THE Entrance will be forced into at least one change, if not more, after mounting a great escape and advancing to week two of the Newcastle Rugby League finals series.
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Ryan McDonald won't line up for the Tigers when they visit Cessnock for Sunday's minor semi after suffering suspected ACL damage.
McDonald, fellow winger Mao Uta and centre Grant Nelson were three casualties out of a tense battle with traditional rivals and fellow Central Coast club Wyong.
Uta and Nelson will now undergo tests this week after both copping head knocks in a 17-16 victory against the Roos in Sunday's elimination semi at St John Oval.
"Two of them should be okay. Ryan McDonald is gone now with an ACL. Mao finished the [first] half but it's just not worth the risk these days and Grant had six or seven stitches [forehead]. Hopefully they will both be sweet, but they will have to see the doc this week," The Entrance coach Jamy Forbes said.
The Tigers injury toll, coming from 16 points down and last week's coaching backflip for 2024, saw Forbes rate the win as "right up there".
"Losing two wingers and a centre, we had front-rowers and back-rowers playing out wide, certainly made things tough," Forbes said.
"And with all the emotion of the last couple of weeks ... I think we were even too pumped up. The energy was really high in the warm up and we were just flat by the time we got out there.
"To their credit they regrouped and got it together at half-time, snuck home and had a good win."
The Entrance conceded tries at either end of the the first half, going to the break down 10-0 before Wyong extended their advantage to 16.
A 12-minute period midway through the second stanza changed all that, the Tigers rallying for three successive tries and levelling the score.
Entrance fullback Harrison Mulligan broke the deadlock with a late field goal but the Tigers were forced to withstand pressure in the closing stages, including Wyong's disallowed try in the corner.
Roos captain-coach Mitch Williams was left to lament a missed opportunity and finished 2023 campaign.
"After they scored their first try, the next 10 minutes I don't think we completed a set. Three errors in a row," Williams said.
"The second try off a kick was a bit funny, we weren't sure if it was a knock on. But even leading 16-12 they had all the running and just couldn't cope at that stage.
"It wasn't until they scored their next try that we got back into the arm wrestle of the game and got ourselves in a position to try and win it."
Williams thought Wyong managed to snatch back the lead when Lathan Hutchinson-Walters dived over, only to be ruled out.
"I thought we had that try in the left corner. The in-goal touchie said try, but obviously the [actual] touchie had his flag up," Williams said.
"I'm not close enough to see if he went out or not, but it was close."
The Entrance now turn their attention to what Forbes describes as a "massive" challenge against the Goannas at Cessnock Sportsground.
Cessnock's only loss at home this season came against the Tigers (30-14) in round 15.
"They don't lose very often at home. I know we knocked them off last time but they quite a few sitting on the sideline so I'm not reading too much into that," Forbes said.
Cessnock captain-coach Harry Siejka said injured recruit Tony Pellow was an outside chance of returning.
Minor premiers the Pickers host Souths at Maitland Sportsground in Saturday's major semi.
IN THE NEWS:
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.
