Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL): Marist Brothers down rivals Northern United in local derby

Marist Brothers have surged up the ladder during the long weekend period by knocking over their local rivals in what is their second win in just five days.

Marist Brothers continued their impressive form in the June catch-up games. Picture: DC Sports Photography

Marist Brothers have continued their climb up the ladder and recorded their second win in five days after the side defeated local rivals Northern United 22-14 in a round one catch-up game at Oakes Oval.

A four-try first half was enough for the Rams to remain out of reach as they continued their successful run of rescheduled game following Saturday’s 34-6 win over Tweed Coast.

After a bit of dropped ball from both sides early on, Marist struck first when a nice blind side play put winger Andrew Ferguson-Fitzgerald over for the first try of the game in the eighth minute.

A penalty in the very next set sent the team up field again, with a powerful charge from Lennon Bartlett giving the Rams their second try in as many sets for an 8-0 lead.

It was going from bad to worse for Northern United, with a knock-on from a bomb once again handing the ball over in a dangerous area.

The Rams recorded their second win in five days. Picture: DC Sports Photography

And while the Dirawongs survived that attack, Marist thought they were in again just two minutes later when halfback Shallin Fuller followed through on his own grubber. And while the Rams celebrated with their star playmaker, the referee ruled that he failed to ground the ball properly.

It proved only to be a temporary reprieve for Northern United, however, as Marist kept rolling up field. In 22nd minute they went over again when Latrell Hampton ran through some sloppy goal line defence for his team’s third to make it 12-0.

The Rams had had the better of field position over the course of the opening half an hour but back-to-back penalties gave Northern United a crack at their line. With a fresh set they didn’t waste the opportunity as Hezekiah McKenzie dived over after picking up an offload to make it 12-4 five minutes before halftime.

Despite conceding, Marist continued to charge up field and went in again almost immediately when some second-phase play from Fuller put fullback Noah King over on the right edge to make it 18-4 at the break.

After being second best in the first 40, Northern United enjoyed a string of repeat sets on the Marist line shortly after the restart. But despite the pressure they couldn’t break through.

In what was a stop-start opening to the second half, both sides gave away penalties while in possession as errors crept into the game.

Frustration also bubbled to the surface, with Northern captain McKenzie sent to the sin bin for back-chat.

Marist was looking for the knockout blow, and King went close to scoring after following in on a Fuller grubber.

However from the next set they did strike, with Fuller looping a beautiful cut-out ball over to centre Mitch Krause to score in the corner to make to 22-4 with 20 minutes to play.

While the game appeared out of reach, the Dirawongs hit back with a try to prop Jirra Breckenridge eight minutes from time before a late try to centre Letty Drugutanalevu saw Marist finish eight-point winners.

The victory was the Rams’ second in five days, which has seen the side surge up the very congested ladder from 11th to fourth. They will be hoping for a hat-trick within a week when the team takes on Kyogle at home this Saturday.

Meanwhile Northern United remains in search of its first win after a difficult start to the season that has seen the team be competitive in all five games but ultimately fall to its opponents.

Marist Brothers 22 (Ferguson-Fitzgerald, Bartlett, Hampton, King, Krause tries; Fuller one goal) defeated Northern United 14 (McKenzie, Breckenridge, Drugutanalevu tries; McKenzie one goal)