Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League: Round four wrap, results and key takeaways

Goalkicking was the difference once again, one side’s lethal edge caused carnage, while another has firmed as the entertainers of the competition during round four of the NRRRL.

Sam Nicholson from Kyogle, Josh Beech from Evans Head and Rhys Riches from Ballina as part of a wrap of round four of the 2023 Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL) first grade competition.

After some blowout scores, nailbiting draws and absolute attacking clinics, there is plenty to dissect after round four of the NRRRL.

One month in, the competition ladder is starting to take shape, with some teams making a charge up the ladder and the leaders continuing their strong run at the top.

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1) Turkeys and Giants go down to the wire – again

One of the most exciting games of the round was up at New Park on Saturday night when Kyogle and Mullumbimby played out a tense 10-all draw.

The two teams put in eerily similar big plays, with both sides scoring a try from dummy half as well as almost identical four-pointers in their left corners. On both occasions Giants’ winger Thomas Sowerby and Kyogle’s Harry Waddington cut back in from the touchline to evade their opponents’ cover defence and score.

It was second clash in a row between the sides that finished all locked up after 80 minutes. In August last year the teams met in the Trophy Qualifying Final. And while scores were tied at 20-all after regular time, Mullumbimby prevailed 21-20 in extra time.

2) Ballina’s lethal right edge

Ballina once again put the competition on notice with a brilliant attacking display in its 58-6 victory over Lower Clarence.

It was the second week in a row that the team had cracked the half century after beating Marist Brothers 50-6 in round three.

On both occasions the Seagulls’ right edge has proved particularly dangerous, contributing six tries last weekend and another five against the Magpies in an excellent display of attacking football that included a couple of spectacular length of the field tries.

3) Murwillumbah the entertainers

They might only have one win to their name so far, but Murwillumbah have proved to be the entertainers of the competition after being involved in another classic match over the weekend.

The Mustangs came back from a 26-12 deficit early in the second half to win 30-26 in front of their raucous home fans.

The come-from-behind victory follows a 20-all draw with Byron Bay in round one and comes after they were pipped 30-28 at the death by Tweed Coast in round two, with last weekend’s 22-6 loss to Cudgen being the outlier.

And while their games might be a favourite for neutrals due to amount of tries and nailbiting finishes, if they keep up this kind of form it might not be great for coach Brendan Hill’s blood pressure.

4) Goalkicking proves the difference

Speaking of the Mustangs, they finally got the rub of the green in terms of goalkicking, with Nelson Ewing’s perfect five from five – including three from the sideline – getting the team over the line against the Bombers.

It was a pleasant change for Murwillumbah, who had fallen on the wrong side of the ledger in the early rounds on account of kicking.

Despite outscoring Byron Bay five tries to three in round one, a difficult day with the boot for the Mustangs’ kickers – who managed zero from five – meant that the game finished a draw.

Meanwhile in round two it was Tweed Coast kicker Brandon Matthews’ perfect day out with the boot that saw the Raiders edge out the Mustangs, who themselves kicked a respectable four from five.

5) Northern United motoring along nicely

While Ballina and defending premiers Bilambil have taken most of the headlines for their impressive starts to the season, Northern United has somewhat slipped under the radar after their excellent opening to 2023.

After having the bye in round one, the Dirawongs defeated Mullumbimby 18-10, before clicking into gear by downing Kyogle (48-14) and Casino (46-22) in the following games.

Northern sit equal first (second on goal difference) with the Seagulls and Jets, but face a big test this weekend when they host Ballina at Oakes Oval in Lismore.

6) Hornets click into gear

Cudgen appears to have turned a corner after an impressive 30-18 victory over Byron Bay at Red Devils Park.

It was the Hornets’ second win in a row following last week’s 22-6 win against Murwillumbah, and comes as the side opened the season with back-to-back defeats to ladder leaders Ballina and Bilambil.

The win over the Mustangs takes the Hornets to sixth place ahead of a local derby with Tweed Coast this Sunday.

7) Lower grades shine with standout performances

The first month of the season has also seen some standout performances in the lower grades.

The reserve grade ladder looks ominously similar to A-grade, with Ballina and Bilambil sitting at the top undefeated. They are also joined by Murwillumbah on eight points.

The under-18s competition is very tight with an incredible seven teams sitting on six competition points. Perhaps in a testament to how close the comp is, every single team has already lost one game.

Elsewhere, last year’s league tag major premiers Cudgen have showed that they’ll be hard to beat again with four from four to kick off the season, scoring 110 points and remarkably conceding just 10.

They’re joined at the top by Northern United, who have three wins and a bye, and last year’s beaten grand finalists Marist Brothers, who have recorded three wins and a draw to kick off the season.

Meanwhile after three rounds of the women’s tackle premiership, Lower Clarence and Northern United sit at the top with perfect records so far.

Round four wrap

Round four was certainly one for the highlights reel in the NRRRL, with some incredible long-distance tries, seesawing clashes and a nailbiting draw highlighting the weekend’s action.

The round kicked off on Saturday night with Kyogle hosting Mullumbimby at New Park, while Bilambil, Ballina, Murwillumbah, Byron Bay and Casino all played home games over the weekend.

Catch up with a wrap of all the action below.

Turkeys and Giants share the spoils

Kyogle and Mullumbimby shared the points after a hard-fought 10-all draw at New Park.

In a sign of perhaps how even the game was, both sides scored two sets of almost identical tries in the contest.

And while both pushed hard for a late win, a series of errors in good attacking positions ensured that the honours were shared.

Mullum opened the scoring in the 14th minute when hooker Tom Gibson darted down the short side, found halfback Dean Rooney, who then managed to put it through the hands to find winger Thomas Sowerby, who did extremely well to step back inside and underneath the Kyogle cover defence to score.

Both sides pushed to gain the territorial advantage and tensions boiled over midway through the first half, when a scuffle broke out that brought in just about every player on the field.

Giants’ five-eighth William Hammond and Kyogle backrower Kaleb Dorsman were both sent to the sin bin to cool off for 10 minutes for their part in it.

Then, 10 minutes before the break it was Kyogle’s turn to reply. Five metres out from the Giants’ line, hooker Damian Wilson darted out of dummy half and was too strong for the Mullum defence to crash over. Michael Loose-Morris added the extras to give the home side a 6-4 lead at halftime.

Fifteen minutes into the second half the Turkeys extended their lead. Taking on the line, fullback Chanse Perham attracted two defenders and managed to offload to winger Harry Waddington who, in the same corner as his opposite number in the first half, cut back inside to beat the sliding Giants defenders to score.

The home side narrowly missed out on stretching their lead out to beyond a converted try as Loose-Morris’ conversion attempt hit the post to leave the scores at 10-4.

The game continued to ebb and flow until 10 minutes from time when the Giants hit back.

Just one metre out from the Turkeys’ line, hooker Gibson dummied from dummy half, caught the markers napping – just as Kyogle had done to them in the first half – and dived over to score.

Mullumbimby added the extras to lock the scores at 10-all and set up a thrilling finish.

While both sides worked themselves in good field position, a series of errors hindered any chance of getting a field-goal attempt away.

Kyogle were gifted a golden opportunity to win the match in the dying stages when a simple error from Mullumbimby gave the Turkeys a full set just 10 metres out from the Giants’ line.

And while Kyogle threw everything at Mullumbimby to try and secure their first win of the season, with both Wilson and Xavier Pereka held up over the line on consecutive tackles, the Giants defence held firm to leave scores locked at 10-all at halftime.

Bilambil too strong for Rams

Bilambil made it four from four with a 30-4 victory over Marist Brothers at home in The Valley.

Prop Jacob Hind was the first to cross after some nice work from hooker Tom Rowles put him through half a gap and he proved too strong for the Rams’ defence.

Centre Caleb Nichols extended the lead midway through the half when he pounced on a nice grubber to make the scores 12-0.

The Jets piled on more points just before halftime with a lovely interchange of passing from Hayden Hansen and Jack Durheim finishing up with fullback Oliver Regan scoring under the posts to take an 18-0 lead into the break.

The second half continued in much the same fashion, with Bilambil scoring three tries to one – including a four-pointer to five-eighth Alex Fitzhugh in his 50th first grade game for the club – to secure the comfortable victory and remain at the top of the ladder.

It was the Jets’ fourth-straight win to kick off the season, while the Rams now have a record of two wins and two losses.

Ballina cracks the half-century against Magpies

Ballina has maintained its unbeaten run and sounded another ominous warning to the competition with a 58-6 demolition of Lower Clarence at Kingsford Smith Park.

Just a week after defeating Marist Brothers 50-6, the Seagulls cracked the half-century for the second successive match, running riot with 11 tries that included a hat-trick to Jordan Lee and a couple of spectacular full length of the field tries.

It started in the eighth minute with an absolutely brilliant try that set the mood for the match.

Picking up the ball in his own in-goal area, Ballina winger Fred Pitt burst through the Magpies’ kick-chase before running 70 metres up field where he passed to backrower Jordan Lee who finished off the coast-to-coast effort by scoring near the posts.

Ten minutes later Lee had a double, running a lovely line to take a Jess Perry pass, step past a couple of defenders and score.

The Seagulls crossed twice more in the first half through Rhys Riches and Pitt to take a 20-0 lead into the sheds.

The Magpies knew they needed to be the first to score after the break to get back into the game, and they did exactly that 10 minutes into the second half when centre Tyler Essex ran a nice inside line to crash over and bring the scores back to 20-6.

Unfortunately for the Magpies that was as close as they got, with Ballina scoring an incredible seven tries in the final 20 minutes to set up the huge win.

This included Lee’s hat-trick, as well as doubles to fullback Zac Beecher and lock Billy Dwane.

With two minutes to go the game then ended in very much the same way as it started, with a brilliant coast-to-coast effort.

Taking a hit-up directly from the kick-off, forward Cameron Copeland put on a nice right-foot step to get around the defenders before passing to centre Tim Cassidy, who did brilliantly to step and dummy his way past several defenders. Cassidy then passed off to a supporting McClintock, who himself found Dwane on the inside to score under the sticks.

Mustangs take down Bombers in 10-try classic

Murwillumbah has recorded its first victory of the season with a brilliant come-from-behind victory to beat Evans Head 30-26 in front of a raucous home crowd.

It was the perfect start for the Mustangs, with winger Blake Marrison crossing in the corner after just three minutes following some smart work at dummy half from fullback Nelson Ewing.

They doubled their lead seven minutes later when Ewing, going down the same left edge, found centre Jake Vickey, who was too powerful for his opponent and crashed over to score. Ewing then drained his second conversion from the sideline to set up a 12-0 lead.

But while the home side got off to a great start, the Bombers took control of the match with an incredible five-straight tries.

An error in the first set after the kick-off handed Evans Head a golden opportunity to get back into the match and they duly took it, with forward Lachlan Kennedy scoring next to the sticks to halve the lead.

Next it was halfback Trevor Bolt who crashed over from close range after 25 minutes as the Bombers forwards made big inroads in Murwillumbah’s defence.

Bolt was in the thick of the action five minutes later for arguably the try of the match. After putting up a bomb, winger Zacharia Roberts leapt high to brilliantly catch the ball before miraculously flicking it to his backrower Justin Shillingsworth to score under the posts and take the lead for the first time.

Another try on the stroke of halftime gave the Bombers a 22-12 lead at the break.

The Bombers – and Bolt – weren’t done with, and 10 minutes after the break they stretched the lead out to 26-12 with the halfback putting in an excellent grubber behind the Mustangs defence for centre Tom Milton to score.

The Mustangs and Bombers played out one of the most entertaining matches of the season so far. Photo: supplied.

But just when it looked like the Bombers would run away with it, the Mustangs staged a stirring comeback.

Midway through the second half Ethan Kane put up a cross field kick for winger Blake Marrison who, channelling the work of his opposing winger Roberts in the first half, leapt high, juggled the ball but regathered to score an excellent try. Ewing then slotted his third conversion from near the try line to make the score 26-18.

Ten minutes the Mustangs set up a grandstand finish when forward Brock Hamill made a weaving run against the grain, making two left-foot steps to run 20 metres to go next to the sticks almost untouched and bring the scores to 26-24.

Murwillumbah then thought they’d hit the front with five minutes to go with a brilliant long-distance effort.

Ten metres inside his own half, halfback Bo Peisley put on a great dummy and step to slice through the Bombers’ defensive line. He then found fullback Ewing, who beat two other defenders to cross the line.

While the home fans and players were celebrating, with the ball booted into the crowd, the referee ruled that Ewing had been held up, much to the dismay of the Mustangs players.

However they didn’t have to wait long to hit the front. In the very next set the ball came right to Kane, who threw a great dummy and left-foot step to get past the defenders and put the ball over the line.

This time the crowd weren’t to be disappointed as the players piled on top of each other to celebrate.

Ewing then slotted the conversion from 15 metres in from touch to cap off the remarkable win.

It was a big round of football in the NRRRL.

Hornets get one over the Devils

Cudgen recorded its second win in a row with a tight 30-18 victory over Byron Bay in a seesawing contest at Red Devil Park.

After the Hornets took a three-try lead early in the match, Byron Bay came back from the dead to level scores in the second half, before a couple of late Cudgen tries got the visitors over the line.

It was the perfect start for the Hornets, who scored in the first set of the game. Five-eighth Sam Grant put up a spiralling bomb that landed in no man’s land, before taking a wicked bounce that evaded the Byron Bay back three. Cudgen prop Luke Toon then came through to collect the ball and score.

Three minutes later the Hornets were 12-0 up as Toon made charging run through the Byron defence before passing off to young Ty Kilpatrick to score.

Cudgen Hornets front-rower Caleb Ziebell goes on the attack

It all was Cudgen in the early stages but a Todd Carney 40/20 after 18 minutes gave Byron a great attacking opportunity, and from the resulting set the former NRL star spotted a hole in the Cudgen defence to break through and score.

Seven minutes later Carney was pulling the strings again, putting up a well-waited bomb, which was fumbled by the Hornets and allowed Red Devils winger Ethan Coldwell-Jackey to score and bring things back to 12-8.

However just as the home side had worked themselves back into the match, Cudgen stretched out their lead on the stroke of halftime, with Andrew Battese burrowing over from dummy half to give his side an 18-8 lead at the break.

But the home side certainly weren’t done with and came firing out of the blocks with two tries inside the first 15 minutes to Kolbi Wood and Coldwell-Jackey to levels things up at 18-all.

However it was the Hornets who took control of the final stages, with Battese crossing for his second after throwing a dummy and putting on a nice left-foot step to fool the Red Devils’ defence.

Byron pushed to equalise, however in the dying stages young Hornets player Cooper Roberts found himself in some space and scored next to the sticks on what was his first grade debut to seal the 30-18 victory.

Northern United outscore the Cougars in try fest

Northern United ensured that three undefeated teams will go into round five after a 46-24 victory over Casino in a high-scoring clash at Queen Elizabeth Park.

Thirteen tries were scored in the game, with Northern fullback Hezakiah McKenzie grabbing a double.

The try fest started in the ninth minute when McKenzie sliced through the Casino defensive line and fired a cut-out ball to winger Damon Coldwell to score in the corner.

Forwards Jerrod See and Jirra Breckenridge crashed over next, and while Casino scored two tries on their right edge, the Dirawongs took a 28-10 lead into halftime after winger Malaki Ferguson and halfback Jerome Green combined for a long-range efforts.

While the home side managed to score three second-half tries, the damage had well and truly been done, with the Dirawongs running out comfortable winners.

Northern United remain undefeated with three wins and a bye from its first four rounds, while Casino is still on the search for its first victory of the season.