Central capped off Newcastle Rugby League's eventual Magic Round at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday, prevailing over Wests 22-8.
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Butcher Boys captain Cameron Anderson and prop Nick Ritter sealed the season-opening win with back-to-back tries late in the piece.
Central, down by two at the main break, kept Wests scoreless in the second half. The Rosellas were without key trio Luke Walsh, Will Smith and Nathan Ross.
It was the last of all five NEWRL first-grade fixtures played at the same venue on April 13 with beer tents, food trucks and wrestling also part of the event's festivities.
The Entrance kicked off proceedings with a 28-24 victory against Lakes, scoring four unanswered tries inside 40 minutes. Tony Pellow's double and Blake Austin's show and go had the Tigers up 22-0 at the main break before Lakes mounted a comeback, including a hat-trick for winger Cahleb Faulkner.
Wyong halfback Bayden Searle kicked a field goal to get the Roos home 25-24 against Kurri Kurri, with new recruit Blake Ferguson given 10 minutes in the sin bin leading into half-time. It was 14-all at the change of ends.
Maitland, including a double for debutant Ethan Parry, accounted for Northern Hawks 20-10 while Cessnock defeated Macquarie 26-6. Souths had the bye.
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.
