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GALLERY: Butcher Boys all smiles after seven rounds

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A new contender has emerged in the race for the Tooheys Newcastle Rugby League (Real NRL) crown in 2021.

While many experts predicted last year’s champions Cessnock Goannas and 2020 President’s Cup titleholders Maitland Pickers would be the teams to beat, the Central Newcastle Butcher Boys delivered a timely warning at the weekend with a 24-18 victory over the Macquarie Scorpions in the NSWRL Denton Cup clash of the round.

The six-point triumph elevated the Phil Williams-coached outfit into outright top spot, ahead of the Scorpions, Goannas and Pickers.

And, while the wily mentor was delighted with the result at Lyall Peacock Oval, he remains wary of what lies ahead in the coming rounds.

“We still have plenty of things to work on,” Williams said.

“When you play one against two (on the ladder), it’s good to win.

“However, we also found out a few areas that we need to address.

“We’ll look forward to working on those facets in the upcoming weeks.

“The pleasing aspect [from that match] was the boys’ will to win and their desire to help each other.

“We’re working together well.

“We let ourselves down in a couple of areas.

“But, overall, I’m reasonably happy.”

Following an opening round loss to the Wyong Roos (18-16), Central Newcastle has since claimed the scalps of the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs (18-16), South Newcastle Lions (32-12), The Entrance Tigers (20-18), Western Suburbs Rosellas (24-10), Cessnock (32-18) and Macquarie.

And, even though the Butcher Boys’ success may have caught a few people out, Williams admitted he wasn’t too surprised.

“The expectation was to put ourselves into a position to make the top five,” he told the Newcastle Weekly.

“We’re at that point now.

“As a club, we’re ecstatic where we’re placed.

“Everyone is enjoying themselves [as you can see]; there’s a terrific feeling around the place.

“So, the general bye (15-16 May) has come at a good time for us.

“We’ve got a few niggles, mainly due to the style of football we’ve been playing, it’s pretty physical.

“Plus, we have a number of rep players taking part in the 2021 Tri Series this weekend.”

Next in the Butcher Boys’ sights are the Lakes United Seagulls, who accounted for the Lions in their last outing.

“We won’t take them lightly,” Williams said.

“I’ll just let our footy do the talking.

“I’m not going to make any bold predictions at this stage of the year.

“Before we kicked off, we broke down 2021 into three parts.

“Our first block was to set our season up.

“The next one will be to establish ourselves in the five.

“Then, lastly, whatever happens from there.

“We’re about to head into our second block now.

“So, we’ll see where that leads.

“If you talk to me in eight weeks’ time, I’ll give you something else,” he added with a laugh.

“But, we’ve set ourselves up well to secure a top five berth.”

Tooheys Newcastle Rugby League

2021 NSWRL Denton Cup

Round seven results

Cessnock Goannas 32 (Reed Hugo, Liam Foran, Cameron King, Brent Mendyk, Sam Apthorpe tries; Adrian Davis 6 goals) Kurri Kurri Bulldogs 24 (Jarred Anderson 2, Ethan Niszczot, Kade Hardy tries; Niszczot 4 goals)

Maitland Pickers 40 (James Brady 2, Perry Le Brocque 2, Sam Anderson, James Taylor, Tom Hughes tries; Brock Lamb 6 goals) defeated Western Suburbs Rosellas 6 (Joe Bromage try; Logan Radzievic goal)

Lakes United Seagulls 20 (Shaun Boss, Matt Cooper, Jarron Costelloe, Bradley Calder tries; Joel Edwards 2 goals) defeated South Newcastle Lions 12 (Connor Browne 2 tries; Jason Keelan 2 goals)

Central Newcastle Butcher Boys 24 (Dom Murphy, Dylan Phythian, Cameron Anderson, Ethan Campbell tries; Luke Walsh 4 goals) defeated Macquarie Scorpions 18 (Joe Woodbury, Royce Geoffrey, Andrew Sumner tries; Kerrod Holland 3 goals)

The Entrance Tigers 16 (Max Trueman, Luke Sharpe, Sione Tonga tries; Tonga, Matthew Killick goals) defeated Wyong Roos 14 (Zane Rickit 2, Lachlan Hanneghan tries; Hanneghan goal)

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