Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League: all the action and results from round three

The premiers keep rolling on, a contender made a huge statement, while some of the competition’s young guns continued to impress during round three of the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League.

There was plenty of action during round three of the NRRRL, with some blockbuster games highlighting a huge round three over the weekend.

Some clubs have extended their run at the top, others have made a massive statement of intent, while some young guns have impressed during what was an exciting round of footy.

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1) Premiers maintain the rage

Bilambil kept its unbeaten run alive with a hard-fought 22-14 victory over Evans Head in the rematch of last year’s grand final at Stan Payne Oval.

The come-from-behind win has capped off a brilliant start to the season for the defending premiers, who also defeated last year’s semi-finalists Cudgen and local rivals Tweed Coast in the opening fortnight of the competition.

2) Jets rookies have a day to remember

While every footballer’s first game in first grade is special, not too many can say they made their A-grade debuts in a grand final rematch.

But that was precisely the case on Sunday for Bilambil trio Harry Chadburn, Cameron Bevan and Riley Buchanan, who donned the red and green for the first time in A-grade.

They are three of several Jets who’ve already made the step up from under-18s so far this season as injuries, suspensions and other commitments test the club’s depth.

3) Seagulls make a statement

Leading into the season, Ballina coach Greg Barnes said he didn’t expect his side to properly hit their straps until about round six or eight as the team built up combinations and the new recruits got used to playing with each other.

However after three rounds the Seagulls are sitting at the top of the ladder and are already looking like one of the teams to beat after three impressive wins to kick off the season.

Following hard-fought victories against Cudgen and last year’s grand finalists Evans Head in the first two weeks, Ballina made a statement on Sunday with a 50-6 demolition of Marist Brothers.

The Seagulls’ right edge in particular had a field day, accounting for six of the team’s nine tries.

If they’re firing already, how sharp will they be come round six?

4) Dirawongs, Magpies claim clean sweeps

It was a good day out for the Dirawongs on Sunday. Photo: Northern United RLFC.

It certainly was a round to remember for Northern United and Lower Clarence, with both clubs claiming clean sweeps from their five games over the weekend.

Fresh from winning their first A-grade game since 2021 last week, the Magpies well and truly backed it up with a five-star performance in Yamba on Saturday, defeating Casino in first grade, reserves, under-18s, league tag and women’s tackle to cap off a brilliant day out.

Not to be outdone, it was Northern United’s turn on Sunday, with the Dirawongs claiming a clean sweep of their five games against Kyogle at Clifford Park in what was the club’s first home game of the season.

5) Byron back from the dead again

They might only have played two games, but Byron Bay have already established themselves as the comeback kings of the competition following their come-from-behind victory over Tweed Coast at Les Burger Field.

Trailing 14-0 after half an hour, the Red Devils clicked into gear to put on four unanswered tries and win 20-14.

The performance comes after Byron did something similar in round one against Murwillumbah. Down 20-12 in the second half after conceding four consecutive tries, the Red Devils fought back to snatch a thrilling 20-all draw at the death.

6) Big day out for Hardy

It certainly was a big day out for Kyogle’s Aiden Hardy on Sunday, with the young Turkey featuring in three grades of football for the club.

After playing in the under-18s, Hardy backed up in the centres for reserve grade. While most would consider that to be enough for one day, the outside back went for more and came off the bench for first grade in the loss against Northern United in what was an incredible performance.

7) Young gun seals Hornets’ win

Ty Kilpatrick scored his first try in A-grade against Murwillumbah. Photo: supplied.

Speaking of young players, all the attention was on Cudgen forward Ty Kilpatrick in the dying stages of the Hornets’ clash with Murwillumbah on Sunday.

With the team leading with just a couple of minutes to go, Kilpatrick charged over from close range to score what was his first A-grade try next to the sticks.

The promising young forward, who has made the step up from under-18s into first grade this year, was then swarmed by his teammates as Cudgen celebrated its first victory of the season.

Round three wrap

The competition moved into its third week over the weekend with an exciting list of fixtures.

The highlight of the round was undoubtedly the grand final rematch between Bilambil and Evans Head at Stan Payne Oval, while other big games included Cudgen taking on Murwillumbah in a Tweed derby, Marist Brothers hosting Ballina in a match between undefeated sides, and Tweed Coast facing off with Byron Bay at Les Burger Field.

Elsewhere, Lower Clarence were searching for their second win in a row against Casino and Northern United hosted Kyogle in its first home game of the season.

Jets down Bombers in grand final rematch

Bilambil defeated Evans Head 22-14 in the grand final rematch. Photo: supplied.

Bilambil has maintained bragging rights over Evans Head with a hard-fought 22-14 victory in a rematch of last year’s grand final at Stan Payne Oval.

The Jets were forced to come from behind in the ‘aviation derby’, with the Bombers starting the brighter of the two sides.

The home side took the lead after 15 minutes when a smart chip from Trevor Bolt bounced up nicely for his centre, who beat the Bilambil defenders to the ball and went over to give Evans Head a 4-0 lead.

The Bombers doubled their advantage on 24 minutes when they put the ball through the hands and crashed over on the right edge to make it 8-0.

The Bombers had the edge in the first half, with Bilambil’s only points coming from a penalty on half-time to make the scores 8-2 at the break.

However the Jets came out of the sheds with more intent and levelled things up at 8-all in the 49th minute.

With a play the ball 30 metres out from the Bombers’ line, Harry Fitzhugh darted down the blind side from dummy half before firing a cut-out ball to winger Blake Forder, who had too much speed for the Evans Head defenders and raced over to score.

It was a physical contest and there was plenty of feeling in the game, with players from both sides drawn into a bit of push and shove after Forder’s try.

But while Jets levelled things up, it was the Bombers who retook the lead five minutes later when they swooped on a fumbled Trevor Bolt kick and went over through Brandon Anderson to make the scores 14-8.

However from here on in the defending premiers gained more control of the match. And after the Bombers dropped a Fitzhugh bomb, Bilambil took advantage of the great field position, with Oliver Regan crossing after some fancy footwork to narrow the gap to 14-12.

The Jets then took the lead in the 68th minute through Caleb Nicholls, who showed far too much strength for his opponents by crashing over directly from a penalty 10 metres out from the Bombers’ line to make it 16-14.

While both sides were in the match, it was the Jets who sealed victory in the dying stages when Hayden Hansen bounced off six Evans Head defenders in an almighty run to plant the ball on the line and secure the 22-16 win.

The victory saw Bilambil maintain their record of three wins from three to kick off the season, while the Bombers have a record of one win and two losses from their opening games.

Magpies get the points over the Cougars

Lower Clarence made it two from two after a 28-14 victory over Casino at Yamba on Saturday night.

A double to hooker Lachlan Barnes and some lovely ball playing from halfback Vincent Williams proved key as the Magpies backed up their drought-breaking win over Kyogle last week with another two points.

Looking for their first win of the season, Casino opened the scoring in the 14 minute when Harrison Cusack powered his way over after a backline move on the left edge.

The Magpies hit back just before half-time though, when Barnes caught the Cougars’ markers off guard and dove over from close range, with Williams adding the extras to level scores at 6-all at the break.

The Cougars certainly didn’t learn their lesson during half-time, with Barnes burrowing over from dummy half again just three minutes into the second half to extend the lead to 10-6.

Despite going behind, the visitors weren’t done with, hitting back in the 48th minute. Shifting the ball to the right, a lovely cut-out ball from halfback Luke Torrens created an overlap and Ryan Fahey scored in the corner. Eddie Walker-Williams then slotted the conversion from the sideline to give Casino a 12-10 lead with half an hour to play.

However in what was a game of tit for tat, the Magpies retook the lead again a couple of minutes later when Williams hit fullback Liam Foster with a smart short ball to break through the line and score next to the posts to give his side a 16-12 lead.

While the Cougars halved the deficit with a Walker-Williams penalty, the home side surged further ahead in the 68th minute when skipper Luke Douglas crashed over from close range to extend the lead to 22-14.

While Casino pushed hard to get back into the game, it was Lower Clarence who sealed the victory two minutes from time, with Williams stepping into dummy half and firing a bullet cut-out ball to Daniel Mitchell, who ran a great line and went over more or less untouched.

Byron prevails in stirring comeback

Byron Bay claimed its first victory of the season, overcoming Tweed Coast 20-14 at Les Burger Field in what was arguably the comeback of the season for far.

After drawing with Murwillumbah in round one and sitting out with the bye last week, the Red Devils trailed 14-0 after half an hour, only to well and truly turn the game on its head by running in four unanswered tries to secure the six-point victory.

Coming in after their thrilling 30-28 win over Murwillumbah last weekend, the Raiders got off to a great start when winger Jacob Ryan reeled in a smart grubber from halfback Oliver Blood to score in the corner in the eighth minute.

They doubled the lead in the 26th minute when a great flat ball from five-eighth Brayden Evans put backrower Brandon Matthews into a gap and over to make the scores 8-0.

The Raiders then sent the home fans wild, scoring from the very next set to give themselves a handy lead. Matthews was in the thick of the action again, getting a smart offload away to Zion Kamara, who then found his hooker backing up on the inside to score. Matthews added the extra to give the home side a 14-0 lead.

But just when it looked like the Raiders would run away with it, Byron Bay staged a stirring comeback. The team got on the scoreboard in the 35th minute after a powerful run saw off some would-be Raiders defenders.

A penalty in the first set after the kick-off gave the Red Devils a piggy back up field, and they duly took advantage to narrow the gap even further.

A wonderful looping cut-out ball from Todd Carney put winger Ethan Caldwell-Jackey over untouched to send Byron into the break only down 14-10.

The opening stages of the second half were an arm-wrestle between the two sides, before a dropped Carney bomb gave the Red Devils great attacking field position with 15 minutes to go.

After a great stepping run from captain Sam Saville, winger Akariva Durusolo jumped into dummy half and then bounced off a couple of Raiders defenders close to the line to score. Josh French added the extras to give Byron Bay a 16-14 lead.

Both sides pushed for the win, however it was Carney’s boot that helped seal the victory for the Red Devils, with the Raiders fumbling a cross field bomb and Byron Bay jumping on the scraps to score and seal the 20-14 victory.

Hornets sting the Mustangs

Cudgen recorded its first win of the season. Pictured: Jye Barton. Photo: Mike Donnelly.

Cudgen has recorded it first victory of the season, overcoming Murwillumbah four tries to one to win 22-6 at Ned Byrne Oval.

It was the Mustangs who got off to the perfect start, with a beautiful cross field kick from halfback Aaron Booth putting Joel Antonelli over after just two minutes to give the visitors a 6-0 lead.

In an eventful start, the Hornets hit back four minutes later when an offload close to the line helped put Levi Harm over and bring the scores to 6-4.

The game remained tight until just before half-time, when a weaving run and offload from Cudgen fullback Jordan Kempnich created some space close to the line for Andrew Battese, who found a charging Sam Grant to score underneath the posts to give Cudgen a 10-6 lead at half-time.

The game remained tight, but was blown open midway through the second half when Cudgen hooker Jackson Rohweder darted out of dummy half, threw a dummy and then used his speed to slice through the Murwillumbah defence to score under the sticks.

The Hornets then well and truly sealed the victory with eight to go through young forward Ty Kilpatrick, who scored his first A-grade try to start the party and seal the 22-6 victory.

The win is Cudgen’s first for the season, while the Mustangs are still looking for their first victory after a draw and narrow loss in their first two games.

Seagulls hammer the Rams

The Seagulls made it three from three.

Ballina has maintained its impressive start to the season with a 50-6 thrashing of Marist Brothers at Oakes Oval in Lismore.

The Seagulls’ young guns really came to the fore, with half Hamish McClintock in everything and winger Rowan Mansfield crossing for a hat-trick in the nine tries to one rout.

In what was a meeting of two of the competition’s unbeaten sides, the local Lismore team drew first blood in the 12 minute, with young forward Henry Lee charging over from close distance to give the Rams a 6-0 lead.

However the Seagulls hit back 10 minutes later with an excellent long-distance try. Picking the ball up inside his own half, winger Fred Pitt put centre Dan Gibson through a gap with a nice short ball, with Hamish McClintock backing up on the inside to score under the posts and level things up at 6-all.

McClintock was in the thick of it again to give the visitors the lead five minutes before the break with a lovely ball to centre Tim Cassidy, who ran a great line to score.

Marist Brothers had the chance to hit back on the stroke of half-time, however winger Aden Haywood couldn’t hold onto the final ball and Ballina went into the break up 12-6.

While the first half was a competitive affair, the second was anything but, with Ballina running in seven unanswered tries as the scoreline blew out.

Cassidy and McClintock both scored doubles while Mansfield claimed a hat-trick as the Seagulls ran riot down their right edge, scoring six of the nine tries down that side.

Dirawongs turn the heat up on the Turkeys

The Dirawongs made it two from two with victory over Kyogle. Photo: Northern United RLFC.

Northern United has kept its unbeaten run going, running in nine tries in its 48-14 victory over Kyogle at Clifford Park.

In what ended up being a difficult afternoon for the visitors, Kyogle opened the scoring in the ninth minute in what was one of the tries of the match.

Five-eighth Layne Hardy put in a cross field kick for winger Michael Loose-Morris who, at full stretch, juggled the ball twice before catching it and scoring in the corner.

That was as good as it got for the visitors, with Northern United scoring three tries in an eight-minute burst – through Allan McKenzie, Hakeem Torrens and Jirra Breckenridge – to flip the game and take an 18-4 lead into half-time.

The Dirawongs maintained the intensity after the break, scoring through Allan and Hezekiah McKenzie in the 43rd and then the 46th minute to stretch the lead out to 28-4 and put the game to bed.

And while the Turkeys managed to cross the line twice in the second half, they were purely consolation efforts, with Northern United running out comfortable winners.

The victory was the Dirawongs’ second from as many starts, while Kyogle will host Mullumbimby next week, searching for their first win of the season.