Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL): Top talking points from round nine

After a tough start to the season, the competition newcomers have surged up the ladder as they eye off a spot in the NRRRL top six.

Casino was among the winners in round nine.

Winning streaks were broken, the leaders were humbled an unlikely side jumped into the top six after a remarkable weekend in the NRRRL.

Catch a wrap of the action here and check out some of the top talking points from a huge round nine.

UPSETS GALORE, TIGHT TABLE

Kyogle arguably pulled off the upset of the season in round nine. Picture: DC Sports Photography

It was an incredible round of footy with no fewer than five upsets shaking up the competition.

Arguably the biggest boilover came at New Park, where Kyogle upset the previously undefeated Bilambil Jets 31-16.

Meanwhile at Ned Byrne Oval there were dramatic scenes as Marist Brothers tore apart the only other undefeated team left in the competition, hammering Cudgen 44-18.

Elsewhere, 12th-placed Tweed Coast snapped a four-match losing streak to defeat Murwillumbah 36-22, 11th-placed Lower Clarence edged out Mullumbimby and the 10th-placed Tweed Seagulls recorded their best victory since returning to the A-grade competition with a 26-18 win over Evans Head.

This has created a quite remarkable table that sees just two points separate sixth from 12th.

ARE MARIST THE REAL DEAL?

The Rams sent a huge message to the competition by defeating Cudgen.

In a round full of eye-catching results, arguably the most impressive was Marist Brothers’ 44-18 demolition of ladder-leaders Cudgen at Ned Byrne Oval.

After scores were locked at 12-all at halftime, the Rams ran absolutely riot after the break with six second-half tries to make a huge statement to the rest of the competition.

Not only did Marist hand the Hornets their first loss of 2025, but the victory also continued the Lismore team’s excellent run of form.

After a frustrating start to the season that saw several of its games postponed due to the rain, the Rams have now won four in a row – including three games last week – to move into third place on the ladder.

Following the big win over Cudgen, can Marist now be put in a bracket with the Hornets and Bilambil as premiership frontrunners?

SEAGULLS STARTING TO BELIEVE

The Tweed Seagulls have won three of their last four games.

Another one of the standout performances of the weekend came from the Tweed Seagulls, who knocked over third-placed Evans Head 26-18 for their best victory since returning to the A-grade competition at the start of the season.

In a seesawing clash, the Seagulls got off to a flyer and led 12-0 after just six minutes. The Bombers came surging back midway through the half to level things up before taking an 18-12 lead early in the second.

However Tweed kept grinding away and reclaimed the lead with another quickfire double of their own to seal the win.

“It was a good win. We’re gelling together and learning to play to our strengths and we’re slowly finding our feet,” said Tweed coach Crag Field.

“All year our first halves have been great but then the oxygen goes out of our head and we lose our way. But it was totally opposite down there, we had a really good second half. They’re (Evans Head) are a good team, they just do the little things right. You’ve got to be on your game otherwise they’ll capitalise.”

Field was particularly pleased with how his side reacted after captain and halfback Tom Neale came from the field with injury.

“I saw the heads go down and thought we might have been in trouble. But the blokes stood up and I’m really, really proud of them – I think this could be a turning point for us.”

The Seagulls came home strong to win by eight.

After a difficult start to the season that saw them lose their opening three games, albeit by narrow margins of four, six and eight points, the Seagulls have turned things around by winning three of their last four, while also pushing leaders Cudgen all the way in the 18-12 loss in round seven.

The run has lifted the Seagulls to 10th place on the ladder, but more importantly left them just two points outside the top six as they eye off a charge at the finals in the back half of the season.

“For us, being our first year in, we’re still taking it on a week-to-week basis,” said Field.

“But I think we could have actually won every game we’ve played and I think the players are starting to believe that they deserve to be in this comp and we can mix it with anyone.

“We’ve just got to go through our processes and when a bloke’s out, someone else has to step up. We haven’t got the numbers in the way of quality throughout the whole club. We’re relying on 24 or 25 players and with that it’s hard to win a comp, but we’re going really well and I’m proud of the boys.”

YOUNG GUN SHINES FOR KYOGLE

Lynton Close, pictured playing for the Northern Rivers Titans in the Laurie Daley Cup, has been impressive for Kyogle. Picture: DC Sports Photography

Another big result came out at New Park as Kyogle handed Bilambil its first defeat of the season with a 31-16 victory that pushed the side into the top six.

And while the Turkeys had plenty of strong performers, one that caught the eye was young five-eighth Lynton Close.

Playing in just his third game of first grade, the 18-year-old had a huge impact on the game, scoring two tries and setting up another in what was arguably one of the upsets of the season so far.

Showing great anticipation and energy with his kick chases, Close pounced on Bilambil errors on two separate occasions to score a crucial double.

Then midway through the second half he produced a perfectly weighted kick for teammate Layne Hardy to score and give the Turkeys a crucial 26-12 lead.

These were the highlight moments in an excellent all-round performance from the young gun, who has also assumed goalkicking duties for the team.

The impressive start to his A-grade career comes after Close starred for the Northern Rivers Titans in the Laurie Daley Cup competition earlier this year, picking up both the coach’s and players’ player awards for his efforts.

ILL-DISCIPLINE COSTS BILAMBIL

Blake Graham was one of three Bilambil players sent to the sin bin in the loss to Kyogle.

It was a weekend to forget for Bilambil, who slumped to its first loss of the season at the hands of Kyogle.

Despite getting off to a dream start with a try after 90 seconds, the Jets struggled with ball handling as errors came back to hurt the side.

Another big factor cruelling Bilambil was ill-discipline, with three Jets players sent to the sin bin throughout the match.

It started early in the second half when, trailing 22-12, winger Blake Graham was given 10 minutes for a dangerous lifting tackle.

A couple of minutes later they were reduced to 11 when Aaron Hill followed Graham into the sheds for dissent after he was ruled to have knocked the ball on while trying to score a try.

It proved to be a precursor for another sin binning when Harry Fitzhugh was given his marching orders once again for backchat after Bilambil had a try disallowed for a forward pass.