Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League: the major talking points from round one

There were matches that had it all, former NRL legends facing off and rugby league royalty on the sidelines as the NRRRL returned over the weekend. Catch up on the major talking points from round one.

After a long seven and a half-month wait, the footy returned over the weekend with round one of the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL) competition.

There were six games around the region, highlighted by a clash between last year’s semi-finalists Byron Bay and Murwillumbah.

TEAM PREVIEWS: your ultimate guide to the 2023 season

Catch up on the action and major talking points below with the NRRRL’s Seven-Tackle Set.

1) Round one delivers

It was an exciting return to the NRRRL.

After what seemed like a long off-season, the NRRRL exploded back onto local footy fields over the weekend with some scintillating action across the region.

In terms of sheer entertainment, it was hard to go past Byron Bay and Murwillumbah’s 20-all draw at Red Devil Park. With big hits, plenty of tries, last-minute field goal attempts and even a send-off, the game pretty much had it all, and fans will be hoping for much of the same as the season progresses.

Elsewhere, Bilambil and Tweed Coast fought out a nailbiter at Cabarita, with the Jets edging out their local rivals 26-24, while last year’s grand finalists Evans Head turned on some razzle dazzle with a 36-12 victory over Casino.

Brandon Anderson arguably came up with the moment of the match for one of his tries. After making a line break, he grubbered the ball in behind the approaching fullback before regathering and putting the ball down for a spectacular four-pointer.

2) Goalkicking, ill-discipline proves costly

Murwillumbah’s goalkickers had a day to forget on Sunday, with Wade Ayres (four) and Zach Johnston (one) missing all five of the team’s conversions against Byron Bay.

Admittedly, four of the five kicks were from the sideline, which is difficult for any goal kicker, particularly at the beginning of the season.

However it proved costly in the end, with the Mustangs being held to a 20-all draw with the Red Devils, despite outscoring them five tries to three.

Goalkicking wasn’t the only thing that hurt the Mustangs, with Liam Robertson’s send-off for dissent midway through the second half acting as turning point and completely shifting the momentum. At that stage, Murwillumbah were up 20-12 and looked like putting the game to bed, only to then being forced to see out the final 25 minutes with 12 men.

3) Cougars and Magpies back in first grade

One of the great stories of round one was seeing Casino and Lower Clarence back in first grade again.

The Cougars didn’t enter a team in the top grade last year, owing to a lack of numbers, while Lower Clarence pulled out halfway through the 2022 campaign for the same reason.

And while they might not have recorded wins (Casino lost to Evans Head 36-12 and the Magpies went down to Mullumbimby 16-12), seeing both clubs back playing A-grade football feels like a victory in itself.

4) Nelson wins battle of the Titans

Cody Nelson got one over his former teammate Luke Douglas.

The two competition points wasn’t the only thing Mullum captain-coach Cody Nelson was celebrating on Saturday, with the victory over Lower Clarence giving him bragging rights over his former Gold Coast Titans teammate and Magpies skipper Luke Douglas.

The pair have been in regular contact since finishing their professional careers, with both coming back home to help out their junior clubs amid a difficult few years for bush footy on the back of Covid-19 and the floods.

They are two of several former professionals back in the NRRRL, with another former Titan, David Mead, strapping on the boots for Marist Brothers in their win against Kyogle on Sunday.

5) NRL royalty pops up in Yamba

Rugby league royalty Chris Anderson was spotted helping out Mullumbimby over the weekend.

In what was a game full of big names, one of rugby league’s most highly regarded figures was spotted at the Yamba Sporting Complex on Saturday for the clash between the Giants and Magpies.

Chris Anderson, the former Australian international and Kangaroos coach – who also coached the Canterbury Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm to grand final victories – was at the ground in a Mullum polo shirt.

The NRL legend is helping Nelson with some coaching in 2023, and will have no doubt plenty to impart on the Giants side.

6) Bilambil claims the Cullen Cup

The Jets claimed the Cullen Cup. Photo: Jessica Lamb

It was a special day at Les Burger Field on Saturday, with Tweed Coast and Bilambil playing off for the Cullen Cup and Rubes MVP Award, in memory of Justin Cullen and Chris Cameron, former players of both clubs.

After victories in all four grades, Bilambil claimed the Cullen Cup as the team with the best points differential. Meanwhile despite going down in first grade, Raiders prop Dan Ross won the Rubes MVP Award as the man of the match in first grade.

7) Plenty of debutants on show

One of the many good things about the first round of the season is the amount of young players making their first grade debuts, and there was certainly no shortage over the weekend.

At Les Burger Field, Northern Rivers Titans junior rep players Creedence Kelly-Donovan and Isaac Harrison made their first grade debuts for Bilambil in the Jets’ narrow 26-24 victory over the Raiders.

Meanwhile at Red Devil Park, Murwillumbah winger Matt Bollard even bagged a try in what was his A-grade debut in the pulsating 20-all draw with Byron Bay.

Match of the round: Red Devils and Mustangs share spoils in dramatic draw

The NRRRL is back with a bang after Byron Bay and Murwillumbah played out a thrilling 20-all draw at Red Devil Park on Sunday.

In a seesawing contest that could have gone either way, both sides will feel as they had the chance to win the game in what was a brilliant spectacle to ring in the new season.

The action kicked off in just the third minute when Murwillumbah centre Adam Walker slipped a lovely flick pass through to his wing partner Blake Marrison, who scooted down the touchline to open the scoring.

The lead didn’t last too long though, with Byron Bay crossing five minutes later through Kolbi Wood.

With the Red Devils managing two fast play the balls on the run, the hooker ducked out of dummy half, toed the ball into the in-goal area and beat the chasing Mustangs defender to score. Josh French added the extras to put the home side in front 6-4.

New signing French was in the thick of the action again shortly after, putting in a lovely cross field kick for winger Akariva Durusolo, who did well to hold onto the ball and score.

It was a big return to action for the NRRRL over the weekend.

Although French missed the conversion, the five-eighth made up for it in the 17th minute with a penalty goal to extend the lead to 12-4.

However just as it looked like Byron Bay were on top, the Red Devils made an error directly from the kick-off and invited Murwillumbah into their danger zone.

The Mustangs duly obliged, with Aiden Karam finding winger Matt Bollard with a beautiful cut-out ball to send the young outside back over for a try on his first grade debut.

From here the momentum seemed to swing towards Murwillumbah, with halfback Aaron Booth kicking a 40/20 in the first set after their try, before putting centre Joel Antonelli through untouched with another brilliant cut-out ball to level things up at 12-all.

The Mustangs continued to pile on the pressure after the break, with star centre Walker – who bagged 19 tries last season – catching the Byron defenders napping and burrowing over from close range to score in the 43rd minute.

Three minutes later Booth showed his class once again to set up the try of the match.

Picking the ball up five metres inside his own half, the halfback pinned the ears back to catch the Byron defence off guard. He then beat two defenders, put on the afterburners again before finding Jordan Best who scored in the corner.

At this point Murwillumbah threatened to run away with the game, with only the Mustangs’ wayward goal kicking (zero from five) keeping the Red Devils in it at 20-12.

However the turning point came in the 55th minute, when Murwillumbah interchange forward Liam Robertson was sent off for dissent, forcing his team to see out the final 25 minutes with 12 men.

In an intense 10-minute period directly afterwards, both sides crossed the stripe, only to have their tries pulled back for a forward pass and offside, respectively.

However with the numerical advantage Byron Bay wouldn’t be denied, with the Red Devils pouncing on a mistake from Murwillumbah winger Blake Marrison to score and tighten things up at 20-18.

As the home side pushed for the win, Byron Bay forward Harrison Chapman was caught high 15 metres out from the Murwillumbah line, which allowed French to add the extras from the ensuing penalty and make it 20-20 with five minutes to go.

From here, it only ever looked like one side would win, with the Mustangs desperately trying to hold out the Red Devils. In a frantic final couple of minutes, Murwillumbah charged down field goal attempts from Wood, French and Jesse Soric to ensure that the points were shared after a dramatic round one clash.

Around the grounds

The clash at Red Devil Park wasn’t the only thriller during round one, with premiers Bilambil narrowly edging out the Tweed Coast Raiders 26-24 at Les Burger Field.

The Jets were pushed all the way by the Raiders, who on the back of welcoming home some local juniors, have their sight set on the top four this season.

In the other Saturday fixtures, Evans Head was too strong for Casino in its return to A-grade, winning 36-12, while Mullumbimby scored a narrow 16-12 victory over Lower Clarence.

On Sunday, Ballina prevailed 12-6 in an arm wrestle against Cudgen, while a Mitch Krause doubled helped Marist Brothers to a first-up 34-26 victory over Kyogle at Oaks Oval in Lismore.