Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL): Top talking points from round four
From a playmaking shootout to a matchwinning play from a returning star, check out some of the top talking points from round four of the NRRRL.
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It might have been a shortened round due to the wet weather but the weekend certainly wasn’t short of action in the NRRRL.
From heavyweight sides clashing to playmaking shootouts, check out some of the top talking points from round four.
RAIN WREAKS HAVOC
It was another rain-affected weekend in the NRRRL, with just four of the seven scheduled fixtures going ahead across the region.
This comes after three games were postponed over the first three rounds in what has been a very wet autumn.
However the disruptions haven’t affected all teams equally.
While eight of the 14 teams have played their full complement of four games, four sides have played just three.
The worst affected have been the two Lismore-based sides, with Northern United playing just two and Marist Brothers remarkably just playing one game so far this season.
HORNETS FLYING HIGH
Cudgen continued its excellent start to the season with a hard-fought 20-16 victory over Ballina at Kingsford Smith Park.
In what was in some ways an inverse of last year’s preliminary final, the Hornets were forced to defend set after set in the second half as Ballina piled on the pressure before going up the other end to score through Elliott Speed to surge in front and hold on for the win.
The victory, the team’s fourth from four games, keeps Cudgen equal top of the ladder with Bilambil.
However first grade isn’t the only Cudgen side doing well.
Both reserve grade and league tag teams are also undefeated so far this season after four and three games, respectively, with the league tag side remarkably not having conceded a point yet.
All up, the four Hornets’ teams have won 12 of their 14 games so far this season, scoring 406 points and conceding just 188 in what has been a very good start to 2025.
ROHWEDER RETURNS FOR CUDGEN
In addition to the result, one particularly pleasing sight for the Hornets would have been the return of Jackson Rohweder in the win over Ballina.
The 2023 premiership-winning hooker, who sat out all bar one game last season after going travelling, played his first game of 2025 for Cudgen and was instrumental in the team’s victory.
Sharp out of dummy-half, Rohweder was a constant threat throughout the match, going close early in the contest, only to knock the ball on as he tried to plant it down.
While unlucky the first time round, he came up with the winning play late in the second half when he once again shot out of dummy-half to catch the Ballina defence offguard before offloading to Elliott Speed to score the all-important matchwinning try.
BALLINA’S PREMIERSHIP HANGOVER CONTINUES
On the other side of the coin, Ballina’s frustrating start to the season has continued, with the first grade side slumping to its third loss from four starts in the defeat to Cudgen.
Although severely weakened by the absence of first-choice halves Tyrone Roberts and Reece McKenzie-O’Brien, just to name a few, the Seagulls dominated large parts of the match but struggled to capitalise on their opportunities in the second half.
Following on from last week’s 22-12 loss to Casino, the defeat to Cudgen was the first time Ballina had tasted back-to-back losses since 2022, while it was the first time since 2018 that the club has lost two home games in a row since 2018.
Despite the tough start to the season, it’s not all bad news for the Seagulls, who have been well and truly in every contest this year, losing by margins of six, 10 and four points, respectively.
PLAYMAKERS PUT ON MASTERCLASS
Two of the competition’s premier playmakers put on an absolute clinic over the weekend as Kyogle and Mullumbimby played out a fiery clash at Les Donnelly Field.
And while there was plenty of entertainment in the fiery clash, which saw Kyogle score 19 unanswered points in the second half to win 29-18, it was arguably the two halfbacks who took centre stage with excellent performances.
For Mullumbimby, returning local junior Jacob Miller well and truly showed off the class that saw him enjoy a decade-long career in the NRL and UK Super League, scoring the opening try of the day and then setting up winger Sammy Latu with a nice inside ball to get the Giants off to a strong start.
And while Mullum failed to score a point in the second half, Miller looked the most likely and went closest with a run midway through the half.
On the other hand, Robinson was nothing short of inspirational as the Turkeys chalked up their third win from four starts.
The little half picked up a double and had a hand in another two in what was a gutsy come-from-behind win.
After putting centre James Torrens through for his team’s first of the day, Robinson helped trigger Kyogle’s comeback eight minutes into the second half by running the ball on the last and spreading it wide for winger Shannon Walker to score a long-range effort.
Robinson then put his side in front by slicing through the line midway through the half before kicking a field goal later on to stretch the lead out to seven points.
Then in the dying moments the playmaker put the cherry on top with a late try to cap off a win and an excellent performance.
BILAMBIL STAR’S FOUR-TRY HAUL
It was another good weekend for Bilambil and in particular Jets’ winger Blake Graham, who scored four tries in his side’s 40-14 rout of Murwillumbah.
It started 15 minutes in when Graham got on the end of a chip kick from halfback Harry Fitzhugh for his first.
The game was still in the balance at 18-8 at halftime, however the Bilambil winger was in the thick of the action shortly after the break to put the game to bed.
Seven minutes after the restart he went over again after brushing aside some soft defence on a run from dummy-half, before scoring one of the easiest he’ll ever get to put the game to bed.
It started with a chip and chase from teammate Caleb Nicholls, who once again toed the ball forward. And when Mur’bah’s cover defence knocked the ball on while trying to clean things up, Graham just needed to dive on the ball to complete his hat-trick.
He wasn’t done there though, once again getting on the end of a Fitzhugh cross-field kick before muscling his way over for his fourth.
The haul takes him to the top of the tryscorers’ list with six, one ahead of Evan Head’s Aidan Kennedy.
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