Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League: wrap, results, standouts from round three
For the second week in a row one young gun has come up with a moment of brilliance to light up the NRRRL, while a five-year hoodoo was broken during a wild and wet round three.
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After a washed-out round one the rain once again had a say on the weekend’s action in the NRRRL, with three of the seven fixtures in round three postponed due to the weather.
There was nevertheless some exciting football around the region, with an 11-try rout, thrilling draw and upset win highlighting the weekend’s action.
Catch up with a wrap of the games and main talking points below.
FAST STARTS CONTINUE
Just when we thought Northern United’s try against Kyogle after just 42 seconds would be hard to beat, Murwillumbah has gone and smashed the record one week later with an effort that will be very difficult to better in 2024.
Kicking off in their match against Evans Head, the Mustangs forced an error from the very first hit-up of the game. After Corey Kirkham dived on the ball, hooker Brandon Ewing ducked out of dummy-half and put Sam Saville over to score after an incredible 17 seconds.
It put an exclamation mark on a trend of quick tries so far this season, with the Tweed Coast Raiders scoring after just 65 seconds against Casino and Marist Brothers crossing within two minutes of its clash with Mullumbimby.
LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE
Speaking of fast starts, few young players have made such an impact on the competition after just two games as Casino’s Waylon Caldwell.
After pulling off a brilliant 90m intercept try to earn his side a draw at the death in last week’s game against Mullum, the 18-year-old was at it again with an almost identical length-of-the-field effort against Tweed Coast.
Trailing 10-6 early in the second half, Caldwell plucked a Michael Gordon cut-out ball out of the air and then ran 90m to put the Cougars up 12-10 on their way to a 20-14 victory.
“The first one was massive and the second one was probably just as big a play at that time of the game,” said coach Brett Loy. “I don’t want him doing it every week but I’m happy that he’s got that game awareness and can pull that sort of stuff off.”
Part of the Tweed Seagulls Mal Meninga Cup (under-18s) side, the five-eighth trains with the Seagulls during the week and comes back to play for the Cougars on the weekends.
He has been particularly impressive over the opening two weeks of the season as the Cougars drew with Mullum and defeated Tweed Coast.
“He is a good young footballer and I think in years to come you’ll see a bit more of him. He’s putting the hard work in and he’s getting the results.”
Those with a BarTV subscription can check out his try against Tweed Coast here.
CASINO BRINGING BACK THE GOOD VIBES
As for Casino, the Cougars have made a very positive start to the season and loom as one of the big improvers of 2024.
After recording just two wins throughout the whole of last season, the side remains undefeated after its first two games of the current campaign, recording a hard-fought 30-all draw with Mullumbimby and then breaking a five-year hoodoo to defeat Tweed Coast 20-14 at Les Burger Field over the weekend.
In both games the team showed plenty of resilience to come from behind to claim points.
“The boys just hung in the games and believed in themselves. And that’s the biggest thing they’re doing at the moment: believing in what they’re doing,” said coach Brett Loy.
According to the coach, a former first grade player and coach himself, much of the success has come from focusing on the town’s local talent.
“I think we’ve just gone back to rebuilding with local juniors,” he said.
And while the club has a string of talented Papua New Guinean recruits in Gairo Kapana, Joash Toringi, Tukul Tapako, Billy Opa and Peter Dagi, and Jerome Green from the small community of Muli Muli, the rest of the squad is more or less home grown.
“At the start of the season we had a goal that we were going to work hard and train hard and have the right attitude and everything has bought into it. At the moment everyone is enjoying their footy and we’re getting huge numbers at training,” said Loy.
Much of the success has also come down to convincing local players to either join or stay with the Cougars after a couple of lean years.
Securing local junior Tim Torrens from Northern United was a coup, while convincing back-rower Nic Morrissey to stay after previously agreeing to join Marist Brothers in the off-season was another big moment for the club.
“That’s the most pleasing part: that those local guys want to come back and commit to the town,” said Loy. “And we do have a really good junior base, so it’s about trying to build that relationship with the juniors and seniors and keep them on so we’ve got a strong senior club in years to come.”
BYRON MAKES EARLY RUNNING
Perhaps no team has been as impressive as Byron Bay early in the season after the Red Devils moved to the top of the table with a 56-16 thumping of Lower Clarence in Yamba.
Coming off a strong 26-14 first-up victory over Murwillumbah, the Red Devils tore the Magpies apart by running in 11 tries in the rout.
Wingers Abele Atunaisa and Riley Baharov both claimed hat-tricks, while hooker Jesse Beauchamp bagged a second double in as many weeks as Byron’s new-look halves combination of Jack Rogers and Toby Marks once again looked the goods.
A hallmark of the Red Devils’ performance was the team’s ability to go bang, bang with tries in back-to-back sets, with Byron managing that on four occasions against the Magpies.
Byron will face a stern test this weekend when it takes on the Tyrone Roberts-led Northern United at home.
REALITY CHECK FOR LOWER
On the other end of the spectrum, the heavy loss was a reality check for Lower Clarence, who slumped to their second defeat in as many starts to kick off the season.
Arguably the fairytale story of 2023, the side rode a groundswell of positivity to finish sixth and qualify for the finals after being forced to pull out of the A-grade competition in 2022 due to a lack of numbers.
However the Magpies have had a sluggish start to the current campaign, following up a 38-12 loss to Cudgen with a heavy defeat at the hands of the Red Devils.
MULLUM END UP ALL SQUARE
It was a case of déjà vu for Mullumbimby after the Giants let in a late try for the second week in a row to draw 12-all to Marist Brothers.
It was the team’s second draw in as many weeks after a Waylon Caldwell intercept on the bell saw the team held to a 30-all draw with Casino in round two.
Despite the strong performance, the Giants would have been the unhappier of the two sides at fulltime on Sunday, bombing what looked like two certain tries and having two others disallowed during a dominant first half.
The most dramatic arguably came midway through the first half when prop Jyde Dwyer burst through the line and made a break up field. After evading the fullback and with only the tryline ahead of him, the front-rower then slipped over on the wet surface and was ultimately stopped just short of the line, where he was ultimately penalised for double movement.
Another huge chance went begging just before halftime when some nice work from Cody Nelson out of dummy-half put Sam Lewis into a gap with no defenders within reach, however the lock forward remarkably dropped the ball over the line.
The Giants will look to record their first win of the season when they travel to Kyogle to take on the Turkeys on Sunday.
ROUND THREE WRAP
It was a case of wet weather football as wet grounds and plenty of rain made for a tough slog in the middle during round three of the NRRRL.
Despite the difficult conditions, one team made another huge statement with a monster win, while two sides played out a dramatic draw.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
RED-HOT DEVILS HAMMER MAGPIES
Byron Bay has continued its excellent start to the season with a 56-16 demolition of Lower Clarence at the Yamba Sporting Complex.
Wingers Abele Atunaisa and Riley Baharov both bagged hat-tricks, while interchange hooker Jesse Beauchamp backed up last week’s double with another two as the Red Devils ran in 11 tries to three in the rout.
It all started in the 8th minute when Baharov leapt high to take a nice cross field bomb from five-eighth Jack Rogers to put Byron up 6-0.
Lower hit back four minutes later when a clever grubber from halfback Vincent Williams found Tye Eamens Gardiner to level things up.
However in what was a frenetic start to the game, Byron cancelled out the try almost immediately. After Lower allowed the kick-off to bounce, Red Devils players pounced on the ball and the team was eventually tackled just one metre out. Rogers then caught the markers napping and burrowed over from close range.
Then not for the last time in the match Byron went bang, bang, with a penalty putting the team on the attack again and Atunaisa showing too much strength to charge over for his second to put his 16-6 ahead.
The high-scoring chaos continued at both ends as the Red Devils made a mistake shortly after the kick-off and Lower duly took advantage, with an unorthodox outside-of-the-foot kick from Thomas Martin finding space and bouncing perfectly into the arms of Kyron Heron to score under the sticks.
By this stage an incredible 38 points had been scored in 24 minutes in what was an intense opening period.
And while there was a 10-minute break before the next points, they came in another flurry, with Beauchamp scoring in the 35th minute and Michael Thomas crossing in the 38th in what was the very next set to give the Red Devils a 26-12 lead at the break.
It was a tough end to the first half for Lower, who then backed it up with a disastrous start to the second. After giving away a penalty in the first set after the break, the Magpies struggled to contain Byron, who put the ball through the hands for Atunaisa to finish off his hat-trick in the 42nd minute.
It was a sign of things to come, with Byron crossing for a total of six tries to one in the second half as the Red Devils had a field day in Yamba to finish 56-16 victors.
The win takes the team to two from two to kick off the season, while at the other end of the scale the Magpies suffered their second defeat in what was been a slow start to the season.
Byron Bay 56 defeated Lower Clarence 16
FAST-STARTING MUSTANGS GET THE POINTS
Murwillumbah has bounced back from a first-up loss to defeat Evans Head 22-8 in a very wet round three clash at Murwillumbah.
In a game played in driving rain, the Mustangs got off to an incredible start. Kicking off, Murwillumbah forced an error from Evans Head’s Chad Banks in the very first hit-up.
Brandon Ewing then jumped into dummy-half and put Sam Saville through a hole to score after a remarkable 17 seconds.
The Mustangs doubled down on their great start, with halfback Kade Hill stepping through the Bombers’ defence from close range to put the team up 10-0 after just five minutes.
After being blown away early, the Bombers worked their way into the game and had a try of their own on 30 minutes when a dangerous Michael Roberts chip kick took a nasty bounce away from Mur’bah’s defenders and allowed Jordan Sly to pounce on the scraps and score.
The momentum started to shift and shortly after the Bombers had another, with a clever grubber from Roy Bell leading to Evans Head’s second to take the scoreline to 10-8 at halftime.
While much of the game was played through the middle, Murwillumbah came closest in the early stages of the half, with the team knocking the ball on with the line begging just after the break. Then on 57 minutes Blake Marrison did put the ball down but was ruled to be offside from the kick.
The pressure did eventually show however, with some strong carries up field giving Murwillumbah plenty of momentum before Hill hit Joel Antonelli with an excellent cut-out ball to make things 16-8.
The home side then sealed the game with 10 to go when Aaron Booth put Corey Kirkham through a gap to crash over.
Murwillumbah 22 defeated Evans Head 8
MULLUM AND MARIST SPLIT THE POINTS
Mullumbimby has recorded its second draw in as many weeks to kick off the season following a 12-all draw with Marist Brothers at Les Donnelly Field.
The Giants were left to rue a string of bombed chances in the first half as both teams ended up with two tries apiece in a physical encounter in the wet, with neither side able to break the deadline after a late Rams try tied things up.
Marist Brothers got off to a fantastic start in what has been somewhat of a trend this season, charging down Willie Hammond’s kick and then regathering the ball in the first set of the game to put the team in excellent field position.
With a full set in the Giants’ danger zone, some nice passing between halfback Shallin Fuller and back-rower Temesia Nemani saw the former score under the sticks after just two minutes.
Mullum hit back just four minutes later when a Hammond attacking kick was allowed to bounce and winger Owen Woods picked up the scraps to level things up at 6-all.
The home side thought they had extended their lead on 13 minutes when Will Picken grounded a Hammond grubber, however the team was penalised for having players offside.
Errors crept into the game as the rain started to fall, with Mullumbimby denied another try on the half-hour mark as the final pass to Tyrone Harding was ruled to have gone forward.
The Giants could have been mistaken for thinking it wasn’t going to be their day when prop Jyde Dwyer burst through the line and rounded the fullback. With just fresh air and the tryline ahead of him, the prop incredibly slipped over on the wet grass and was stopped just short.
However the pressure eventually paid off when Tynan Forster bounced off the Rams’ defence to crash over on the right edge to give his side a 12-6 lead.
The Giants should have gone further ahead just before the break but lock Sam Lewis inexplicably dropped the ball over the line with no defenders within reach.
The second half became more of a grind as both sides fought for territory in the wet conditions.
Marist Brothers were working their way into the contest and went close 10 minutes from time when Mitchell Krause was stopped just one metre out.
And when Marist Brothers were awarded a fresh set on Mullum’s line with five to go the Rams finally made them pay.
Fuller took on the line with a chip over the top which was knocked on by Giants fullback Corey Morris, with the halfback sweeping through to pick up the ball and score. Will Hawkins then slotted the conversion to lock things up at 12-all.
There was more late drama as the Rams knocked the ball on in the first set after the kick-off, giving Mullum a late chance to seal victory. However a field-goal attempt skewed wide and the points were shared.
The draw was Mullumbimby’s second straight after the Giants finished 30-all with Casino in last week’s fixture.
Mullumbimby 12 drew with Marist Brothers 12
MAGIC HELPS CASINO TO COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN
Casino has continued its strong start to the season and broken a five-year hoodoo in the process after coming from behind to defeat Tweed Coast 20-14 at Les Burger Field.
With the help of a slice of magic from young five-eighth Waylon Caldwell for the second week in a row, the Cougars powered over the top of the Raiders to defeat Tweed Coast for the first time since 2019.
Playing in their first game of the year after a round one washout and round two bye, the Raiders got off to a brilliant start with a try in the first set of the game.
Zion Kamana did extremely well to take a Brayden Evans bomb, before offloading the ball for Mesiah Asi to score after just 65 seconds.
Asi was in the thick of the action again on 19 minutes with a lovely grubber that gave the Casino outside backs a wicked bounce and fell perfectly into the arms of centre Spencer Jackson to put his side up 10-0.
It had been a strong start for Tweed Coast, however a mistake opened the door for Casino, with an error from Tweed Coast winger Jack Kuhnell in collecting a kick saw Nick Morrissey run away for a try to bring things back to 10-6 at the break.
Then, early in the second half, Caldwell proved that lightning can strike twice. One week after pulling off a late length-of-the-field intercept to secure a draw against Mullumbimby, the 18-year-old was at it again in almost identical fashion, plucking a Michael Gordon pass out of the air and running 90m to put his side up 12-10.
The Cougars were now on a roll and went further ahead eight minutes later when hooker Billy Opa charged over from close range to make it 18-10.
Tweed Coast were in need of an answer and it came quickly, with Asi once again making an impact by putting five-eighth Oliver Blood through a gap on the right edge to make it 18-14 with 20 minutes to play.
A Tweed Coast high shot seven minutes from time allowed Eddie Walker-Williams to stretch the lead out to six, and that was enough for the Cougars to hold on for a huge win.
Casino 20 defeated Tweed Coast 14
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