Group 2 Rugby League: Wrap, results, standouts from the 2024 grand final
It was a special grand final day for the Nambucca Roosters in Group 2, with one young gun pulling off a rare achievement.
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After a huge season of footy, the Group 2 Rugby League season wrapped up with a huge grand final day at Coffs Harbour’s Cex International Stadium.
Title strangleholds were broken and history was made in the first few deciders of the day, while an incredible golden-point victory capped off a dramatic reserve grade fixture.
Meanwhile a three-decade drought was sensationally snapped in first grade.
Catch up with a wrap of the under-18s, women’s tackle, reserve and first grade grand finals below.
NAMBUCCA SNAPS 28-YEAR DROUGHT IN STUNNING WIN
Nambucca Heads has spectacularly snapped a 28-year premiership drought after defeating Woolgoolga 31-12 in the Group 2 grand final at Cex Coffs International Stadium.
A stunning first half that saw the side race out to a 24-0 lead ultimately set up the win for the Roosters, who in the process broke the longest active drought in the competition by winning its first A-grade premiership since 1996.
“I’m over the moon, it means so much to these boys and the whole community,” said coach Warwick Jones
“We started off brilliantly and I’m not surprised at that. Just the way the boys trained and prepped before the game, I thought they were really on and I’m not surprised about that start.”
And while Woolgoolga came back in the second half to slash the lead to 12 at one stage, the coach said he was confident his team would finish the game off.
“I was still pretty comfortable, we just knew we needed to cut out those errors,” he said. “We gave them so many opportunities and they capitalised because they’re a good team. The message was just, ‘Hold the ball, stop making mistakes.’”
The victory was made even more special given some of the remarkable family links connecting the 1996 and 2024 premiership teams.
Coach Jones, trainer Geoff Batten and Mid-North Coast rugby league icon Brett Davis were all in the last Nambucca side to win 28 years ago, while on Sunday their sons Logan Jones, Toby Batten, Tyronne Roberts-Davis and Greg Davis all played against Woolgoolga.
In another special parallel, Brett Davis was the captain-coach for the Roosters back in 1996, while his son Tyronne Roberts-Davis led the current Nambucca side out and lifted the trophy with his team at the end.
“That was just sort of sinking in during the week, to tell the truth,” said Jones. “Just realising that my son is in this one, my nephew (Toby Batten) and then his dad, my brother-in-law (Geoff). Then of course we’ve got Brett Davis and then Tyrone and Greg. And all the rest of the team, they deserve it too – they’re brothers.”
In particular, it was a very special day for 17-year-old Toby Batten, who kicked things off by leading Nambucca’s under-18s side to a 30-16 victory over local rivals Macksville, before coming off the bench for the Roosters’ historic win in first grade.
“I wasn’t thinking about it too much, I was just trying to stay relaxed and just take the day as it came,” said Batten. “And that’s what I did and I got the result.”
Still playing one year up, the young halfback was excellent in the under-18s victory, darting over for the first try of the match early and guiding the team around the park in what was an outstanding team performance.
“I only won one grand final in juniors. I haven’t played much with the boys that I won with today, so it was a good feeling,” he said.
Batten then had the opportunity to create a slice of history and help end the club’s three-decade drought in first grade after coming on at hooker midway through the second half.
Coming into the game at a nervy time with the contest still in the balance at 24-12, the young playmaker was an assured hand for the Roosters, with an errorless performance in both attack and defence and a couple of nice runs out of dummy-half as his team closed out the victory.
In claiming the premiership, Batten joined teammates Tyrone Roberts-Davis, Greg Davis and Logan Jones as those replicated their fathers’ exploits in the 1996 grand final.
“It’s pretty significant,” Batten said. “I’m just grateful I had the opportunity to play alongside those boys and to have Brett, dad, Warwick and (trainer) Michael (Ronan) around me to do it with.”
MATCH REPORT: NAMBUCCA SINKS WOOLGOOLGA WITH FIRST-HALF BLITZ
The Nambucca Heads Roosters have won the 2024 Group 2 title after defeating defending premiers the Woolgoolga Seahorses 31-12 at Cex Coffs International Stadium.
The result was set up by a brilliant first-half blitz that saw the Roosters race out to a 24-0 lead on the back of some ruthless attacking footy.
Coming into the game looking to claim the minor-major premiership double, Nambucca struck first when Willie Baker showed off some nice footwork to go over for the first try of the match 13 minutes in.
Nambucca started to lift the intensity and went in again shortly after when Jay Melrose stepped his way over.
The Roosters were starting to chance their arm and were causing problems with some second-phase footy. Then after a raid down the left and another offload, captain Tyronne Roberts-Davis went over to make it 18-0 after half an hour.
Nambucca was on a roll, and when a spiralling Roberts-Davis bomb was allowed to bounce, it led to a spectacular grand final try. After the ball evaded Woolgoolga’s Kade Levingstone, Roosters winger Beau Langford did incredibly well to leap, take the ball in mid-air and keep it in the field of play.
The ball ended up in the hands of halfback Logan Jones, who then found Dane Saunders on the inside to score a brilliant try. Roberts-Davis then continued his excellent day with the boot, slotting the conversion from out wide make it 24-0.
While the Roosters were lethal in attack, they also acted like a brick wall at the other end.
Michael Curnow went close for Woolgoolga four minutes before halftime, but was held up over the line. In the next set, Seahorses centre Shayde Perham looked destined to score but dropped the ball over the line.
Then just before the break Woolgoolga looked destined to go in again, however Jones pulled off a brilliant try-saving tackle to force the ball loose and ensure that the Roosters took a 24-0 lead into halftime.
While Nambucca dominated the first half, it was a different tale after the restart, with the Roosters making a string of errors coming out from their own end.
The mistakes handed over the ball in dangerous positions and finally proved costly, with Seahorses fullback Dane O’Hehir beating three to go over just five minutes after the break.
Woolgoolga had a bit of momentum and shortly after they were in again, with Kyle Miller getting on the end of a Jake Elphick grubber, which deflected off Nambucca fullback Roberts-Davis and back into Elphick’s arms to score under the sticks. Tyler Murden slotted the conversion and suddenly it was 24-12 with half an hour to play.
Errors continued to hurt Nambucca as the team was forced to defend several sets in its own half.
The game was still in the balance deep into the contest, however just as he’d done on multiple times in the afternoon, Jones came up with a moment of brilliance to put the game to bed.
Receiving the ball on halfway, the halfback bounced off two defenders and broke through the line. He then sidestepped Woolgoolga fullback O’Hehir before carrying three chasing defenders over the line to score a brilliant try and put the Roosters up 30-12 with 10 minutes to play.
Tyreece Sines put the cherry on top with a late field goal as the Nambucca players and supporters celebrated a famous victory.
It capped off a brilliant day for the club, which earlier won the under-18s grand final over Macksville.
Nambucca Heads 31 defeated Woolgoolga 12
COFFS GO BACK-TO-BACK IN GOLDEN-POINT DRAMA
Coffs Harbour has won back-to-back reserve grade premierships after defeating Macksville 22-18 in a thrilling golden-point clash.
Centre Billy Griffiths went over out wide five minutes into extra time to seal what had been a dramatic contest between the two sides.
“Awesome, it feels amazing,” said Griffiths. “The boys put in a lot of effort this year and I’m glad that it’s paid off for us all.”
With his team attacking the Macksville line, Comets hooker Dyllan Zappia went to the blind side. The ball found its way to Griffiths, who cut back in to beat two Sea Eagles defenders and win the game for his side.
“When it gets to that sort of football it’s a just a matter of doing what you can,” he said. “I found myself out on the wing, the ball came to me and I’m just grateful, I guess.”
It capped off a brilliant day, as well as a sense of redemption, for the Englishman, who picked up a hat-trick in what was a memorable grand final performance.
“Very, very happy. I’ve had a long, long career at Coffs Harbour, 10 years now, and I’ve missed out on plenty of grand finals through injury, so to finally make a grand final and to win it like that, I’m stoked.”
As glorious as the win was for Coffs, the defeat was particularly painful for Macksville, who went into the game undefeated after a brilliant season.
“We were actually quietly confident coming into it,” said Griffiths. “I know the pressure you can have sometimes when you go into the grand final undefeated, you can get a bit complacent but we had the fire in the belly.”
The golden point try was a fitting finish to a seesawing clash. Trailing by two with just 45 seconds remaining in regular time, Coffs received a penalty after Macksville was judged to have held down too long in the ruck.
Lining up 15m out and 15 in from touch, Comets five-eighth Chris Buckley showed nerves of steel to slot the conversion after the full-time siren to send the game into extra time.
It was one of the many swings in momentum throughout the contest.
Coffs Harbour got off to a disastrous start when winger Jimmy Cutmore dropped a bomb in the first minute.
Macksville duly capitalised when captain-coach David Lindsay charged over for the first try of the match in the fourth minute.
The Sea Eagles were on a roll and led 12-0 after 13 minutes when Josh Bartlett crossed.
It was all Macksville, however the game changed 25 minutes in when Griffiths scooped up a Sea Eagles knock-on to score his first for the afternoon. A bit of push and shove between the team followed and Macksville fullback Jai Whaddy was subsequently sent to the sin bin.
The Comets took advantage in the very next set when a huge run and offload from Osooso Tuala found fullback Arthur Wilkinson, who did brilliantly to weave past a couple of defenders and then outrun a couple more to lock things up at 10-all.
Things were going pear-shared – and fast – for Macksville, who put the subsequent kick-off out on the full.
Then when Griffiths got on the end of a Joey Cudmore grubber, Coffs had scored three tries in the blink of an eye to take a 16-10 lead into the break.
Although his side went behind, Macksville skipper Lindsay was arguably the best player on the park and he got his team going after the restart with a huge charge up field in the first set of the half.
Centre Jacob Simpson then went over in the next set to lock things up at 16-all just one minute into the second half.
From here Macksville held the ascendancy as centre Ryan Whyte and winger Jimmy Cutmore went close, before Rhiley Maxwell slotted a penalty goal to put the Sea Eagles up 18-16 with nine minutes remaining.
And while it looked like Macksville was set to put an exclamation mark on a perfect season, Coffs hung in there and levelled things up after the full-time siren, before Griffiths had the final say in golden point to cap off a brilliant grand final.
Coffs Harbour 22 defeated Macksville 18
SAWTELL CREATES HISTORY IN WOMEN’S TACKLE
Sawtell has created a slice of Group 2 history by taking out the inaugural women’s tackle premiership after defeating Woolgoolga 20-12.
After racing out to a 10-0 lead, the Panthers held off a spirited comeback from the Seahorses to put the cherry on top of a fantastic campaign that saw the side go through the season undefeated.
While this was the first year that Group 2 ran a women’s tackle competition, it was Sawtell’s second grand final win in a row after the side took out the Mid-North Coast Women’s Premiership last year.
“We worked hard all pre-season, during the season and I think it helped having most of the girls the same as last year,” said Sawtell captain Tina McRae.
After going through the regular season undefeated and taking out the minor premiership, the grand final victory was reward for a stellar 2024 for the Panthers.
“We were just working as a team,” said McRae. “Our main focus was working as a team, gelling and working hard in defence. Defence was our main thing all through the season and that’s where we came out on top.”
Indeed, despite scoring the first two tries through McRae and EeEe Nuon, the Panthers were forced to rely on their defence in the second half as Woolgoolga pulled the scoreline back to 10-6 seven minutes after the break through centre Zahlia Keighran.
The Seahorses had several sets in Sawtell’s half and threatened to go over again, but the Panthers held firm.
It continued the side’s excellent season defensively, with the side conceding just 58 points in 10 games, at an average of less than a converted try per game.
“That’s pretty much how our girls have been playing for the last four-five weeks,” said coach Beau Klaassen. “They’ve been backing their defence and have been aggressive – and in the end it’s paid off and we’re coming home with the trophy.”
While the Panthers’ defence held Woolgoolga at bay, it also helped the team turn the screws as it forced several errors out of the Seahorses in the second half.
Finally the pressure paid off when Zoie Shreiweis-Helback crashed over with nine to go to give Sawtell a crucial 16-6 lead, before centre Dani Page then sealed the win with a brilliant weaving run to put the side up 22-6.
And while Jada-Lee Brunton crossed late for Woolgoolga, it was merely a consolation as Sawtell ran out eight-point winners to etch their names into the record books.
“It was pretty stressful at the end there, they made it hard,” said Klaassen. “But they got the job done in the end, which is what they’ve done all year. Hats off to all the girls for going through undefeated.”
Sawtell co-coach Jarrod Reeves was equally full of praise for his side.
“They’ll always remember that, going through undefeated all year was awesome,” he said.
“I also wanna give a shout out to the Woopi girls. They’ve been top contenders all year, and especially with Shazza (Sharon McGrady) as the coach they’ll be back next year as well.”
Sawtell 20 defeated Woolgoolga 12
NAMBUCCA BREAKS SIX-YEAR STRANGLEHOLD
Nambucca has broken Macksville’s six-year stranglehold on the Group 2 under-18s title by defeating the Sea Eagles 30-16 in the grand final.
A stunning first half and then a couple of moments of individual brilliance helped set up the win for the Roosters, who shot out to a 22-6 lead at halftime before keeping Macksville just far enough away throughout the second half to seal the premiership.
“They saved their best for last,” said Nambucca coach Geoff Batten.
“It’s been happening all year of not playing how we trained but we really did do that today. In that first half we played exactly how we trained.”
It broke the Sea Eagles six-year hold on the competition, with Macksville having won every under-18s title since 2018.
It also capped off a remarkable rise from Nambucca, which only returned to senior football in 2022 after spending three years in recess.
“It’s been a really quick trajectory back to the top,” said Batten. “This is just the third season back in and it’s great to see how quickly it’s happened.”
The coach paid tribute to his side for getting the victory, given Macksville’s dominance of the grade in recent years.
“They’ve got the Bowra junior club, which is massive. We get a few that come out of there, but most of them feed straight into that Macksville side and that’s why they’re so successful,” he said. “They’ve been the benchmark for years and it’s due to the success of the juniors, so it’s great for us to get the win.”
In a local derby decider to kick off grand final day, the Roosters came flying out of the blocks and went over in just the fourth minute when Toby Batten stepped his way over.
Five minutes later they were in again when hooker Cale Ogilvy burrowed over from dummy-half to make it 12-0.
And while Macksville’s Mitchell Martin stepped his way over midway through the half to bring things back to 12-6, Nambucca took control of the game once again, with centre Connor Corbett crossing for a double to give the Roosters a commanding 22-6 lead at the break.
After a sluggish first half, the Sea Eagles knew they needed to be the next to score and they did that just four minutes after the break when centre Cohen Welsh shot through on the edge to slash the lead to 10.
Macksville had the momentum and were looking threatening until a key moment turned the match again.
The Sea Eagles were attacking the Nambucca line, however a wayward pass allowed Roosters five-eighth Wilson Baade to toe the ball up field.
With five Macksville players chasing him, Baade won the race to the ball and was pulled down just five metres short of the line. However the Roosters defence was still making its way back, and Baade backed up in support to go over on the next play to give the side a crucial 26-12 lead with 20 minutes remaining.
And while a few errors started to creep into game, allowing Macksville’s Nakein Adams to stretch over with five to go, Nambucca capped off the win in the final minute when Toby Batten put in a brilliant kick for winger Dominic Robertson to score in the corner and kick off the celebrations.
Nambucca Heads 30 defeated Macksville 16
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