They might be hurting but the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs are far from beaten.

After suffering a heart-breaking 34-32 loss, after the final siren, to the Central Newcastle Butcher Boys at the weekend, the gallant outfit will dust itself off in its quest to secure a victory in Tooheys Newcastle Rugby League in 2023.

The side actually led 28-16 with 10 minutes remaining on the clock but a barnstorming finish from the visitors, including a sideline conversion, left the hosts reeling.

And, sadly, despite the spirited effort, the result kept Kurri Kurri winless and anchored on the bottom of the Denton Engineering Cup.

But, captain Craig Richardson remains upbeat.

“I’ll admit, that one was pretty hard to cop,” he said.

“Obviously, it’s been a difficult year for the club, we’ve lost a lot of depth the past couple of seasons.

“So, to see the boys really stick it to them [Central Newcastle] on Ladies Day, and then get beat in the last second, it’s really tough to take.

“However, I’m very proud of them.

“We had another lad, who’s just 17, debut [on Saturday].

“We’re sort of trying to bleed the young guys, the local juniors, into the top grade… and they’re sticking to it.

“They dug in deep at the weekend… and we deserved the two points.

“I thought we were very unlucky.”

Richardson, who grabbed a brace of tries in the round 12 clash, linked up with the Bulldogs in 2018.

After temporarily hanging up the boots, he’s now back into the fray leading the “next gen”.

And, he firmly believes good times are not too far away for the Kurri Kurri faithful.

“To be honest, I sort of retired and came back to the club and there wasn’t much depth,” the man they call “Pom” said.

“We’d lost a fair few players, so I turned up to see the boys at training and then, all of a sudden, I was playing first grade.

“But, I know there’s optimistic signs moving forward.

“We’ve got a real good junior system here.

“It’s just about bleeding them in, however not too early.

“We’ve got to really take care of their development, not just their ability, you know what I mean?

“And, that’s something we’re working hard behind the scenes to do.

“Thankfully, we have a real good committee at the moment.

“They’re trying to build a strong core group.

“It might take a couple of seasons, however there’s a bright future ahead.

“Even at the weekend, people witnessed some of the good things happening at the Bulldogs.

“If everyone hangs in together, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

Richardson said it was important to push the Butcher Boys’ disappointment behind them and concentrate on their immediate assignment, the South Newcastle Lions.

The combatants will lock horns at the Kurri Kurri Sports Ground on Saturday 24 June.

“I’ll understand if the guys are a bit flat,” he told the Newcastle Weekly.

“However, we had a good night with our supporters as well as those who attended Ladies Day.

“We returned to training on Tuesday… and will build on the positives from the previous match.

“Like most people saw, there were very good patches of play out there.

“So, we must build off that while trying to fix the things that we’re doing wrong week-to-week.

“What we do now until the end of the year can lay a strong platform for 2024.

“That’s how the boys need to look at it.”

In other upcoming fixtures, the Maitland Pickers host the Cessnock Goannas at No 1 Sportsground and the Wyong Roos face the Macquarie Scorpions at Morry Breen Oval on Saturday 24 June.

Twenty-four hours later, the Western Suburbs Rosellas tackle the Lakes United Seagulls at Harker Oval, the Butcher Boys clash with The Entrance Tigers at St John Oval and the Northern Hawks have the bye.

Tooheys Newcastle Rugby League

Denton Engineering Cup

Round 12 results:

• Wyong Roos d Lakes United Seagulls 30-18
• Central Newcastle Butcher Boys d Kurri Kurri Bulldogs 34-32
• The Entrance Tigers d Western Suburbs Rosellas 30-25
• South Newcastle Lions d Macquarie Scorpions 40-18
• Maitland Pickers d Northern Hawks 52-10
• Bye: Cessnock Goannas

Round 13 draw:

Saturday 24 June

• 3pm: Kurri Kurri Bulldogs v South Newcastle Lions (Kurri Kurri Sports Ground)
• 3pm: Maitland Pickers v Cessnock Goannas (No 1 Sportsground)
• 3pm: Wyong Roos v Macquarie Scorpions (Morry Breen Oval)

Sunday 25 June

• 3pm: Western Suburbs Rosellas v Lakes United Seagulls (Harker Oval)
• 3pm: Central Newcastle Butcher Boys v The Entrance Tigers (St John Oval)
• Bye: Northern Hawks

For more sports stories:

• Whitebridge High trio set for 2023 International Children’s Games
• REAL NRL: Ex-Ram steering the way for Butcher Boys
• Northstars bounce back after slight hiccup

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