Group 2 Rugby League: Wrap, results, standouts from round seven

There were comebacks, big swings and a deciding play after the siren. Two sides slugged it out in a thriller that had just about everything in Group 2.

Brandon Williams in action for the Ghosts. Picture: D Wigley

Droughts were broken and huge statements were made during a big weekend of footy in Group 2.

Catch up with a wrap of the action below.

GHOSTS EDGE MACKSVILLE IN THRILLER

The Grafton Ghosts recorded their first win of the season. Picture: D Wigley

The Grafton Ghosts have broken through for their first win of the season in dramatic fashion, coming from behind and then surviving a penalty goal attempt after the full-time siren to defeat Macksville 26-24 in a thriller at Frank McGuren Field.

After what had been a seesawing contest in which the lead had fluctuated throughout, it all came down to the final play as Macksville received a penalty at the death and opted to try and take the two points to force a draw.

With the local Grafton crowd heaving and fans bashing on the fence, Sea Eagles kicker Romain Pallares lined up the difficult penalty attempt 27m out on the right-hand touchline.

Although he seemed to strike the ball well, it landed just short and to the left of the posts.

And while the Macksville players were charging through to try and pick up any scraps, Grafton halfback Cooper Woods caught the ball and ran it dead, which sparked hearty celebrations from the home side and their fans.

“It was great. Three of our first four games we’ve been right in it but just haven’t been able to seal the deal. We had a lot of troops back on deck finally and the boys really showed a lot of ticker,” said coach Troy McLean.

“I gave them a bit of a squirt at halftime, which I don’t normally do, but I’m very proud of them. It was just good to get the monkey off the back.”

The final play, which took place after the full-time siren, capped off a frenetic final period that saw Macksville throw everything at the Ghosts to try and steal the win.

“That last 10 minutes, we just couldn’t complete a set. We’d get up there and knock it on,” said McLean.

“But to the boys’ credit, they scrambled really hard. Macksville are a big side, so you know you’re in a game, that’s for sure. I’m very proud of them and I knew it was in them.”

Rielly Laverty scored an early double for the Sea Eagles. Picture: D Wigley

It was a fitting finish to what was a thrilling game that ebbed and flowed throughout, with both sides taking the lead multiple times during the contest.

After a tight opening that saw the teams score two tries a piece, the Sea Eagles stretched out to a 20-10 lead thanks to tries either side of halftime to Clay Saville and Sam Shields.

Just when it seemed as though the momentum might have been going against them, the Ghosts hit back with interest.

Tries to Wirri Boland and Chad Jones locked things up at 20-all, before Lewis Cooper crashed over to give the side a six-point lead with 15 minutes remaining.

There was more to come though, with Brodie Bartlett crossing for the Sea Eagles to set up a grandstand finish.

And despite being forced to defend their line late on, the Ghosts held on for a thrilling two-point victory that gets them on the board for 2025.

Grafton Ghosts 26 (Bloomer, Woods, Boland, Jones, Cooper tries; Woods three goals) defeated Macksville 24 (Laverty 2, Saville, Shields, Bartlett tries; Pallares two goals)

WOOLGOOLGA MAKES HUGE STATEMENT

Woolgoolga has kept its unbeaten start to the season alive after a stunning win over Nambucca. Picture: Leigh Jensen

Woolgoolga has made arguably the statement of the season and established itself as the frontrunner for 2025 after hammering defending premiers Nambucca 42-18 at Solitary Island Sports Ground.

After a tight opening that actually saw the home side trail at halftime, the Seahorses ran absolutely riot in the second half, piling on eight tries to three overall to extend its unbeaten start to the season to four games and break away at the top of the table.

“It was a great win, I’m very happy with how we went,” said Woolgoolga captain-coach Jake Elphick.

“We actually had another slow start. I think we were just a bit over-keen at the beginning, but once we got into our groove and started grinding away we felt pretty comfortable.”

In particular, Woolgoolga really turned up the heat in the second 40 minutes, running in six tries to one to completely blow the Roosters out of the contest.

Jake Elphick was thrilled with the Seahorses’ win. Picture: Leigh Jensen

“We just stuck to our strengths and knew that if we could keep the ball in play consistently and just go set for set with them we’d do well,” said Elphick. “We’ve got a lot of strike power and the middle started to open up as the fatigue crept in – and our speed men capitalised on that.”

After putting on an excellent display of free-flowing footy, the Seahorses skipper paid special tribute to halfback Brenton Cochrane, who scored a double and laid on a string of other tries, for pulling the strings and opening up the side’s attack.

“We finally had a nice dry track, which is something we’ve been crying out for, especially having Brent Cochrane, a halfback who’s a bit of a dual threat: he’s just as dangerous running the ball as he is passing it off to other blokes.

“He just opens up a lot of space for the other boys. Defences seem a little bit worried about him and he’s just smart enough to dish it off to key players like our centres and our fullback Dane (O’Hehir).”

In what was a grand final rematch and top of the table clash, honours remained even in the early stages as both teams traded tries. Goalkicking was all that separated the teams at the break, with Nambucca taking a 12-8 lead into the sheds.

However Woolgoolga came back out with a sharpened focus in the second half and key man Cochrane got things going with an early try to level things up.

And while the teams traded another try each to make it 18-all, the Seahorses took complete control of the final quarter of the match.

Back-to-back tries to Cochrane and Coen van Dugteren quickly gave the home side a 12-point lead before Shayde Perham and Cal Tapine finished off the party for Woolgoolga.

The victory was the Seahorses fourth straight to kick off 2025 and sees them stretch ahead at the top of the table. Meanwhile Nambucca will have an extra week to reflect on the loss, which was the Roosters’ second straight defeat.

Woolgoolga 42 (Cochrane 2, Shayde Perham 2, Sharnae Perham, Fangupo, van Dugteren, Tapine tries; Elphick four goals, Tapine one goal) defeated Nambucca 18 (Sines, Brazier, Jones tries; Roberts-Davis two goals, Sines one goal)

In the other round seven clash, Coffs Harbour went back to back with a 28-12 win over South Grafton.