Mason Cernoy
The Entrance move on to week two of the finals in the Denton Engineering Cup after field-goal hero Harry Mulligan delivered the final blow in the 77th minute, sending Wyong home for the season in a fast and physical Elimination Final.
Wyong came out of the blocks full of intent, taking advantage of a penalty in their first attacking set to score in the third minute. Levi Kasun was the beneficiary of an Isaac Blackwall tackle-bust and offload to bring the score to 6-0.
Wyong had all the momentum early as Luke Sharpe nearly sent Kasun in for his second soon after, only being stopped by some urgent goal-line defence from The Entrance.
Making the most of another attacking set late in the half, a crash play for Kye Hopwood saw him barge over the line and ground the ball with three defenders hanging off of him in the 36th minute.
There was a lot of attacking play in the first half, but it was Wyong who made the most of their opportunities and went into the sheds with a 10-0 lead.
Both teams came into the second half fired up, with the opening handful of sets from both teams going from one end to the other.
With The Entrance starting a set right off their goal line for the third time in the opening five minutes of the half, the pressure got the better of them and they came up with an error 15 metres out.
Wyong once again capitalised, this time through a deceptive scoot from hooker Mitch Williams, who put front-rower Jake Lewis over next to the sticks in the 48th minute to bring Wyong’s lead to 16-0.
Wyong turned the ball over in the set after points, giving The Entrance their best attacking chance since the first 20 minutes of the match.
Wyong’s defence held strong for a few sets, but after two restarts The Entrance finally managed to crack them in the 53rd minute through a show of strength from Myles Lee-Tauele, bringing the deficit back to 10 points.
The Entrance followed up their first points with a shift right and a Grant Nelson cross-kick on the end of it, but the bounce denied them a second try.
Minutes later Hayden Ritchie produced a towering torpedo that none of Wyong’s backs could get near, which had a dream bounce for Myles Ridge to gather and stroll through for The Entrance’s second. It closed the gap to 16-12 in the 60th minute.
A Wyong error in their own 40 saw The Entrance back in attacking territory, where Toby Key scored a barnstorming try by bumping off his man and powering 20 metres to the line, before bowling over Sharpe to level the scores with 14 to play.
Both teams exchanged blows for the next 10 minutes, before a turnover in possession with five minutes to go allowed The Entrance to set up a calm and collected Harry Mulligan to slot a field goal in the 77th minute.
With the match all but settled, Lachlan Hannegan managed to gather the ball for Wyong off of a short kick-off and they went on the attack.
A shift out to Lathan Hutchison-Walter saw him cross the line. For a moment it seemed Wyong had stolen it, but he was found to have stepped into touch on his way to the line.
Getting the ball back deep into their own territory, Wyong marched down the field for a final shot at The Entrance. But the field-goal attempt was waved to the right, sealing victory for The Entrance and keeping their season alive.
