Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL): Wrap, results, standouts from round six
There were blown leads, brain fades and a clutch play after the siren during a nailbiter in the NRRRL.
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After weeks full of rain, the NRRRL returned with a full round of action over the weekend.
In a big weekend of footy, one of the big guns continued to flex their muscles while some heavyweights went toe to toe in a thriller.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
CASINO AND MARIST IN LAST-GASP DRAW
Marist Brothers have come from 16-nil down and slotted a conversion after the fulltime siren to secure a thrilling 16-all draw with Casino at Queen Elizabeth Park.
After conceding three unanswered tries in the first half, the Rams put on an excellent comeback after the break before Wally Kelly slotted a clutch penalty goal to draw his team level with the final play of the game.
It had been six weeks since Marist had played its one and only game of the season so far and the team went close in the opening stages after a clever chip kick from halfback Shallin Fuller, however the team knocked it on with the tryline begging.
Despite the early opportunity, there were nevertheless some signs of rustiness as the team turned the ball over in dangerous areas.
Casino was also making its fair share of errors in what was a scrappy opening 20.
A key moment came midway through the half when a strong kick chase saw the Cougars push Marist fullback Ethan Mumford back into the in-goal area and force a line dropout.
From the ensuing set Casino five-eighth Eddie Walker-Williams got on the end of a Waylon Caldwell grubber to score the first try of the afternoon in the 22nd minute.
Instead of building on first points, the Cougars were forced to defend as they dropped the kick-off over the dead-ball line.
Marist kept applying the pressure with repeat sets and thought they were over when centre Mitchell Krause dived into the corner, only for the referee to rule that he had gone into touch.
The Cougars then went up the other end to rub salt into the wound.
It started when Mumford slipped a foot into touch while trying to prevent a 40/20 attempt from Casino’s Roy Bell.
With a fresh set on the Rams’ line, Caldwell came up with his second assist of the game by putting backrower Kale Fraser through a gap to give his side a 10-0 lead.
The home side then made it an excellent first half with another try at the death.
Winger Isaiah Freeburn did well to take a cross-field kick from Caldwell, before a nice interchange of passing put Fraser over for his second. With the siren already having rung, Walker-Williams then drained the conversion from the sideline to make it 16-0 at the break.
Trailing by three tries at the break, Marist was looking for a fast start to the second half but they got anything but that when Fuller dropped the ball directly from the kick-off.
Fortunately for the visitors Casino couldn’t capitalise on the opportunity.
Despite making the rare error, Fuller was in the thick of things for Marist, with his kicking game in particular causing the Cougars some troubles.
The Rams were enjoying some better field position and they made it count 55 minutes in when Krause crashed through the defence with a rampaging run to get his side on the board.
And while it might have taken the best part of an hour to score their first points, the visitors suddenly had two in two sets on the back of a stunning long-range effort.
Working his way out of his own end, prop James Durheim got things started with a nice offload. The Rams then spread it left, where Krause sped down the line before putting in a perfectly weighted kick that bounced beautifully into the hands of five-eighth Jye Davis to score a spectacular try.
Suddenly the scoreline was 16-10 with 20 minutes remaining and the Rams had changed the nature of the game. They almost went in again just a couple of minutes later when winger Damon Coldwell strode over the line, however the last pass went forward.
Casino had been stunned by the quickfire double and had a chance of its own to strike back with a nice play on the left edge. And while a gap opened up, Walker-Williams dropped the ball with the begging.
Errors started to creep into the game as the Rams forced the issue and the game enter the final 10.
Marist was dealt a blow late in the game when Fuller was taken from the field with an arm injury, however a couple of plays later the team forced an error out of the Cougars to give themselves ball in dangerous territory.
In the very next set they made it count as Coldwell cut back in on an angled run to crash over and make it 16-14 with six minutes remaining. Lining up five metres in from touch and 20m out, Davis shanked the conversion attempt and Marist remained two points behind.
With possession of the ball deep in its own end and just 50 seconds on the clock, the Cougars were in the box seat to close out the game until a critical error gave the Rams a sniff.
After collecting the ball from a Marist kick, Caldwell threw a wayward pass that went straight past teammate Isaiah Freeburn. Compounding the error, backrower Jacob Mayer picked up the ball from an offside position, which gave the visitors a chance to level the game in the final moments.
Lining up 10m in from touch and 15m out, Wally Kelly had to put up with the fulltime siren going off and jeers from the home crowd, however he sent the ball sailing through the posts to secure a dramatic draw.
Casino 16 (Fraser 2, Walker-Williams, tries; Walker-Williams two goals) drew with Marist Brothers (Krause, Davis, Coldwell tries; Full one goal, Kelly one goal)
CUDGEN FLICKS SWITCH IN DERBY ROUT
Cudgen has continued its red-hot start to the season, recording its fifth straight win with a 42-0 thumping of local rivals Tweed Coast at Les Burger Field.
After soaking up some early pressure the Hornets clicked into gear with a devastating 10-minute period at the end of the first half to blow the game apart before finishing the job after the break.
Given the final scoreline, it might be a surprise for many to read that the Raiders enjoyed the better of the opening stages.
Fullback Oliver Blood went close and was held up after just two minutes, while shortly after the home side created an overlap out wide, only for Ethan Foster’s final ball to go into touch.
The pressure from the Raiders continued as Cudgen made a string of errors coming out of its own end to put the team under pressure, however they were unable to break though.
No side had been able to break through in the early stages but that changed 27 minutes in. Picking the ball up from dummy-half deep in his own half, winger Malachi Dumas caught markers napping and broke through the line with a 50m run. This was followed by another rampaging charge by prop Connor Ziebell.
With the Raiders’ line struggling to get back behind the play, the Hornets shifted left, with some fast hands from Joel Hare putting debutant Jamie Ball over in the corner for the first try of the game.
After toiling away for the best part of half an hour for no points the Hornets remarkably went in for their second in back-to-back sets.
It started with prop Connor Ziebell, who broke the line and charged up field before offloading to a flying Jett Forbes, who was pulled down just a couple of meters from the line.
Ziebell then finished the job in the very next play by charging over for his team’s second.
The game had suddenly turned on its head as the Hornets flicked a switch with their third try in as many sets.
It was starting to look easy as the team charged up field against the tiring Tweed defence. After watching his brother burst wreak havoc, lock Caleb Ziebell tried his luck with some fancy footwork and a nice pass to put Elliott Speed over for a 16-0 lead.
It seemed as though the game had changed completely within a matter of minutes and just before halftime Cudgen made it four tries from five sets when Caleb Ziebell once again proved too hard to handle with a powerful weaving and offload to put Joel Hare over to make it 22-0 at the break.
Stunned by the late onslaught, the Raiders came out of the sheds with far more intensity and enjoyed a series of sets on Cudgen’s line themselves.
The opening bore some resemblance to the first half as no side bothered the scoreboard for the first 20 minutes.
In fact, it took 24 minutes for points to be scored, with a brilliant try breaking the deadlock.
Darting out of dummy-half, Cudgen hooker Chaz Bond chipped the ball over the top of the Tweed line and regathered before putting in a clever grubber in behind the fullback. And while Tweed Coast winger Jake Ryan got to the ball first, Hornets’ centre Joel Hare stripped the ball one-on-one to score his team’s fifth of the afternoon.
Just like in the first half, the try led to a flurry of late four-pointers as the Hornets put an exclamation mark yet another impressive win.
With 12 minutes to go backrower Luke Toon got on the end of a chip kick and planted the ball down in the corner, and then six minutes later he burst straight through some soft defence for his second.
Jett Forbes then finished off the rout with a try at the death to seal Cudgen’s fifth win from as many games to keep the team on top of the ladder.
Cudgen 42 (Hare 2, Toon 2, Ball, Connor Ziebell, Speed, Forbes tries; Speed five goals) defeated Tweed Coast 0
EVANS EDGE BALLINA IN THRILLER
Evans Head has kept pace with the competition frontrunners while Ballina’s difficult 2025 campaign has continued as the Bombers edged out last year’s premiers 24-20 in a nailbiting clash at Kingsford Smith Park.
Back-to-back tries during a crucial period midway through the second proved to be the difference for the Bombers, who were forced to hold out a series of late Ballina attacks, which included a disallowed try, to secure the two points.
Coming into the game with a record of three wins and just one loss, Evans Head started brightly and struck first in the eighth minute when hooker Matt Toole dummied and squeezed his way over the line from close range.
Toole’s opposite number Michael Dwane tried his luck just a couple of minutes later and thought he’d levelled things up for Ballina, but was ruled to have been held up.
After a period of back and forth between the teams the Seagulls thought they were in again when Reece Summer charged at the line, however he knocked the ball on in the motion of grounding it.
Shortly after it was Evans’ turn to go close, with centre Torben Milton held up over the line.
There had been plenty of close calls and not many points but that changed 28 minutes in when Ballina’s Oliver Regan got on the end of a Tyrone Roberts grubber, with the former NRL half backing up for the offload to level things up at 6-all.
From here Ballina enjoyed a dominant period as the made breaks up field and enjoyed multiple sets in the Evans danger zone.
The pressure paid off when Reece McKenzie-O’Brien lofted an excellent cut-out ball over to winger Harry Sivewright to score in the corner and put the home side ahead.
Ballina looked like taking a lead into the break until the Bombers forced a repeat set late in the half.
With a scrum 10m out from the Seagulls’ line, hooker Jesse Beauchamp showed off his speed to get around his outside defenders before putting a cut-out ball onto the chest of winger Zach Roberts to score at the death and put the Bombers ahead 12-10 going into the sheds.
Ballina might have conceded with the last play of the first half but they hit back in the first set of the second.
After his team charged up field, Roberts put up a bomb that forced an error out of the Bombers. The Seagulls regained possession and shifted it right on the next play for centre Noah Waldock to score and put the side ahead 14-12.
Roberts was doing it all, not only scoring and setting up tries but also pulling off a crucial tackle on Jordan Sly to save a four-pointer and force the ball loose.
Ballina had started the half brightly but found itself behind again just a couple of minutes later after conceding a try against the run of play.
With a feed 10m out from their own line, the Seagulls’ went to the blind side, only for Fred Pitt’s pass to be plucked out of the air by Evans winger Jonathan Robinson, who ran through to score.
While Ballina had its chances to hit back, it was the Bombers who struck again next and took a decisive lead midway through the half when Kyle Kennedy won the race to get on the end of a Beauchamp grubber. Gibbons slotted the extras to give the visitors a 24-14 lead with 21 minutes remaining.
The Seagulls needed something quickly and they got just that with their next use of the football.
Trying to position himself under yet another dangerous Roberts bomb, Evans Head’s Malaki Ferguson dropped the high ball, with Caleb Kinna coming through to pick up the scraps and slash the deficit to just four points.
With more than 15 minutes on the clock, there was plenty of time for Ballina to find a matchwinner, with Evans Head errors presenting the side with strong opportunities.
Backrower Carl Lolohea came closest with a strong charge on the right edge but was held up over the line. Then with five minutes to go Pitt crashed over in the left-hand corner, only for the touch judge to rule the pass forward, much to the dismay of the Ballina players.
And while Pitt and Ballina’s left side remained a threat, the Seagulls just couldn’t break through for a winner as Evans Head held on for the win.
The victory keeps the Bombers in third place with four wins and one loss, while Ballina’s difficult start to the season has continued, with the defending premiers slumping to their fourth loss in six games.
Evans Head 24 (Toole, Z Roberts, Robinson, K Kennedy tries; Gibbons four goals) defeated Ballina 20 (T Roberts, Sivewright, Waldock, Kinna tries; Regan two goals)
In other round six matches, Bilambil kept its unbeaten record alive with a 20-12 victory over Lower Clarence, Murwillumbah downed Northern United 32-22, Mullumbimby celebrated 40 years at Les Donnelly Field with a 28-12 win over local rivals Byron Bay and the Tweed Seagulls celebrated their first A-grade win in two decades with a 30-26 thriller over Kyogle.
Originally published as Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL): Wrap, results, standouts from round six
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