Greg Inglis headlines Group 2 rugby league key players in 2022
Group 2 rugby league sides have kicked off their warm up sessions for a star-studded campaign in 2022. We spoke to all nine clubs to find out who their key players were. See the full list.
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There has never been more hype for a Group 2 rugby league season than in 2022.
Not only are South Sydney Rabbitohs greats Sam Burgess and Greg Inglis taking up coaching roles in the comp, they will be flanked by some of the best talent the Coast has seen for a long time.
The competition has expanded to nine teams with the addition of the Orara Valley Axemen, Nambucca Roosters and Sawtell Panthers.
The North Coast is blessed with rugby league talent, but this season Group 2 will be offering up some of the most exciting players to watch.
Macksville Sea Eagles
Macksville Sea Eagles are welcoming back their favourite son Greg Inglis for the 2022 season.
The NRL legend is taking on his first coaching role but will be playing half a dozen games for the Sea Eagles in the town he grew up in.
“He’s going to play, how many or when we haven’t decided - but there will be probably half a dozen,” assistant coach Matt Hyland said about Inglis playing this year.
The Sea Eagles lost the 2018 Group 2 grand final 30-14 to the Coffs Harbour Comets.
Greg Inglis - Fullback, Centre, Five-eighth
Inglis needs no introduction.
The former Melbourne Storm and South Sydney Rabbitohs player has 265 NRL games to his name and three grand final wins.
Group 2 fans will be coming out in droves to watch G.I tear it up.
Bellingen Dorrigo Magpies
Coach Garry Stevenson has a dilemma on his hands.
“A good chunk of our starting team that came from Nambucca will be joining the Roosters this season,” he said.
“We have held onto some key players and have picked up some good ones from outside the comp”.
He said he was back to the rebuilding phase after some of his players joined Sawtell Panthers and internationals went back to New Zealand.
It isn’t bringing his hopes down, with a nine-team comp providing an opportunity to launch themselves off the lower rungs of the league ladder.
Luke Beaumont - Fullback
The leader of the Magpies and last year’s best and fairest is back for 2022.
According to his coach, Beaumont was caught in two minds on whether he would return for this season, but he has decided to remain loyal to the Magpies.
A conversion could be the difference in Group 2 matches and the fullback sinks them with ease.
Corey Cross - Second Rower
A slick passing player, Corey Cross also has the tendency to wear big-time tackles from his opponents.
That’s why his coach considers him one of the most dedicated players on the team.
He wears the Magpies jersey with pride and this season will be crucial to Bellingen pushing through late-stage drama to secure more points.
Coffs Harbour Comets
The Comets finished four points behind first-placed Grafton Ghosts last season and have boosted their side with the appointment or Rip Taylor as head coach.
“About 80 per cent of our players are returning this season,” he said.
“We’ve added another English player using those connections, Wesley Bruines from Wakefield Trinity in the UK.”
Coffs will be out to avenge their dismal grand final showing in 2019 when they were demolished 68-6 by the Ghosts.
Billy Griffiths - Outside-back
The legend of Coffs Harbour Comets is the example of what good overseas recruitment can look like for regional rugby league.
Griffiths is celebrating another year with the Comets after he scored four tries and 16 points in a shortened Group 2 season.
Miles Fairbank - Front-rower
Fairbank has been lauded by the Comets president saying he is a “revelation” for the club, as well as being one of the most reliable performers for the Comets in recent years.
He has seen many ups and downs at the Coffs club since he joined in 2015 but wants to add a third grand final win to his trophy cabinet.
Nathan Curry - Halfback
Almost a decade ago Nathan Curry sent emails to every single Group 2 club looking to strap on the boots in the local leagues.
Only one club replied, and he is still with them today.
The genius playmaker and Rex Hardaker Memorial Award recipient has been one of the most consistent Group 2 performers over the past 10 years.
Orara Valley Axemen
South Sydney Rabbitohs great Sam Burgess has been flown in to fly the Axemen flag back into Group 2.
After two seasons out of the comp, Orara Valley have the NRL grand final winner in his first coaching gig since retiring from playing.
He has a solid crop of returning Axemen to steer in his first season.
Orara Valley have been in eight grand finals since 1990 and have won only three with their last one coming in 2008.
Curiously, they have never won a grand final when they are playing away from home.
Cain and Alex Bunt - Forwards
The Bunt boys are the brothers of destruction.
When they are on their game together they can be a force to be reckoned with alongside their long history in the Axemen jersey.
As recently as 2015 they played against each other when Alex switched Orara Valley for Coffs Comets, but the two are back at home for 2022.
Cain will be putting his body on the line this season while Group 2 U23 representative player Alex is key for Burgess to get his combinations working well.
Jared Roberts - Front row
Burgess has a leader in his squad with former co-coach Jared Roberts signing on to play in 2022.
Not only has he been a member of the Orara Valley Axemen club for more than 10 years, Roberts has been one of their big-game players in recent seasons.
He’s also been a dedicated member of Orara Valley League tag for many years.
Justin Hull - Back row
The former Nambucca Roosters Group 2 Gladiators squad member is beefing up the back row for Orara Valley this season.
He has some pedigree in his role having been crowned the best defensive player for the Axemen at their 2021 end of season awards night.
Hull is also a former player at the Coffs Harbour Comets.
Liam Dunn - Fullback
Liam Dunn performs well under pressure and he is a huge asset for Burgess at the Axemen.
An Orara Valley junior, Dunn has the Axemen running in his veins having returned to play for them in 2018.
Still a younger player, he now has the chance to learn from one of the best in the NRL.
Grafton Ghosts
Grafton Ghosts could well be the team to beat again this season with their era of dominance set to continue.
They have won two grand finals in the past three years and have made four of the past eight grand finals.
Their squad has broadly been retained with key scorers and experienced players returning for a crack at back-to-back championships.
Todd Cameron - Hooker
The captain/coach is leading the Ghosts out once again for a shot at glory.
He led the points chart at the end of the 2021 season with 68, boosted by three tries of his own.
He would be hoping for a showdown once again with the South Grafton Rebels, a team he played for almost 15 years ago when they were called the Grafton Rhinos.
Jake Martin - Centre
The Group 2 equal-leading try scorer has the golden boot in his sights for 2022.
After spending some time chasing an NRL dream, the two years he spent at the Gold Coast Titans have equipped Martin with an insatiable appetite for top performances.
He was simply unstoppable at times during the 2021 Group 2 season and was unfortunate to not get his chance to strut his stuff in a grand final.
South Grafton Rebels
South Grafton Rebels have made high quality additions to their stacked squad with coach Ron Gordon expecting big things this season.
“We want to not only play in a grand final, we want to host it,” he said,
“We have the best ground we host the best crowds and we have the best team.”
It’s big talk from the team-of-the-decade former player-turned coach.
Ryan Walker - Five-eighth
The older brother of South Sydney Rabbitohs star Cody Walker is a massive boost to the Rebels.
Walker started out at the Sunshine Coast Falcons before a short career with the Panthers in the NRL.
He is now a stalwart in Northern NSW rugby league after an incredible spell with West Newcastle.
The Rebels will hope he puts his body on the line as much as he did for Newcastle having suffered three fractures in his right cheek in August 2020.
Ryan Binge - Front row
Ryan Binge is a tank.
The 2010s team of the decade front-rower is pulling on the Rebels jersey this season after spending the majority of his North Coast rugby career at the Lower Clarence Magpies and briefly at Grafton Ghosts.
His time at Grafton was short but it was worth it, winning the Group 2 Premiership as well as the Players’ Player award.
He is a certified legend in North Coast league and will headline a star-studded Rebels team in 2022.
Woolgoolga Seahorses
Sam Sinclair is in charge of the Woolgoolga Seahorses in 2022 and wants a big improvement from his players this time out.
“I’d say as far as the team goes we didn’t reach the potential,” he said.
“We have a big focus on fitness this year and I think we have recruited very well.”
His recruitments include Group 2 stalwarts among some core Woolgoolga players strengthening the spine of the Seahorses squad.
Steve Spencer - Lock
With four tries for the Coffs Harbour Comets last season Steve Spencer joins the Woolgoolga Seahorses wanting to take them from the bottom of the ladder to the finals.
Spencer was part of the Comets 2018 grand final winning team but has also experienced losing the big matches.
Shayde Perham - Centre
He’s a fantastic bowler on the cricket pitch, but Shayde Perham is also a mean try-scoring machine.
Another Coffs Comets signing, the Seahorses have added much needed firepower to their squad after finishing last season with -77 point difference.
The highlight of Perham’s Group 2 career might just be a five-try haul in an 80-2 Comets victory over the Magpies in 2015.
Jason McGrady - Halfback, five-eighth
Jason McGrady is back and he is better than ever.
Head coach Sam Sinclair is excited to welcome the halfback who suffered an injury that ruled him out of most games last season.
His body has recovered well and is reportedly in better nick than last season which is all the more reason to fear a resurgent Seahorses side.
Nambucca Roosters
Group 2’s most successful premiership winning side is back for more after being admitted into the nine-team comp.
With more grand final appearances than any other club, head coach Gary Jarrett is proud to represent Nambucca after four years away from Group 2.
“I’m a local junior and it’s a proud moment to be back playing here,” he said.
“I don’t want boring footy, but the boys will be in a structure and then asked to play what’s in front of them and get creative.”
Daneil Donovan - Back-row
Donovan is an explosive player and difficult to handle.
His best performances came in 2018 when he switched to the Macksville Sea Eagles in a season which resulted in them tossing the Grafton Ghosts out of the finals after they won the minor premiership.
His performances that season got him into the 2018 Group 2 Team of the Year before joining the Sawtell Panthers and then Bellingen.
Willy Baker - Centre, fullback
Willy Baker is a dangerous proposition for Group 2 defences.
A deadly try scorer centre started out with the Nambucca Roosters but also flourished at the Macksville Sea Eagles.
Sawtell Panthers
Sawtell are back in Group 2 and are out to put their 11-year grand final drought to bed.
Head coach Clint Greenshields has had the afterburners on looking for new recruits with the addition of three new teams adding extra competition for players.
“We’ve got our man Dave Violo looking everywhere for players,” he said.
“Having Nambucca and Orara Valley is good but it makes recruiting just a little harder.”
Tyke Kemp - Hooker
Tyke Kemp is a panther through and through having been part of the club since he was a junior.
He has been a mainstay against top opposition including in the U18 Country Championships in 2017 as well as winning the U18 title that year.
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