Group 2 Rugby League: Wrap, results, standouts from round six
There were stunning tries, huge hits and a massive crowd on show as the Group 2 ladder leaders clashed in one of the most exciting games in recent memory.
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A grand final rematch and top-of-the-table clash highlighted a massive round six of Group 2 Rugby League.
Last year’s premiers Woolgoolga welcomed 2023 minor premiers South Grafton to Solitary Island Reserve for a repeat of last September’s competition decider.
Meanwhile at Coronation Oval, ladder leaders Nambucca Heads and Sawtell slugged it out in a modern Group 2 classic, and Grafton hosted Coffs Harbour at Frank McGuren Field.
Catch up with a wrap of the action and a photo gallery from the grand final rematch below.
SKIPPER BAGS FOUR IN GHOSTS WIN
Grafton has surged into the top four with the team’s second victory of the season after defeating Coffs Harbour 28-10 at Frank McGuren Field.
Captain-coach Dylan Collett bagged four tries as a late burst saw the Ghosts power home to record a comfortable victory.
After a cagey opening a big moment came midway through the first half when Grafton’s Toby McIntosh stepped into dummy-half and kicked a 40/20 to give his side a set on the Comets’ line.
The Ghosts well and truly capitalised on the opportunity with crashing over on the blind side for the first try of the match.
The try seemed to spur the home side on as it made a nice break down the right and then earned a repeat set directly after the kick-off.
The pressure paid off on the half-hour mark when prop Oliver Percy showed plenty of strength to brush off four defenders and crash over to put the Ghosts up 12-0.
While Grafton had surged ahead, a string of errors coming out from their own end gave the Comets a golden opportunity to hit back, with centre Marty Ferguson charging over three minutes from halftime to make it 12-4 at the break.
Both sides struggled to gain an advantage early in the second half as plenty of errors and penalties prevented the teams from gaining any momentum.
The game was stuck in somewhat of a stalemate until Ghosts back-rower Cam Winters put Collett through a gap on the edge for the centre’s second try with 15 minutes remaining. Cooper Woods then slotted the conversion in front to make it 18-4.
This sparked Grafton to life. A Coffs mistake gave the team great field position before some smart play from Toby McIntosh put Collett over for his third to well and truly seal the match just a couple of minutes later.
The Ghosts were winding up and a brilliant run from McIntosh got the team up field, with Collett then taking advantage of a broken defensive line to bag his fourth try of the game and stretch the scoreline out to 28-4.
And while Ferguson crossed for the Comets’ second at the death, it was just a consolation as the Ghosts sealed an 18-point win.
The victory was Grafton’s second of the season, which moved the team to fourth place on the ladder, while Coffs Harbour is still looking for its first win of 2024.
Grafton 28 (Collett 4, Percy tries; Woods four goals) defeated Coffs Harbour 10 (Ferguson 2 tries; Dumas one goal)
NAMBUCCA EDGE SAWTELL IN THRILLER
Nambucca Heads has kept its unbeaten start to the season alive after prevailing 36-28 in an absolute classic top-of-the-table clash against Sawtell at Coronation Park.
The momentum ebbed and flowed throughout the match as both sides played some sparkling football in the 12-try thriller.
After going out to a healthy lead at two stages in the game, the Roosters were forced to hold off a resurgent Panthers outfit, who showed incredible skill and resolve to push the home side all the way.
With both sides entering the game unbeaten, Nambucca was handed the early advantage after an early error from Sawtell coming out from its own end. With his team’s first look at the opposition tryline, Nambucca five-eighth Tyreece Sines put in a perfectly weighted grubber that sat up nicely for teammate Willie Baker to score the opener after just five minutes.
While Sawtell tested the Roosters’ defence at the other end, Nambucca went further ahead on 12 minutes.
Chasing a midfield bomb, Nambucca winger Beau Langford did extremely well to leap high and bat the ball back for his teammate Logan Jones to race through to score. Tyronne Roberts-Davis slotted the conversion from out wide to make it 10-0.
The home side was on a rampage and in the very next set a deflected kick caused the Panthers all sorts of troubles, with fullback Jake Thornton knocking the ball on straight into the arms of Roosters lock Jay Melrose, who showed enough speed and strength to palm off a chasing defender and run 40m to score.
Roberts-Davis once again slotted the conversion from the sideline to put the Roosters up 16-0 after just 17 minutes.
Sawtell was in danger of letting the game slip away, however a miscued Nambucca kick that went out on the full have the side great field position. Jake Thornton then stepped his way through from an attacking scrum to get the Panthers on the board after 20 minutes.
Suddenly the Panthers had their tails up, with a Nambucca knock-on and then repeat set giving the team a chance to land a double blow. Then when a Corey Willis banana kick was allowed to bounce, Sawtell back-rower Todd Johnson swooped through to take the ball and make to 16-12.
Sawtell was on a roll and another Nambucca turnover in their own half once again gave the Panthers great field position. A lovely spread to the left then put winger Thomas Sanders over in the corner to level things up at 16-all.
Nambucca now needed a reprieve and one of its big players provided it, with Melrose pulling off a one-on-one strip to win the ball back in the Panthers’ half. The Roosters then shifted to the left where back-rower Brody Simon crashed over with a powerful run. Roberts-Davis continued his excellent day with the boot by converting once again from the sideline to put his side ahead 22-16.
With just a couple of minutes to go in the half the Roosters then took a decisive advantage into the halftime break after a piece of individual brilliance.
In an attempt to win the ball back from the kick-off, Sawtell’s Jake Thornton drilled the ball low towards the sideline. Standing 10m short on halfway, Nambucca’s Dane Saunders did very well to catch the ball and then shoot up the line, running 60m to score with the final play of the half to take a 26-16 lead into the break.
Nambucca had an explosive end to the first half and carried that momentum out onto the field after the break to score with its very first use of the football. Spreading the ball to the left, back-rower Brody Simon put a flying Dane Saunders through a gap to score in just the second minute of the half to make it 30-16.
Once again it looked like the game was slipping away from Sawtell. However some attacking pressure, a couple of grubber kicks and a bit of pinball close to the Nambucca line saw Thornton score 11 minutes into the half.
As the scoreline narrowed the big hits kept coming, with tensions flaring up at times. The game was going from end to end and Sawtell went close after Sanders made a break down the left wing.
The Panthers looked dangerous down the left and a nice cut-out ball from Willis put Sanders into space once again. The winger drew in the Nambucca fullback and found Rob Brilley on the inside to make things 30-28 with 11 minutes remaining and set up a grandstand finish.
The strong crowd well and truly found their voice as both sides went blow for blow.
Then with seven minutes remaining came the decisive moment. Taking the ball on the last, Roberts-Davis put in a miscued midfield bomb. Sawtell made the error of allowing the ball to hit the deck, and it bounced favourably for Nambucca five-eighth Tyreece Sines to run through and put his side eight points clear.
And while Sawtell threw everything at them in the finals minutes, Nambucca was able to hold on to close out a classic win.
The victory extends the Roosters’ record to four from four, while Sawtell now have two wins, one draw and one loss to kick off the season.
Nambucca Heads 36 (Saunders 2, Baker, Jones, Melrose, Simon, Sines tries; Roberts-Davis four goals) defeated Sawtell 28 (Thornton 2, Johnson, Sanders, Brilley tries; Willis four goals)
WOOLGOOLGA TAKES OUT GF REMATCH
Woolgoolga has returned to the winner’s circle with a come-from-behind 26-14 victory over South Grafton in a rematch of the 2023 grand final at the Solitary Island Sports Ground.
Fullback Dane O’Hehir and centre Shayde Perham both scored doubles as the Seahorses overcame a difficult first half to run in five tries to three to seal the team’s second victory of the season.
While they came home strong, Woolgoolga endured a tough start to the game as an ill-disciplined opening with the ball gave the Rebels plenty of possession and good field position.
South Grafton prop Grant Stevens scored on 25 minutes while another try five minutes before halftime put the visitors up 10-0.
“In the first half we turned over a lot of ball, gave away a lot of penalties and pretty much went the whole 40 minutes defending,” said Woolgoolga coach Sam Sinclair.
However a Dane O’Hehir try on the stroke of halftime brought things back to 10-4 at the break, before quick-fire tries to Perham (42nd minute) and halfback Tyler Murden (47th) early in the second half put the Seahorses in front.
Perham’s second 15 minutes into the second half stretched the scoreline out to 20-10, and while Nicholas McGrady made it a six-point ball game midway through the half with a try for the Rebels, O’Hehir’s second 15 minutes from time sealed the 12-point win.
While the team went into halftime down by six, Sinclair said he was pleased with the resilience his team showed without the ball.
“Defensively we were really good, by far the best we’ve been this year,” he said.
“Then in the second half we started really strong, scored two tries in the first 10 minutes and then kind of held on. We didn’t really run away with it, the Rebels were pretty much always still in it with a sniff but overall it was just a really strong defensive performance from us.”
The victory takes the defending premiers to a record of two wins and two losses from its four games in what has been a somewhat inconsistent and disrupted start to the season.
“It was a slow start and it’s been really hard to get a roll on with the wet weather and all the weeks off we’ve had,” said Sinclair. “I think we’ve played four games in about eight weeks. It’s been hard to get momentum, it’s been a slow start from us but hopefully with that win on the weekend we can start building that momentum.”
The win comes as the Seahorses played their first of three home games in a row, with the side highlighting the importance of the string of matches.
“We had a chat last week. We’ve got three home games back to back: the Rebels, Ghosts and Macksville three weeks in a row,” said Sinclair. “So we set a short-term goal to get three wins there and if we do that that’ll put us in a good position for the back-end of the year.”
In what has been a tough start to the year for last year’s grand finalists, the defeat leaves South Grafton with a record of one win and four losses to start the season. The Rebels have the bye in round seven before going into a big fortnight against competition frontrunners Sawtell and Nambucca Heads.
Woolgoolga 26 def South Grafton 14
PHOTO GALLERY
Woolgoolga Seahorses v South Grafton Rebels at Solitary Island Sports Ground
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