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

Six weeks. 42 days. One club has ended one of the more unusual footy sagas with a gutsy effort in the NRRRL.

It was a huge weekend for the Tweed Seagulls. Picture: DC Sports Photography

Longstanding droughts were broken, games were decided after the full-time siren and big guns battled it out during an action-packed round six of the NRRRL.

Catch up with some of the top talking points below.

NEW COACHES FOR BYRON AFTER RESIGNATION

Byron Bay has new head coaches after their mentor resigned three rounds into the season. Picture: DC Sports Photography

The season might only be a few rounds old but the Byron Bay Red Devils already have a new coaching structure after head coach Brian Battese resigned from the club.

Battese, a former Canterbury Bulldogs premiership winners in the 1980s who only took over in the off-season, informed Byron officials that he was stepping away after the 36-14 loss to Lower Clarence in round three.

Although the first grade side had lost all three of its games at that point, Battese’s call nevertheless came as a surprise to officials.

“I’m pretty close with him and we’d been talking about a few things,” said Byron Bay president Mick Foster. “It was a bit of a shock at the time though, I didn’t quite think it was at that point.”

Shane Lees, who has been part of the coaching staff this season, and captain Toby Marks have taken over in a co-coaching partnership.

Battese’s departure caps off what has been a difficult start to the season for the talented but young Red Devils side, which has lost all five of its fixtures so far in 2025.

‘RELIEF’: SEAGULLS BREAK THROUGH FOR FIRST WIN

The Tweed Seagulls broke through for their first win of the season. Picture: DC Sports Photography

Arguably the biggest story of the weekend was the Tweed Seagulls’ first A-grade victory in two decades as the side held off a fast-finishing Kyogle to prevail 30-26 at the Piggabeen Sports Complex.

After returning to the NRRRL last season for the first time since the mid-2000s, the Seagulls won 20 games from 20 in an undefeated minor and major premiership campaign.

The club stepped up to first grade this year, and after three narrow defeats to kick off the season, the team finally got the monkey off the back as it raced out to an 18-4 lead early and then stretched ahead 30-12 midway through the second half to secure the win.

While there were plenty of happy faces in the Seagulls’ shed, coach Craig Field was overcome by some slightly different emotions after the full-time whistle.

“I can tell you, for me there was relief because I was 20 from 20 last year and was none from three going into the game,” he said. “But the boys are buying into what I want from them. We’re building and we’re getting better.”

The victory is reward for what has been a competitive, if not overwhelmingly successful, start to the season.

The Seagulls kicked things off by going down 22-18 to Mullumbimby in the opening game of the season while goalkicking cost the side in the 24-18 loss to the Tweed Coast Raiders. The Seagulls were then up 12-0 against heavyweights Bilambil before injuries to two middle forwards hurt the side as the Jets ran them down 20-12.

“We’ve been in every game and we could have won every game. We’ve put ourselves in situations, there’s been circumstances and there have been reasons, not excuses, why we didn’t win them,” said Field.

Tashahn Cora is one of the Tweed players making the step up to first grade. Picture: DC Sports Photography

“We didn’t have any trials because of the weather and having a few games cancelled, which hurt us, but we’re building and we’ve showed glimpses. In the last 20 minutes of games we’ve been running out of a bit of puff and that’s probably fitness.”

And while the results haven’t quite been what the coach was looking for, the Seagulls’ competitiveness has shown that they’re adapting well to A-grade football.

“We always knew it was going to be tough. And even out of the squad we had last year we’ve lost a lot of players. But the guys who’ve stuck around are fighting it out,” said Field. “They’ll learn from it and be better players down the track because they know what to expect.”

He added: “On the flip side of that, Kyogle’s not a bad team, there’s a lot of quality in that team, they’ve got some good players and they’ve beaten three teams already, so the way that we put them to the sword early proves that we really should be competitive in every game.”

Tweed will get the chance to test itself against one of the competition heavyweights this weekend when the team travels to Ned Byrne Oval to take on the undefeated Cudgen Hornets.

“I know we’re up against it this week, it’s going to be a massive challenge for the boys because Cudgen is on fire,” said Field

CUDGEN KEEPS ROLLING ON

Connor Ziebell was immense in the Hornets’ big win. Picture: DC Sports Photography

Speaking of Cudgen, the Hornets have continued their outstanding start to the season with a 42-0 thrashing of local rivals Tweed Coast.

While the scoreline might suggest total domination from the outset, Cudgen was in fact forced to defend several sets on its line as the Raiders enjoyed the better of the opening stages.

There were no points for the first 28 minutes until the Hornets flicked the switch to well and truly take the game away from their rivals.

Led by some outstanding carries from brother Connor and Caleb Ziebell, Cudgen scored four tries in five sets late in the half to remarkably take a 22-0 lead into the break.

The second half followed a similar trajectory.

Things remained tight for the first 24 minutes before the visitors once again clicked into gear with another four tries to seal the rout.

The victory sees the Hornets remain on top of the ladder with six wins from six.

MARIST FINALLY GET BACK ON THE FIELD

Marist Brothers returned to the football field after 42 days out of action. Picture: DC Sports Photography

It must have been somewhat of a strange feeling for Marist Brothers as the team played its first game of football in 42 days when it took part in a thrilling 16-all draw against Casino at Queen Elizabeth Park.

Simply getting out on the field had been a long time coming for the Rams, who were affected far more than any other team.

After their round one clash with Northern United was washed out, the team defeated Ballina 26-20 in round two, only for the following three games to be postponed due to the adverse weather. This meant that the side had played just one game over the course of the opening five rounds, while some had played all five.

“To be honest, we lost a lot of conditioning,” said coach Darryl Butcher. “We did our best but we probably only got about five or six field sessions in during that period.

“We spent a fair bit of time in the gym and on basketball courts but you just can’t compare that to actual rugby league training.”

He added: “It was the first time we did it, but at one stage we got to the point where we pulled the pin and just went to have dinner together.”

There had been six weeks since Marist’s last game as they took to the field in Casino, and it appeared as though there was some early rustiness and perhaps a lack of match fitness as the Cougars jumped out to a 16-0 lead at halftime.

“We dropped a lot of ball early,” said Butcher. “I think we completed two of our first nine sets. It was always going to be hard after 25-30 minutes. I was looking out there thinking that we were in a lot of strife, we were under the pump.”

The Rams managed just one game over the opening five rounds. Picture: DC Sports Photography

But while many would have expected the Rams to fall off in the second half, the opposite happened as Marist launched a stirring comeback.

The team worked its way back into the contest and dragged the scoreline back to 16-14 before a field goal after the full-time siren from Wally Kelly helped secure a hard-earned point.

“It was pleasing to get a draw but I also think we were unlucky not to get a win at the end,” said Butcher. “We had three tries disallowed. There were a couple of forward passes and a couple of 50-50 calls that could have gone the other way and made it a really great afternoon for us.

“We actually probably got what we deserved because we weren’t playing that good footy. But to get a point was good because you’ve just got to be grateful to be back on the park, and to get out of there with a point, I couldn’t be prouder of the boys’ effort in that second half.”

And while they missed out on plenty of footy early in the season, the Rams now have a chance to hit back, with the team scheduled for six games in the month of June.

“We were complaining about not playing but we won’t be very soon,” said Butcher.

FULLER BLOW FOR MARIST

Shallin Fuller was forced from the field late in Sunday’s draw with Casino. Picture: DC Sports Photography

While Marist Brothers remain unbeaten so far in 2025, they will have their work cut out when they take on heavyweights Bilambil this weekend, with gun halfback Shallin Fuller expected to miss the game with injury.

Fuller came from the field late in Sunday’s draw with Casino with an arm injury, with the club unsure how long he will be out of action for.

The halfback has been one of the competition’s top players since he joined the Rams last season. However coach Darryl Butcher believes the team will be able to cover his loss, pointing to the fact that they trailed 16-10 when he came from the field but still managed to secure a thrilling draw against the Cougars.

“If Shallin ends up being injured for a while I feel we’ve got a lot of depth and we’re quietly confident that we can roll with the punches until he’s available again,” he said.

“He’s one of the best halfbacks to play in this area so you’ll never replace Shallin, but we’re quietly confident we can keep rolling and keep doing a job.”