Mounties have slumped to their third consecutive loss in the 2014 VB NSW Cup after an abysmal performance at Aubrey Keech Reserve on Saturday.
Mounties first set of the day resulted in an error handing Wyong the ball in good field position and they capitalised by scoring on the last play when a grubber kick into the in goal was spilled by Jack Ahearn with Sam Bernstrom picking up the loose ball to score and Wyong led 6-0.
Four minutes later a Mitch Cornish error gave Wyong a scrum feed with the set ending in a kick downfield and Mounties made another error deep in their own half which led to a scrum and on the final play another Wyong kick was tapped back for winger Grant Nelson to score a four pointer and with the missed conversion Wyong led 10-0.
In the 16th minute Mounties received a penalty and went on the attack in the Wyong quarter however Jack Ahearn could not deliver the final pass with the ball going into touch.
The 21st minute saw another error from Mounties with Jeremy Hawkins going into touch and from the scrum Mark Kheirallah, broke through a Jake Foster tackle for an easy try and Wyong led 14-0 after the conversion was waved away.
A try to Kurt Horton in the 29th minute was the only highlight for Mounties when he ran onto a short ball from five eighth Ryan Carr and with Mitch Cornish's conversion the score was 14-6 to Wyong.
Some niggle then got into the game and after a dust up in the Wyong red zone Mounties received a penalty and went on the attack but another mistake let the visitors off the hook.
Mounties had one final chance to score before the break when an error by Wyong gave Mounties the ball in good field position but this also ended with a error by Matt McIllrick and at the break it was Wyong leading 14-6.
With a completion rate of only 45% in the first half the message was simple at half time however Mounties started the second half in a mirror image of the first with their first two sets ending in errors, but with Wyong making similar handling errors Mounties got a chance to attack their line with Jack Ahearn being held up over the line on the last tackle.
Both teams then traded errors with Ahearn failing to play the ball correctly and Wyong turning it over immediately after and on the next play Jeremy Hawkins made a line break and scooted 40 metres up field with Mounties earning a penalty but this set also ended with an error.
In the 60th minute the game finally boiled over with Wyong receiving a penalty after a dust up and Kyle O'Donnell and Eloni Vunakece were sent to the sin bin.
The errors continued for both teams, then in the 69th minute Jeremy Hawkins was placed on report after lashing out in a tackle while in possession and with the penalty against Mounties the visitors went on the attack however dropped the ball in the next tackle.
Jack Ahearn then made a break but the final pass was dropped and from that point on the final ten minutes of the game saw only one set completed by Mounties and Wyong until the clock finally put an end to the handling errors and the game ended with Wyong holding the home team out 14-6.
Mounties completion rate of 43% just wasn't good enough to give the opposition any problems and a lack of ball control saw the tackle counts soar with Mitch Cahalane, Matt McIllrick, Jake Foster and Clay Priest all racking up high counts.
Mounties next game in the VB NSW Cup is against Illawarra at Aubrey Keech Reserve on Saturday 21st with kickoff at 3pm.
