Wyong Roos

1910–1919 A Wyong District Rugby League Competition was formed by F.G (Gersh) Baker and S.A.McKinnon in 1910. Many of the players had previously played rugby union. Wyong joined the Newcastle Rugby League in 1912, competing in Second Grade that season, and again in 1913 and 1914. In 1915, the Wyong & District Association was formed and matches commenced between Wyong, Erina, Gosford, Ourimbah and Matcham. 1919–1947 In 1919 the Wyong and District Rugby League was formed which included teams from Jilliby, Kincumber, Nords Wharf and Yarramalong. Breen arrived at Wyong after an extensive career playing and coaching in North Queensland, NSW Country and with Brisbane Souths and Eastern Suburbs. He was a visionary and was a major force in the establishment of a licensed club in 1973. At the same time they were still fielding teams in the Central Coast competition – six teams in all, which was to become a huge burden on players and resources. Under new coach, Paul Stringer, Wyong withdrew from all Central Coast competition in 2007 and made the NRLC Grand Final, only to be beaten by Lakes United. Wyong were able to avenge this defeat in 2009 when they defeated Cessnock 36–4. At the end of the 2012, season Wyong decided to pull out of the Newcastle competition and enter a team in the 2013 NSW Cup. At the same Wyong announced that all senior teams would return to play on the Central Coast. They won the 2013 Under 18s and Reserve Grade Premierships as well as the Club Championship. Wyong were competitive in the 2013 NSW Cup, winning five games including two wins against the Bulldogs and an away win against Auckland. Mitch Williams was judged the NSW Cup 2013 'Player of the Year' and was also chosen in the NSW Cup 2013 'Team of the Year'. In 2014 the Wyong Roos, with Rip Taylor replacing Paul Stringer as coach and strengthened with the signing of Mark O'Meley, won 13 games to make the finals, eventually finishing 7th. Wyong again won the Central Coast Club Championship in 2014, winning the first grade, Under 19s and Open Grade premierships. In 2015, Wyong made the NSW Cup grand final against The Newcastle Knights at Parramatta Stadium. The game was a hard-fought contest but in the end Newcastle defeated Wyong by 20–10. In 2016, Wyong finished 6th at the end of the regular season. In the first week of the finals they defeated Canterbury 19–18. They then played against Wests Tigers for a spot in the preliminary final but lost the match 26–16. . In 2017, Wyong finished as minor premiers in the regular season of The Intrust Super Premiership NSW. Wyong then went on to qualify for the grand final against Penrith. On 24 September at Leichhardt Oval, Wyong were defeated by Penrith 20–12. In March 2018, Wyong announced that their partnership as the Sydney Roosters feeder side would be ending at the conclusion of the season. Wyong qualified for the finals series in 2018 and defeated the Western Suburbs Magpies in week one to progress to the following week. On 9 September 2018, Wyong were defeated 34–24 by Canterbury ending their season. Following the end of the 2018 season, coach Rip Taylor departed the club to become the new head coach of the Wentworthville Magpies. In November 2018, it was announced that Wyong would not be competing in the 2019 Intrust Super Premiership NSW season with the South Sydney Rabbitohs taking their place. Wyong Roos re-entered the Newcastle Rugby League in 2020, but departed in 2026 to focus fully on the Central Coast competition. ==Licensed club and playing fields==

Irregular meetings were held during the '60s about establishing a licensed club but nothing eventuated until 1971 when the President, Joe Bishop, announced that six acres of land had been purchased at Kanwal to build such a club and playing fields. Kanwal was ten kilometres north of Wyong but had been recognised as growth area. The choice to go to Kanwal was led by Morry Breen. A licence was obtained in 1972 and the club was officially opened by the President of the Australian Rugby League in June, 1973. The ground was named Morry Breen Oval in recognition of Breen's vision and determination to see the project succeed. A further 26 acres was purchased on adjoining land in 1977. This proved to be a very astute decision. Between 1986 and 1992 the club had been placed in official receivership. However, the development and sale of this land and with the support of banks and creditors the club was able to overcome all its financial difficulties, enabling it to grow and expand rapidly. In recent years it has acquired ownership of the Central Coast Masonic Club, Toukley Bowling Club, Wyong Bowling Club, Budgewoi Soccer Club, Avoca Beach Bowling Club and Goulburn Railway Bowling Club, giving it a membership of over 35,000. ==Notable Juniors==

• Steve Carter (1988–2002 Penrith Panthers & Widnes Vikings) • Grant Millington (2008–present Canterbury Bulldogs & Cronulla Sharks) • Paul Carter (2014–17 Gold Coast Titans, South Sydney Rabbitohs) • Willis Meehan (2014 Sydney Roosters) • Mitch Williams (2015 Sydney Roosters) • Josh Mantellato (2013–16 Newcastle Knights, Hull Kingston Rovers) • Jacob Liddle (2016-present Wests Tigers, St. George Illawarra Dragons) • Adam Keighran (2019–present New Zealand Warriors & Sydney Roosters) ==Honours and Records==

Team NSWRL 2nd Tier • Runners-up (1): 2015, 2017 • Minor Premiers (1): 2017 Newcastle • Premierships (1): 2009. • Runners-up (1): 2007. • Reserve Grade (2): 2003, 2004. • Open Age (1): 2007. • Wyong were Grand Finalists in a Southern Newcastle B Grade competition in 1946, but the result is not known. Central Coast • Premierships (20): 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934 (Club), 1936, 1947, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2014, 2016. • Runners-up (21): 1919, 1926, 1927, 1967, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2017, 2018, 2019. • Reserve Grade (19): 1927, 1930, 1936, 1947, 1951, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2013. • Ladies League Tag (1): 2019. • Open Age: 2014, 2019. 2025 • Third Grade (12): 1947, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996. • D Grade (1): 1957 (as Wyong-Morisset). • Under 19 (6): 1967, 1981, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016. • Under 18 (10): 1969, 1970, 1978, 1984, 1985, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2013. • Under 17 (2): 1982, 2000. • Under 16 (11): 1968, 1970, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2012. • Under 16 Division 2 (1): 2008. • First Grade Knock-Out (6): 1923, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1936. • Second Grade Knock-Out (4): 1926, 1927, 1932, 1934. ==See also==