"We have been talking to him for about 12 months," Roos director of rugby Matt Bartley said. "Gary will work with Seru and mainly look after the backline.

"He is very laid-back but has a wealth of knowledge. He has played for the Wallabies, coached at Randwick and achieved so much in Australian rugby. It is fantastic to have someone with his credentials at the club."

Lake Macquarie are undergoing another rebuild.

Rainima, who was involved with the Hunter Wildfires last season, has tapped into his Fijian connections.

Local juniors Nathan Mitchell, Liam Langejans and Jaidyn Marinos have made the step up to first grade, while the pack has been beefed up with the return of Mika Ioapa and the arrival from Scotland of prop Ryan Toogood and breakaway Billy McNeil.

They were in the match against Maitland at half-time, trailing 10-0, before being blown away late to go down 48-0.

However, the squad has been hit by illness and could have up to six sidelined against Wanderers.

The Two Blues, led by back-rowers Ben Ham, Liam Brice and Piers Morrell, are coming off an impressive win over University.

Elsewhere Saturday, University continue their tough start and initiation for new coach Sam Berry against an unbeaten Hamilton at Passmore Oval.

The Students opened their campaign with a 22-10 loss to Maitland at Marcellin Park and then succumbed to Wanderers 26-12.

"In both games we conceded just before half-time and just after half-time," said Berry, who took the reins after the departure of Tony Munro. "We gave up 14 points in a few minutes and lost both games by 14 points.

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"Last year we might have been losing by big margins to those teams. We are certainly in for a lot longer.

"Our defence has improved but in attack we are getting smashed at the ruck. We are struggling to beat the better teams there and aren't getting as much ball as we would like.

"Hamilton are always very strong at the breakdown and we have done a lot of work this week in preparation for that."

Dylan Heins returns at No.8, joining Jem George and new arrival Cameron Fish in the back-row. Bryce McKinnon, Sapati Peniata and Halatoa Havea anchor the scrum.

In other games, Merewether take on Singelton at Rugby Park and Nelson Bay are home to Southern Beaches.

The Students entered the campaign "extremely underdone" after having three trials washed out and Berry said facing three of the bigger clubs had hardened them up quickly.

"Having three top teams first-up wasn't too bad a thing," Berry said. "We may not have beaten them anyway. It has allowed us to get some miles in the legs. When we come against Singleton and other teams around us, we might be ready to go."

In other games, Merewether take on Singelton at Rugby Park and Nelson Bay are home to Southern Beaches.

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