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Newcastle Herald

National

Renee Valentine

Quick plays: Your wrap of weekend sport in Newcastle and the Hunter

Sydney Uni Marina Neil Killarney Vale (Organization) University of Newcastle West Leagues Balance Newcastle Newcastle Olympic Jack Scott Cup Newcastle RL Warners Bay

Hunter Wildfires v Sydney Uni in Shute Shield. Picture: Marina Neil

Hunter Wildfires v Sydney Uni in Jack Scott Cup. Picture: Marina Neil

Wests v Central Newcastle in Newcastle RL. Picture: Marina Neil

Lake Macquarie v Newcastle Olympic in NPL Northern NSW. Picture: Marina Neil

University of Newcastle v West Leagues Balance in round 10 of Newcastle championship netball. Picture: Marina Neil

Black Diamond Cup (AFL): Warners Bay v Killarney Vale. Picture: Marina Neil

The NSW Blues weren't the only team basking in the glory of a big sporting win over the weekend.

Across Newcastle and the Hunter region, and through various codes, there were a string of one-sided demolitions as well as thrilling nail-biters.

The Hunter Wildfires produced a historic Shute Shield win over Sydney Uni, prompting the opposition's coach to declare he expected the regional team to feature come finals time.

The Wildfires women could not replicate the effort against a powerhouse of Jack Scott Cup but showed enough for coach Joey de Dassel to believe "we're not too far off".

On a local level, Greens fly-half Sam Bright celebrated his 200^th club game in NHRU by steering his team home against Wanderers with a perfect seven from seven off the boot.

The nail-biters

In a thrilling Newcastle Rugby League spectacle at Harker Oval on Sunday, Central Newcastle came from behind for a two-point win over Wests, leaving the Rosellas' finals hopes in tatters.

It was a far cry from the 50-point hiding Macquarie dished up for The Entrance.

Tired Maitland and Newcastle Olympic sides lifted for one-goal wins in NPL Northern NSW. Both were backing up from midweek Australia Cup outings but were able to push through on Sunday for important victories.

The performances came after Broadmeadow Magic had gone top of the table on Saturday.

With the skies finally clear, Newcastle championship netball resumed after a three-week hiatus in what has been a stop-start season disrupted by wet weather.

University of Newcastle seized outright second place as teams reached their season midpoints with a hard-fought win over West Leagues Balance, who dropped to fourth.

West coach Tracey Baggs was nonetheless still smiling after the returns of key players Sophie Buckley and Maddie Taylor.

The bouncebacks

Charlestown coach Niko Papaspiropoulos demanded a reaction and response from his team after their worst-ever loss in NPLW Northern NSW.

And Azzurri answered with a 13-goal rout at Lisle Carr Oval on Sunday while the Warners Bay juggernaut continued with another ruthless performance - this time against Maitland.

The Panthers are sharing the goals around and Jets captain Cassidy Davis was in devastating form with a spectacular hat-trick in another dominant display.

On Saturday, the Newcastle Falcons consolidated top spot in NBL1 East when they returned to the winners' circle with a comprehensive win over Manly Warringah. It came after the Falcons had dropped the ball against Maitland Mustangs one week earlier.

But the biggest bounceback over the weekend was the Blues' 32-point triumph over Queensland in State of Origin II to level the series.

Nathan Cleary produced a man-of-the-match performance while the Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga has been ruled out of this Friday night's clash with the Titans.

Ponga was forced from the field late in the clash following a head knock. It came after he had played a hand in both Maroons' tries.

The other blow-outs

Terrigal-Avoca marked a long-awaited return home with a triple-figure defeat of Maitland in Black Diamond Cup AFL on Saturday.

The big win at Hylton Moore Oval came as competition leaders Killarney Vale maintained their eight-point buffer over the field and left Warners Bay in a precarious position in the race for finals.