Roosters notch up opening win

Woy Woy prop Brae Verheyen was the pick of the forwards as the Central Coast Roosters notched their opening win of the SG Ball Cup season when they defeated the Western Suburbs Magpies 24-10 at Kanwal.

The Round 2 clash saw the Roosters run to a handy 16-4 halftime lead courtesy of a brace of rapid fire tries just before the break.

Verheyen and fellow Woy Woy forward Jack Wilkinson Alipate both found themselves in the thick of the action with Verheyen crossing for the game's final try.

The victory pushes the Roosters up the premiership ladder and they are now handily placed heading into a Round 3 bye, before the clash with Manly at Brookvale on March 3.

The Matthews Cup under-16 game saw the Peninsula stage a remarkable second half fight back before falling agonizingly short of victory.

Trailing 18-0 at oranges, all looked to be lost for the young Roosters.

However three sparkling tries in 18 minutes after the break reduced the deficit to just four.

The Magpies had the staggers and all the momentum was suddenly with the home team as reinvigorated forwards; Jerry Ratabua, Jack Bishop, Matthew Russell and team captain, Zac Montgomery, led the charge.

Sadly for the Kanwal crowd, a Wests try scored totally against the run of play, sealed the result with four minutes remaining on the clock.

The Coast hit back with a late four pointers to Wyong's Matthew Russell; closing out the scoring at 22-18 in favour of the Magpies on a day in which a sluggish opening ultimately led to the Roosters downfall.

SOURCE:

Media release, 19 Feb 2018

Andrew Stark, Gosford Kariong Storm RLFC