THE gap between the Newcastle Rugby League's top-five sides and the rest of the pack is beginning to widen after some of the competition's front-runners continued their winning ways at the weekend.
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Four sides in the top five - Maitland, Souths, The Entrance and Central - recorded victories in round 11, on a weekend when the conditions could hardly have been more different between days.
On a mud-caked St John Oval on Sunday, a double from fullback Cameron Anderson helped fourth-placed Central put struggling Kurri Kurri away 34-4.
It was the Butcher Boys' fourth win in a row and solidified their place in the top five.
They are now five points clear, along with The Entrance and Cessnock who are on 16 points as well, of sixth-placed Wests.
On an equally as boggy Lyall Peacock Field on Sunday, The Entrance proved too strong for Macquarie, also notching their fourth-straight win with a 28-16 victory.
The Entrance led 12-4 heading into the second half and skipped away to a 28-4 advantage before late Macquarie tries.
On Saturday, Maitland extended their winning streak to six consecutive games, beating Wests 20-8 on a glorious day at Maitland Sportsground.
The Rosellas were well and truly in the game after scoring tries either side of half-time to make it 12-8, but the Pickers crossed again midway through the second stanza and kicked a penalty goal to pull away.
Souths fullback Reeve Howard bagged four tries as the Lions tore through Northern 46-24 at Tomaree Sportsground.
The score was 12-all after half-hour, but the Lions piled on 34 points that went unanswered until the Hawks scored two tries in the last 10 minutes.
POINTS TABLE: Maitland (19), Souths (18), The Entrance, Central, Cessnock (16), Wests (11), Lakes (9), Wyong (8), Macquarie (6), Kurri (3), Northern (2).
