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

After suffering a horror run with wet weather, Marist Brothers have turned around their season inside a week with a truly remarkable run

Marist Brothers has enjoyed a huge week in the NRRRL.

From seesawing thrillers to massive wipe-outs and impressive achievements, there was plenty of action during round eight of the NRRRL.

Catch up with a wrap of the action here and check out some of the main talking points below.

LOGJAM FORMS AFTER TOPSY-TURVY WEEK

Murwillumbah jumped up into the top six during round eight.

An almighty logjam has developed on the ladder as a string of results shook up the competition during round eight.

The top-two teams in Cudgen and Bilambil extended their fantastic unbeaten runs, while Evans Head and Marist Brothers also consolidated their positions in the top four with victories.

But just below here is where things start to get really interesting. Wins to Ballina and Murwillumbah pushed them into the crucial top six at the expense of Mullumbimby and Kyogle, while the Tweed Seagulls stayed in touch with the mid-table logjam with their second victory of the season.

What these results have created is a situation where just three points separate fifth and 12th, leaving the competition delicately poised as teams fight it out to make the top six and play finals footy.

MARIST’S IMPRESSIVE HAT-TRICK

The past week has certainly belonged to Marist Brothers, with the team winning a remarkable three games in eight days to successfully knock out a large chunk of its postponed wet weather fixtures and surge up the competition ladder.

The run started last Saturday when the Rams defeated Tweed Coast 34-6 at Les Burger Field. They backed this up with a 22-14 local derby win over Northern United last Wednesday night before completing the hat-trick with a 34-6 win over Kyogle.

Three games in eight days is incredibly rare in rugby league these days given the physicality of the games, with the victories pushing Marist from 11th to fourth on the competition ladder. The team now holds a record of four wins, one draw and one loss from its six games.

“It was really good. I was really happy with how they continued to back up,” said coach Darryl Butcher. “A little bit of momentum goes a long way. Three in a week is doable as we’ve shown, but you’ve got to turn up every game in this comp because it’s a great comp.”

The coach was particularly pleased with the Rams’ defence.

And while the team piled on 90 points across the week, Butcher said he was even more impressed with his team’s work at the other end of the field.

“We’re really focusing on defence, our line speed and it’s paid dividends in the past week. We only conceded 26 points and five tries in that week period of three games, so if we can lock our defence down, I feel we can go a long way to getting victories weekly,” he said.

“I know what some of our attacking players can do, and everyone you speak to talks about our attacking players and how special they are, which I back up the whole way. A beauty for me is that I don’t have to say too much when it comes to attack.

“If we can get ourselves defensively sound it’s going to go a long way to winning a lot of games.”

After a hugely successful hat-trick over the past week, the Rams will have the chance to test themselves against competition leaders Cudgen this Sunday.

FINE MARGINS SINK CASINO

Casino has been involved in a strong of tight games so far in 2025.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Casino as the Cougars were defeated by ladder leaders Cudgen 28-26 in a thriller at Queen Elizabeth Park.

Despite scoring six tries to five in the game, Casino was left to rue wayward goalkicking for the loss, with the Cougars only managing to convert one of their six tries, which were admittedly largely on the sidelines. In contrast, Cudgen slotted four goals to sneak home for its eighth straight win to kick off the season.

The result continues a trend of incredibly close games for Casino, who despite sitting in ninth position on five points has been incredibly competitive so far.

Four of the team’s six games have been decided by four points or fewer, with the Cougars winning one of the nailbiters, losing two of them and splitting the points with Marist Brothers in round six.

All up, Casino has a record of two wins, one draw and three losses as the side looks to bounce back against Byron Bay this weekend.

Originally published as Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL): Top talking points from round eight