Group 7 Rugby League finals run in: Locks, contenders, players to watch and each team’s run home
It’s all to play for in the final weeks of the Group 7 season as final beckon. Which players will stand up and lead their team? Check out each team’s run home and how they can qualify for the playoffs.
The South Coast News
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After a gruelling and unpredictable campaign, there are just three weeks of rugby league action left of the regular season in Group 7.
In a year where anyone can beat anyone, there is still plenty to play for and plenty of room for movement on the ladder.
The top five teams will progress to the finals in a few weeks time, with nearly all the competition still mathematically eligible for the top five.
We’ve analysed the home runs and picked out the key players that will look to guide their teams to finals footy.
Stingrays of Shellharbour
Position: 1st
Points: 24 (+136)
Highest possible finish: 1st
Lowest possible finish: 4th
Run home: Nowra-Bomaderry Jets (H), Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies (H), Shellharbour Sharks (a)
Bottom line:
The newest Group 7 team to join the current competition are sitting pretty at the top of the Group 7 ladder with three rounds to play as they hunt for a maiden premiership.
The Stingrays have been on an upwards trajectory since arriving in the competition in 2017 with this their most impressive season to date, having lost just three times from 15 games.
Captain Tommy Warner has led by example from second row, while hooker Colby Smith has been a real game changer this season and was sorely missed while out injured.
The Weatherall brothers Ben and Zaan have been constant threats throughout the year, while winger Jayden Harris leads the try scoring front with eight to his name.
The run home though is frightening for the Stingrays, with massive tests against two top four sides in Nowra-Bomaderry and Shellharbour to come.
A slip up in either game could cost the Stingrays, with the Sharks and Lions breathing down their neck just two points behind on the ladder.
Shellharbour Sharks
Position: 2nd
Points: 22 (+195)
Highest possible finish: 1st
Lowest possible finish: 4th
Run home: Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs (a), Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles (a), Stingrays of Shellharbour (H)
Bottom line:
They might not be in first place but you’d have to think the Shellharbour Sharks are the red hot favourites to take home the 2023 Group 7 premiership.
The last time the Sharks lost was on May 6, all the way back in round six against the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets.
Since then they have won nine games straight, keeping their opponents scoreless three times in the process.
Front rowers Josh Starling and Matt Nicholson have been a massive presence week in week out, while captain James Ralphs has a whopping nine tries from the second row, the most in the side.
An average of just 10 points conceded per game is significantly stronger than the rest of the league and has been at the heart of this incredible winning run.
A couple of tough games still on the horizon, notably the last round Shellharbour derby that very well could decide the minor premiership.
They’ll be hard to stop.
Gerringong Lions
Position: 3rd
Points: 22 (+135)
Highest possible finish: 1st
Lowest possible finish: 4th
Run home: Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles (H), Warilla-Lake South Gorillas (a), Jamberoo Superoos (H)
Bottom line:
The Group 7 heavyweights and 2022 grand finalists are right in the thick of it again this season.
They appear to be past their purple patch from the middle of the season that saw them lose back-to-back games against the Eagles and Superoos, having since put on some impressive results against the likes of the Jets and Stingrays.
Toby Gumley-Quine has been an absolute menace from centre this season, being a terrific provider for his wing partners and crossing for nine tries himself.
The Holland duo of Liam and Hamish are also frequent contributors to the scoresheet in what is a very productive backline of the Gerringong side.
It’s a relatively appetising run home for the Lions compared to the two Shellharbour clubs above them, as you would expect them to right the wrongs of their earlier season losses to the Eagles and Superoos.
Always a threat and definitely not one to be counted out.
Nowra-Bomaderry Jets
Position: 4th
Points: 19 (+70)
Highest possible finish: 1st
Lowest possible finish: 6th
Run home: Stingrays of Shellharbour (a), Kiama Knights (H), Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies (a)
Bottom line:
Still not quite mathematically guaranteed in the finals, but the Jets have a favourable couple of fixtures and need just one win from their remaining three, so you’d expect to see the south coast side in the finals come the end of the month.
The Jets are a massively improved outfit to the one that finished in eighth place in 2022.
A very strong start to the season saw the Jets shoot right up to the top of the Group 7 ladder, before a run of three straight losses in the middle brought them right back to Earth.
What they have shown is an incredible ability to score points, with their league-high average of 26 a massive improvement on the 15 points they averaged in the 2022 season.
Leading the way with the tries in Braydon Rumble Walsh on nine, while spine players Adam Quinlan, Clyde Parsons and former NRL player Dylan Farrell have all provided an x-factor for the Jets this season.
The Jets will be looking to tighten up defensively in the home run, having just shipped 42 points to the Sharks in round 15. If they can do this then they’re in with a real shot at their first premiership since 2014.
Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs
Position: 5th
Points: 14 (+14)
Highest possible finish: 4th
Lowest possible finish: 9th
Run home: Shellharbour (a), Jamberoo Superoos (a), Warilla-Lake South Gorillas (H)
Bottom line:
Another surprise packet of the 2023 season is the most southern of the Group 7 competition in the Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs, looking set to improve on their ninth place finish from last season.
Five points behind the Jets in fourth, they lead the heavily congested middle of the table all vying for that fifth place spot in the finals.
The Bulldogs have been strong in getting points on the board in all of their matches this season but have ultimately struggled against the top sides, taking no points against any of the current top three sides this season.
Cody Roach has been a star from five-eighth and is typically at the heart of all things good, while young gun Jarrah Treweek has emerged as a terrific talent in his debut first grade season.
Their season will ultimately come down to the big match-ups against the Superoos and Gorillas.
Jamberoo Superoos
Position: 6th
Points: 14 (-24)
Highest possible finish: 4th
Lowest possible finish: 9th
Run home: Warilla-Lake South Gorillas (a), Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs (H), Gerringong Lions (a)
Bottom line:
The Superoos are slumping at the wrong time of the season, winless in their last three including a shock loss to the last-placed Magpies.
On the whole though, they’ve shown this season that they have real title challenger material, having taken down the Jets and the Lions already this season.
Like the Bulldogs they can mathematically finish fourth if a lot goes their way, but are realistically challenging for that fifth and final spot in the finals, with big matches coming up against the Gorillas and Bulldogs.
The Superoos will be relying on the star power of five-eighth Mark Asquith and utility forward Jayden Morgan who have been standouts for the side this season.
If they can snag fifth place and make it to finals, they’re just as dangerous as anyone else on their day.
Warilla-Lake South Gorillas
Position: 7th
Points: 10 (-28)
Highest possible finish: 5th
Lowest possible finish: 10th
Run home: Jamberoo Superoos (H), Gerringong Lions (H), Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs (a)
Bottom line:
After a season of injury, ill-discipline and overall misery, the Gorillas finally had reason to smile with a thumping 60-6 win over the Kiama Knights last week.
That was just their fifth win in a season where they have struggled to build any momentum as they did in 2022.
The question after this win is have they left it too late? The answer is yes, most likely.
The Gorillas would need a perfect three from three against some very tough final opponents above them on the ladder, while also hoping the Bulldogs or Superoos can only snag one win from their final three games.
One tally led by a Gorilla is the try scoring table, which is led by their ever reliable fullback Justin Jones, looking to end the season with the most tries for the second year in a row.
However, it’s almost definitely a failed title defence for the Gorillas who will now just be looking to find some form for next season.
Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles
Position: 8th
Points: 10 (-100)
Highest possible finish: 5th
Lowest possible finish: 10th
Run home: Gerringong Lions (a), Shellharbour Sharks (H), Kiama Knights (a)
Bottom line:
A tough year for the Eagles where they’ve managed just four wins and two draws.
Like the Gorillas, while mathematically it is possible for them to sneak into fifth, they’d be relying on some very specific results going in their favour above them.
Not to mention they have an extremely tough run home, facing the Lions and Sharks in the coming weeks.
Lock forward Jack Walsh has been a consistent performer for the Eagles amid inconsistent results, while Kane Ball has shown glimpses of star power from the halves with an impressive 10 tries.
Overall though, if the Eagles are looking for success in 2023 it will likely be coming from the reserve grade, where they sit quite comfortably at the top.
Kiama Knights
Position: 9th
Points: 8 (-146)
Highest possible finish: 6th
Lowest possible finish: 10th
Run home: Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies (a), Nowra-Bomaderry Jets (a), Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles (H)
Bottom line:
A season to forget for the Kiama Knight who now mathematically can’t match their fifth placed finish from season 2022.
Just four wins for the 2019 premiers in a torrid campaign has left them in danger of finishing bottom.
Injuries haven’t helped their cause, but ultimately there just hasn’t been enough fire power for the Knights to assert themselves on the competition.
Cameron Cornell and Matt Morris have done well on the try scoring front with seven each, but for the overall team it’s about ending the season strong and getting on the right path for next season.
Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies
Position: 10th
Points: 7 (-252)
Highest possible finish: 7th
Lowest possible finish: 10th
Home run: Kiama Knights (H), Stingrays of Shellharbour (a), Nowra-Bomaderry Jets (H)
Bottom line:
Right now it’s looking as though it’ll be back-to-back wooden spoons for the Magpies.
Just three wins and a draw from 15 games is only a slight improvement off the 2022 season where they managed just the two wins.
A recent victory over Jamberoo was a rare highlight in a season of lows, so if they can channel some of that momentum then maybe they can muster another win or two in the home run.
Otherwise though, it’ll be back to the drawing board for the Magpies in 2024.
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