NEWCASTLE Rugby League clubs Central and Wests have both produced crucial wins on Sunday to keep alive their finals bid for 2023.
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Central finished strongly and beat The Entrance 24-18 at St John Oval, reducing the gap between the opponents to just two points on the competition ladder.
Sixth-placed Central move to 14 and fifth-placed The Entrance remain on 16 while seventh-placed Wests, who dominated Lakes 42-4 at Harker Oval, stay in touch on 13 with five rounds now left in the regular season.
Play-offs begin in August (12-13) but the top five may have essentially been set had results gone the other way in Sunday's key encounters.
"We keep in touch. The five would have been set [if we lost to Entrance]. Now it's two points [the difference] rather than six. We've given ourselves a chance," Central coach Phil Williams told the Newcastle Herald.
Central conceded 18 straight points either side of the break but, having initially led 12-0, the Butcher Boys replied with back-to-back tries in quick succession midway through the second half and hung on for a tense victory.
"We had to fight through a little bit of adversity. How good is that Myles [Lee-Tauli, Entrance prop] and how good are those centres? It was just a great team effort," Williams said.
The Entrance almost struck late when a first-tackle strip turned into an unexpected attacking raid, only to be repelled in desperation by the hosts.
"I'd just sent out a message about how to finish our own set ... just digging deep like that. Little things. People turned up," Williams said.
Butcher Boys five-eighth Steven Dengate nabbed a double and kicked all four conversions, fresh from two pressure kicks the last two rounds which helped earn Central competition points.
"Our for and against [record] isn't great so we've just got to keep winning, it's as simple as that," Williams said.
Wests ran in seven tries during a 38-point triumph at home, leading 16-4 at the break and keeping Lakes scoreless in the second half.
The Rosellas now have a 4-1-6 record this campaign while the ninth-ranked Seagulls suffered an eighth loss.
Saturday saw Maitland rally from 10 down midway through the second half to overcome visitors Cessnock 24-16 and strengthen their grip on this year's minor premiership, Wyong finished with 17 unanswered to beat Macquarie 33-14 at Morry Breen Oval while Souths' eighth straight win featured 40 points in the closing 20 minutes to thrash hosts Kurri Kurri 64-6.
Cessnock slips to a season-low fourth on the ladder, five points shy of leaders Maitland, while Wyong and Souths jump together into second spot. Macquarie still sit four points outside the top five and Kurri have yet to post a win.
LADDER: Maitland 24; Souths, Wyong 20; Cessnock 19; The Entrance 16; Central 14; Wests 13; Macquarie 12; Lakes 10; Northern Hawks 8; Kurri Kurri 2.
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
