Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League: Wrap, results, standouts from round 11
One side has claimed bragging rights over its rivals in a tight local derby, while a host of other teams have continued their surge up the ladder in the NRRRL.
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Some teams have continued their climb up the ladder during round 11 of the NRRRL.
In a weekend full of crucial fixtures, a couple of teams extended their winning streaks to improve their positions, while one of the competition big guns returned to winning ways after a last-start loss.
Elsewhere, one team grabbed bragging rights over its rivals in a big local derby.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
BALLINA OVERCOME STUBBORN MULLUM
Ballina has maintained its spot at the top of the NRRRL ladder with a tough 26-8 win over a stubborn Mullumbimby side at Les Donnelly Field.
Winger Fred Pitt bagged a hat-trick as the Seagulls overcame a horror start to come from the behind for their eighth win from nine games this season.
In what was just about the worst possible start, Ballina’s Jordan Lee was taken into touch after catching the kick-off in the first play of the game. In the next set Mullum prop Jyde Dwyer charged over from close range to plant the ball down after just 80 seconds.
Despite sitting mid-table, the Giants had been very competitive in every game they’ve played this season and made it difficult for the table-topping Seagulls to break them down over the first half an hour.
However Ballina kept coming and finally broke through five minutes before halftime when a clever blind side move put Pitt over in the corner.
If it took the Seagulls 35 minutes to score their first try then they needed just 18 seconds to grab their second after a fortunate piece of play.
Kicking into the wind, Mullumbimby’s Cody Nelson gave the ball plenty of height from the kick-off and it caught the Seagulls off guard by landing 25m out from their own line. The ball then bounced back towards the oncoming Giants players, only to fall into the arms of Ballina’s Michael Dwane, who managed to get the ball to a charging Pitt to run 60m for his second try in no time to give the visitors a 12-4 lead at the break.
Mullum had been very good value in the first half and hit back eight minutes into the second when centre Robbie Newton shrugged off his opposite number to get the Giants back to within four points.
However instead of striking again it was Ballina who went in next, with Pitt getting on the end of a grubber to claim his third in the 55th minute.
At 16-8 the match remained in the balance as Mullumbimby kept knocking on the door in the second half. However the Ballina defence held firm and the ladder leaders sealed the game six minutes from time when skipper Anthony Colman charged over.
Fullback Liam Green then added another on the bell to keep Ballina at the top of the table.
Ballina 26 (Pitt 3, Colman, Green; three goals) defeated Mullumbimby 8 (Dwyer, Newton tries)
CUDGEN EDGES BILAMBIL IN TWEED DERBY
Cudgen has recorded back-to-back wins over Bilambil for the first time since the Jets rejoined the Northern Rivers competition four years ago with a hard-fought 20-16 victory at the Bilambil East Sports Field.
In the teams’ first clash since Cudgen’s epic 17-16 win in last year’s preliminary final, fullback Jett Forbes and five-eighth Caleb Ziebell were excellent for the Hornets as a dominant period either side of halftime helped the side to its third win in a row.
In a blockbuster Tweed derby featuring teams placed third and fourth on the ladder, both sides got off to a cagey start as neither the Jets nor Hornets seriously tested each other’s line.
The first points came in the 16th minute after Bilambil’s main strike weapon so far this season, winger Reiven Smallman, once again showed off his speed by making a 50m break up field. Three plays later five-eighth Alex Fitzhugh put in a perfectly weighted chip kick for winger Bailee Nicholls to run through and opening the scoring.
The try seemed to open the floodgates somewhat as a lovely wrap-around play between Harry Fitzhugh and Reuben Tamariki put Caleb Nicholls over six minutes later to make it 10-0.
The one-two punch had the Jets well on top, however a break up field from Cudgen fullback Jett Forbes gave the Hornets great field position, with a signature round-the-corner offload from Caleb Ziebell putting winger Alec Williams over for his team’s first after 26 minutes.
Cudgen then had a quick-fire double of its own when Forbes chased down his own grubber to make it 10-8 eight minutes before the break.
And while Smallman found himself in space late in the half, the Cudgen defence held firm and the Jets took a two-point lead into halftime.
The second half then started in a similar vein to the first, with both teams failing to break the other down despite opportunities on their opponents’ respective lines.
And just like in the first, the breakthrough came 16 minutes in when a Ziebell chip-kick took a wicked bounce to evade the Bilambil outside backs and fall right into the arms of oncoming Hornets centre Joel Hare, who raced through to give his side the lead for the first time in the match.
Ten minutes later Ziebell’s boot caused chaos again as Bilambil fullback Chanse Perham spilled a towering bomb. The Hornets thought they had scored when Williams picked up the ball and planted it down, but the play was called back for a Cudgen penalty after another Jets player touched the ball from an off-side position in the lead-up.
The decision only delayed the inevitable, with that man Williams crossing four plays later to put Cudgen up 20-10 with 14 minutes remaining.
A melee ensued after the try and Cudgen’s Parker Byrant and Bilambil’s Drew McCullough were sent to the sin bin for their part in it.
Throwing everything at the Hornets to get back in the game, Bilambil thought it had scored just a couple of minutes later with an excellent attack down the right, but fullback Chanse Perham knocked the ball on as he tried to ground it.
However Tyson Donnelly crossed shortly after to make it 20-16 with five minutes remaining to set up a grandstand finish.
And while the Jets pushed hard for another, poor execution allowed the Hornets to close out the game.
The victory, Cudgen’s sixth from eight games, pushes the defending premiers into third place on the ladder, while Bilambil slips down to fifth after two straight losses.
Cudgen 20 (Williams 2, Forbes, Hare tries; Moase two goals) defeated Bilambil 16 (B Nicholls, C Nicholls, Donnelly tries; A Fitzhugh two goals)
MUR’BAH DOWN CASINO IN THRILLER
Murwillumbah has continued its climb up the ladder after an exciting 32-26 victory over Casino at Queen Elizabeth Park.
Centre Adam Walker was the star with a hat-trick as the Mustangs came from behind to record their third straight win.
While Casino came into the game on the back of a three-game losing streak, the team started brightly and went ahead in the sixth minute when a lovely spread from Waylon Caldwell and Eddie Walker-Williams put winger Darcy Bird over in the corner.
But the Mustangs hit back 10 minutes later when Walker got on the end of a clever kick from back-rower Blake Leary to lock things up at 6-all.
The tit-for-tat continued on 20 minutes when Caldwell and Walker-Williams combined again on the left to put Harrison Cusack over out wide.
The Cougars’ fullback was having a blinder and he struck again on the half-hour mark when he latched onto a nice offload from Peter Dagi to scoot through and give Casino a 16-6 lead.
Just as the home side looked like it was taking control of the contest, Murwillumbah hit back again, with a break down the left and then a blind side play putting Walker over for his second.
While Walker-Williams was a standout for Casino, Walker was the Mustangs’ main threat as the team struck on the stroke of halftime. With an attacking scrum 40m out from the Cougars’ line, Murwillumbah shifted the ball to its star centre, who got on the outside of his opposite number before putting his winger partner Matthew Bollard into space to score and bring things back to 16-14 at the break.
The Mustangs took the momentum into the second half when prop Bodene Thompson carried two defenders over the line three minutes after the restart to put his side in front for the first time in the game.
The visitors then surged ahead 24-16 five minutes later when Walker brushed aside the Casino outside backs for his third.
Murwillumbah had scored four straight tries and on 57 minutes made it five when a blind side play from an attacking scrum saw Joel Antonelli cross in the corner to put his side up 30-16.
The five-try blitz had blown the game apart, but the Cougars got themselves back into the contest with 13 to go when lock forward Dagi showed incredible hands with a brilliant low pick-up to score next to the sticks.
Suddenly the momentum seemed to swing back towards Casino, who brought the scoreline back to 30-26 with seven minutes remaining when Walker-Williams put on a clever blind side play of his own for Bird’s second of the afternoon.
While the Cougars had set up a grandstand finish, a knock-on coming out from their own end and a penalty for a dangerous tackle allowed Mur’bah to stretch the lead out to six with a penalty goal and saw back-rower Isaiah Freeburn sent to the sin bin for the final few minutes.
A one-on-one strip and penalty up field gave the Cougars one last chance to snatch a draw, however the Mustangs held firm for their third win in a row.
Murwillumbah 32 (Walker 3, Bollard, Thompson, Antonelli tries; Booth four goals) defeated Casino 26 (Bird 2, Cusack, Walker-Williams, Dagi tries; Walker-Williams three goals)
BYRON BOUNCE BACK AGAINST KYOGLE
Byron Bay has bounced back from its first loss of the season by downing a gallant Kyogle side 23-10 at New Park.
Centre Michael Thomas claimed a double as the Red Devils chalked up their sixth win of the season.
The Red Devils opened the scoring inside the first minutes when a Jack Rogers kick was knocked on by Turkeys fullback Ollie Regan, with the ball falling into the hands of Byron winger Elliot Farrell for the first try of the game.
The visitors then doubled up in the 12 minute when Keaton White brushed off some soft defence to go over and make it 10-0.
Kyogle had been blown away by Byron’s fast start, however the Turkeys struck back midway through the half when a clever offload from prop Joshua Beech put halfback Layne Hardy over to cut the lead to four.
The Red Devils re-established their lead 10 minutes later when centre Michael Thomas got on the end of a debt grubber from Thomas.
But in a trend for the match, Kyogle hit back again on the stroke of halftime, with a nice spread to the right and cut-out ball from Regan putting winger Lachlan Crawter in the corner to make to 16-10 at the break.
The Turkeys had done well to match it with the competition frontrunners, however a sloppy missed tackle just four minutes after the break allowed Byron’s Brett Kelly to charge up field before putting Thomas away for his second to put his side up 22-10.
Despite going down by two converted tries, the Turkeys didn’t fall into a heap and went toe to toe with Byron for much of the second half. A late Rogers field goal put the icing on the cake to keep the Red Devils in second spot on the ladder, just one point behind leader Ballina.
Byron Bay 23 (Thomas 2, Farrell, White tries; Rogers three goals, one field goal) defeated Kyogle 10 (Hardy, Crawter tries; Hardy one goal)
GUTSY EVANS DOWNS MARIST
Evans Head has once again solidified its position among the NRRRL frontrunners with a gutsy 25-18 victory over Marist Brothers at Crozier Field.
In a seesawing encounter that featured big shifts in momentum, the Bombers overcame a halftime deficit and a send-off 20 minutes from time to hold on for the team’s sixth win of the season.
In what was a clash of fifth versus sixth, Evans struck the first blow when winger Brandon Anderson got the better of his opposite number to continue his strong tryscoring form after just five minutes.
However Marist, coming into the game on the back of a three-game winning streak, struck back on 13 minutes when a nice spread to the right helped centre Henry Lee burst through the defence to stretch out and plant the ball down to make it 4-all.
The Rams then took the lead on 25 minutes when a line break from five-eighth Jye Davis got the team to within a metre from the line, with halfback Shallin Fuller barging over from the next play.
And while both sides had multiple sets on each other’s lines, the respective defences held firm and Marist took an 8-4 lead into the break.
The Rams had done well to take a lead into halftime and just three minutes after the restart they were in again when Fuller came up with yet another moment of individual brilliance.
Receiving the ball 35m out from the Bombers’ line on the last, the halfback feigned to kick and then stepped past two oncoming defenders to slice through the line. He then found teammate Charles Kumbi in support to score under the sticks to make it 14-4.
Things were starting to look a little tricky for Evans, however a mistake from Marist coming out from their own end gave the visitors good field position and an opportunity to hit back right away.
Attacking the Rams’ line, the Bombers then received a slice of luck to get back in the game. Picking up the ball at dummy-half, hooker Matthew Toole fired off a misdirected pass that went past his oncoming teammates and to ground.
Sensing an opportunity to win possession, Marist five-eighth Davis jumped out of the line to intercept it, only to spill the bouncing ball into the hands of his opposite number Jordan Sly, who ran 10m to score.
While the try might have been somewhat fortuitous, it proved to be a major turning point in the game as the Bombers took advantage with a triple shot inside eight minutes.
In the very next set the team charged up field, with halfback Roy Bell sending a bomb high up into the air. Charging through was winger Zacharia Roberts, who leapt high above his opposite number Will Hawkins to take the ball and then run through without being touched for the Bombers’ second try in two minutes to suddenly give the side a 16-14 lead.
Roberts was in the action again just a couple of minutes later as the high ball once again proved to be an effective weapon for Evans.
Kicking on the last, Bell went to his left wing once more with a cross field kick. Showing all the athleticism that bagged him his first, Roberts once again outjumped the Rams’ outside backs to take the ball before offloading to his centre partner Torben Milton to muscle his way over to make it 22-14 with 25 minutes remaining.
Having scored three tries in eight minutes, Evans Head had all the momentum. However as had happened multiple times in the game, the contest shifted again when Justin Shillingsworth was sent off for dissent with 20 to go.
Suddenly on the attack themselves, Marist Brothers put the ball through the hands for Hawkins to dive over in the corner to bring things back to 22-18.
Then when Rams prop James Durheim was penalised in possession in the first carry after the kick-off for palming the defenders in the face, Bell took the two to stretch things out to 24-18 with 14 to play.
The Bombers were digging deep and in the next set they made great yardage after another line break from Roberts. While the winger had been the team’s explosive star, Bell had been the Bombers’ cool hand and he slotted a field goal from 15m out to put the side seven ahead with 10 minutes to play.
While the home side pushed to reduce the gap, the Bombers’ 12 men held firm for the side’s sixth win in eight games. Coming into the game just two points behind ladder leaders Ballina, the win leaves Evans Head well placed heading into the back end of the season.
Evans Head 25 (Anderson, Sly, Roberts, Milton; Bell four goals; one field goal) defeated Marist Brothers 18 (Lee, Fuller, Kumbi, Hawkins tries; Hawkins one goal)
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