Woy Woy Roosters look to bounce back
Woy Woy entered the clash with Toukley on Sunday, June 5, looking to bounce back from their loss in a wet weather slog with Kincumber the previous weekend in the Central Coast First Grade Rugby League competition.
They came away with a 26-18 loss.
Earlier in the day, the Woy Woy women's league tag team picked up their first win of the campaign, taking down the Ourimbah Magpies 30-18.
Aiming to back up their victory against Kincumber last time out, the Woy Woy Reserve Grade side fell narrowly to the Hawks, going down 28-20.
First Grade play kicked off amidst blustery conditions at Woy Woy Oval, and it was the Toukley side who were the first team to adjust.
An early line break forced a superb cover tackle from Roosters fullback, Guy Pearson.
However the Hawks were able to find their way over on the resulting play the ball.
Off the next set of six, Toukley was able to force their way back down the other end of the field, and quickly the score read 10 points to nil after just 10 minutes of play.
Led by some strong early carries by forwards Brae Verheyen and Joel Bodie, Woy Woy looked to wrestle themselves back into the game.
However, Toukley was able to limit the attacking options of the Roosters.
When given opportunity to strike, some slick ball movement down the right touchline found them another four-pointer with 15 minutes to play in the half.
An error from the kick-off gave Woy Woy a golden opportunity to get back into the contest, and on this occasion they took it.
Jake Hardman screamed through a hole in the Hawks defence to bring the margin back down to eight points.
But just as a switch in momentum looked to occur, it was the Roosters with an error from the kick-off, with the wind continuously disturbing the ball in the air.
And just as Woy Woy had done moments before, Toukley were able to cross the chalk for their fourth with little resistance.
Fortunately for the Roosters, Bodie, one of the standouts so far this season, crashed over with just a minute left before the break, giving the Hawks something to think about on their way off the field.
Entering the second half trailing 20-12, the Roosters needed to start the better of the teams.
However errors and missed tackles allowed for Toukley to reclaim their hold on the contest, a try in the 46th minute stretching the margin back out to 14 points.
From here, the match became somewhat of a grind for both sides.
Woy Woy, through some individual brilliance by centre Joe Williams, brought the score line to 26-18 with over 25 minutes remaining on the clock.
Some tenacious goal line play from the Roosters showed some grit, and combined with some loose handling from the Hawks, Woy Woy gave themselves an opportunity to steal away the contest.
However, Toukley was just as effective at denying anything the Roosters threw at them for the remainder of the match, coming away victors 26-18 for their third win of the season.
Woy Woy, who now fall to one win and four losses, showed in the second half the ability to battle and stay in the contest.
However, there remains much room for improvement on both sides of the ball.
SOURCE:
Media release, 5 Jun 2022
Woy Woy Roosters RLFC
Photos: Nick Friend