THE Entrance and Cessnock stay locked together in third spot on the Newcastle Rugby League ladder following an entertaining 20-all draw at EDSAAC Oval on Sunday.
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Both teams had chances to clinch the win late, including an Entrance field-goal attempt hitting the upright and Cessnock's disallowed try, but they were eventually forced to share the spoils.
This result leaves the Tigers and Goannas, who have now recorded three draws so far in 2024, alongside one another with 17 points.
Maitland (21), Souths (20) and Central (16) round out the top five.
"Probably neither side deserved to lose today," Entrance coach Jamy Forbes told the Newcastle Herald.
"I would have liked the two points, but not to be ... certainly better than the opposition getting two points."
Entrance five-eighth Nick Newman opened the scoring inside five minutes but Cessnock wingers Joe Woodbury and Dylan Dukes replied with back-to-back efforts for an 8-6 lead at the break.
The Tigers came out firing with three straight four pointers, featuring a Mao Uta double and Newman's runaway intercept, to be up 20-8 on the hour.
The Goannas again rallied with replacement Mitch Shaw and hooker Luke Huth helping to level proceedings by the 76th minute.
Cessnock halfback Angus Ernst looked to have nabbed the winning try, only to be recalled for an obstruction penalty.
Entrance No.7 Brendan O'Hagan almost sealed the deal in the dying seconds, but his drop kick struck the framework.
"I was like the Toyota ad up in the air, but it [the ball] hit the upright and I had to come down deflated," Forbes said.
Multiple players were put on report during the round-13 encounter.
Shaw and Entrance's Toby Key were both pinned for hip-drop tackles while Tigers pair Joey Besgrove (crusher) and Jack Wilkinson-Alipate (high contact) also attracted attention.
Maitland and Souths maintained the top-two table positions, accounting for Central (26-24) and Lakes (38-18) at their respective headquarters on Saturday. The Pickers have now won seven straight games while Lions centre Travis Petersen crossed three times.
Timanu Alexander landed a hat-trick as the Northern Hawks broke through for their first win of 2024, prevailing 36-20 over hosts Kurri Kurri on Saturday and trading places with their opponents at the bottom of the rankings.
Wyong beat Macquarie 38-10 at Morry Breen Oval on Saturday.
Western Suburbs had the bye.
LADDER: Maitland 21; Souths 20; Entrance, Cessnock 17; Central 16; Wests 13; Wyong 12; Lakes 11; Macquarie 6; Northern 4; Kurri 3.
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.
