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

After a difficult 2024, Lower Clarence has shown plenty of improvement as it eyes a climb up the ladder.

Check out some of the top talking points from a thrilling round seven of the NRRRL. Picture: DC Sports Photography

It was an incredible weekend of footy in the NRRRL, with nailbiting clashes and thrilling finishes the order of the day in what was a truly unique round.

Catch up with some of the top talking points below.

TIGHT MARGINS IN THRILLING ROUND

Murwillumbah played its part in a thrilling round seven of the NRRRL.

Footy fans were treated to a seriously exciting weekend of action as all seven games remained on a knife’s edge during round seven of the NRRRL.

Highlighting the tight contests were two draws, with Murwillumbah and Ballina finishing locked up at 8-all and Evans Head and Mullumbimby also splitting the points with an 18-all draw.

Aside from that there were a couple of nailbiting wins as Bilambil fended off Marist Brothers 26-22 and Casino prevailed 16-14 in a local derby for the ages against Kyogle.

Elsewhere, Cudgen edged out local rivals the Tweed Seagulls 18-12, Lower Clarence defeated Northern United 24-16 and in the biggest blowout of the weekend, Byron Bay ran out 10-point winner over Tweed Coast, winning 24-14.

This meant that the average margin over the course of the round was just 4.3 points.

BIG GUNS FIND A WAY

Cudgen came from behind to win its seventh straight game to kick off 2025 Picture: DC Sports Photography

Cudgen and Bilambil remain the only two undefeated teams left in the competition, however they certainly didn’t have it all their own way in round seven as they were pushed hard by their opponents.

In an early contender for game of the season, the Bilambil raced out to a 16-0 halftime lead over Marist Brothers and appeared to be cruising until a stirring comeback saw the Rams take the lead 22-16 in the second half.

With the momentum against them, the Jets dug deep and scored two late tries to regain the lead and extend their record to six wins from six games in 2025.

Meanwhile Cudgen remains at the top with seven from seven after coming from behind to knock over local rivals Tweed Seagulls 18-12 at Ned Byrne Oval.

The Hornets were slightly off the pace in the first half and trailed 12-4 at the break against a committed Seagulls outfit.

And despite having two men sent to the sin bin at different stages of the game, Cudgen ran in three tries in the second half to prevail six-point winners.

Although both sides have blown opponents away at different stages this season, the weekend shows that they also have what it takes to grind out tough wins.

POSITIVE SIGNS FOR LOWER CLARENCE

Luke Douglas in action for Lower Clarence. Picture: DC Sports Photography

Round seven was a good one for Lower Clarence, who returned to the winner’s circle with a 24-16 victory over Northern United at the Maclean Showground.

The Magpies shot out of the block and led 18-0 midway through the first half before closing out the win.

“It was a really good first 20, they were really positive,” said Lower coach Dan Kemp. “We also had a disallowed try so it could have been 24 points after 30 minutes. We ticked a lot of the boxes with regard to what we were trying to achieve and where we thought we could break them down.”

While just the second win of the season from six games, the result capped off what has been a much-improved campaign for the Magpies, who managed only one win and one draw last season to narrowly avoid the wooden spoon.

For example, Lower only narrowly went down to surprise packets Kyogle 24-18 in round one and really pushed undefeated Bilambil in the 20-12 loss a fortnight ago.

“It’s a very new side and we’ve got a new way of doing things,” said Kemp, who is in his first season as Lower coach.

“It was never gonna happen overnight but there’s been a steady improvement. I felt we competed really well with those top couple of sides but they’ve been together for a while now and can grind out 80 minutes whereas we can’t quite do that yet against those type of sides.

The Magpies sit in a mid-table logjam. Picture: DC Sports Photography

“But we know exactly where we stand and can take a bit of confidence into games when we play those sides that are closer to the bottom.”

The victory lifts the Magpies to ninth on the ladder, however given the nature of the mid-table logjam, they only sit two points behind Kyogle in fifth.

“There are a couple of sides that have started well and probably won’t get caught in Bilambil and Cudgen, and you could probably add Evans Head to that as well,” said Kemp.

“But as for the rest of us, I think there’s a group of about six sides that will be challenging for those fourth, fifth and sixth spots, so it’s very tight.”

And despite just being six games into coaching the side, Kemp said that he has been particularly impressed with a few key attributes that hold the club in good stead for future success.

“Just the attitude and the humility of the group. It’s been a while since we’ve had success and they’re just chasing so hard.

“They’re in it for the long haul – they know it won’t take one month or even one year – but the club and the community are driven to be successful. The attitude of this club is outstanding, they’re very good to work with.”

CRAZY STATS BEHIND EPIC LOCAL DERBY

Roy Bell scored a key try in Casino’s nailbiting win.

Casino’s 16-14 victory over Kyogle on a quagmire at New Park was an example of what a lot of people love about bush footy.

Two fired-up local rivals, two send-offs, some absolute huge hits and a thrilling finish combined to give the passionate fans on both sides plenty to cheer and jeer over the course of the 80 minutes.

But digging a little deeper into the game, some other stats made it a particularly unique spectacle.

With the game played in absolutely atrocious conditions, with the ground resembling more of a pigsty than a rugby league field, simply holding onto the ball and completing a set was extremely challenging.

As a result, there were an incredible amount of errors throughout the game, with Kyogle spilling the ball a whopping 23 times and Casino not far behind it with 21.

In terms of completion rates, Kyogle’s was down at 48 per cent (21 from 44), unthinkable to many in the modern age, while the Cougars were even further behind on 43 per cent (16 from 37).

During one particularly comical passage in the 31st minute, there were three knock-ons in three consecutive sets as the mud and water caused havoc.

While the completion rates were much to be desired at full-time, both teams actually started really well, with no errors inside the first 12 minutes. At one stage both sides had completed six from seven as they managed the conditions effectively.

However once the dropped ball started it seemed to be contagious.

In a period midway through the first half Kyogle only managed to complete one of seven sets, while Casino finished the first half with six straight incomplete sets.

The dropped ball certainly didn’t take away from the drama though, with the Cougars ultimately prevailing by two points in a pulsating clash.