Local Rugby League Wrap: All the latest local footy news from the big leagues around New South Wales

A team with 100+ years of history was forced to withdraw from A-grade as a wet weekend provided the upsets of the season in both Group 9 and Newcastle. Catch up on the latest from across NSW.

The big wet across NSW continued to wreak havoc on local fixtures across the state, forcing a number of washouts and postponements.

Some play was able to get away however, with a pair of major upsets in Newcastle and Group 9, as well as the withdrawal of a 100+ year club in the Woodbridge Cup.

CANBERRA

Round seven fixtures in the Canberra Raiders Cup and Katrina Fanning Shield were postponed until Saturday 23 August.

ILLAWARRA

Round five fixtures were postponed until Saturday 12 July.

GROUP 9

Defending premiers Young were left stunned as they slumped to their second defeat in three weeks, falling to Junee 30-28 at Laurie Daley Oval.

Quaider Kea proved the hero for the Diesels as he scored late to lift them home, helping them to land an almighty upset.

Coming into the contest, Junee had just one win for the season, and were beaten 40-0 by Temora and 58-0 by the Kangaroos at the start of the month.

The turnaround in form was even more impressive with three debutants in the team, namely Dredin Sorensen, Fiti Taalol and Eli Crozier.

The Kangaroos surged three points clear at the top of the standings with another dominant showing, prevailing in the Wagga derby over Brothers 66-0.

Chantz Carey and Dakota Ruta both scored doubles while Charles Barton had 22 points in the win.

Tyler Madden scored a double as the Temora Dragons upset Tumut to retain the Challenge Cup for another week. Picture: Temora Dragons Rugby League Club Facebook Page

They edged clear ahead of Tumut, who fell 32-22 in their Challenge Cup clash with Temora.

The Dragons were given 6.5 points start as they looked to hold onto the cup, however they didn’t need it as they surged to their fourth win of the year on the back of a double to Tyler Madden.

Cootamundra fought hard, but was unable to get the spoils in a narrow 20-12 defeat to Gundagai.

Samuel Gash scored first for the Bulldogs before the Tigers responded with four unanswered tries to open up a 14-point lead early in the second half.

Southcity Bulls claimed a key victory, edging out Albury 22-20 at Harris Park.

It keeps them in seventh as they try to close in on the top sides.

STANDINGS: Kangaroos 12, Tumut 9, Young 8, Temora 8, Gundagai 8, Albury 5, Southcity 4, Junee 4, Cootamundra 2, Brothers 0

NEWCASTLE

The majority of the competition was able to go ahead despite the wet conditions in the region.

Kurri Kurri vs Western Suburbs and Macquarie vs The Entrance however were unable to be salvaged, postponed until the first week of August along with other fixtures from last round.

On the field and the grand final rematch from last season ended with a shock result, as Central Newcastle took down Maitland 22-18.

The Butcher Boys came into the contest without a win for 246 days, winless so far in 2025.

That changed in the dying stages at the Maitland Sportsground, when Isaiah Olsen put a grubber into the Pickers in-goal.

Matthew Soper-Lawler missed in his attempt to clean up the ball, wiping out Ty Fletcher in the process.

The Cessnock Goannas had some big names on the sidelines in Knights players Brodie Jones and Fletcher Sharpe. Picture: Cessnock Goannas RLFC Facebook Page.

Fletcher somehow managed to get a touch on the loose ball, handing Maitland its first defeat of the year.

It wasn’t the only upset of the weekend, with Wyong finding its best to defeat South Newcastle 30-12.

The Roos raced out to a 14-6 lead at halftime, before racing away with things in the second half, leading by as much as 24.

Cessnock moved into top spot after a hard-fought 18-10 victory over the Northern Hawks at Baddeley Park.

The Hawks scored first when big Jessie O’Connor crashed over from close range, and led 10-4 early in the second half.

The Goannas clicked into gear from that point on, with Harvey Neville, Joshua Charles and Angus Ernst lifting them over the line.

STANDINGS: Cessnock 10, South Newcastle 8, Wests 8*, Maitland 8*, Lakes United 6*, Wyong 6*, Kurri Kurri 6*, Macquarie 4*, The Entrance 4*, Central 2*, Northern Hawks 0*

NSWRL OPEN WOMEN, SOUTHERN CORRIDOR, SOUTHERN SYDNEY, SOUTHS JUNIORS

Fixtures in these competitions were deemed washouts.

WOODBRIDGE CUP

The Woodbridge Cup returned with round six and the withdrawal of one club.

The Blayney Bears officially withdrew from the competition, citing injuries and player numbers as the main reason for their hiatus.

“It is with the heaviest of heart that we announce the withdrawal of our first grade mens side,” the club said in a statement.

“This was not an easy decision for our committee and first grade side to make. However, with some long-term injuries and lack of numbers, the season was not foreseeable.

“But there is still footy to be played! With a successful youth league side and a gelling league tag side, Blayney Bears still anticipate some good footy to be seen.

“Our men will continue to support and be involved with our club this year as they look to lock in the 2026 season early. We hope to make next year as successful as possible for our first grade.

“We look forward to still having all of our spectators week in week out supporting us. Thank you to all our sponsors and spectators. We appreciate your understanding on this decision.”

The Bears were formed in 1922 and only recently put the call out for more players on social media.

It leaves 12 teams battling it out for this year’s Woodbridge Cup.

Oberon handed Manildra its first loss of the season, coming out on top 22-16.

The Rhinos were in top spot on the ladder on points differential coming into the round, but found the challenge of a strong Tigers side too much.

The Barlow’s, Nathan and Nicholas, bookended the scoring for Oberon.

It was almost the upset of the season, with Peak Hill forcing Molong to settle for a 30-all draw.

The Blayney Bears (white) will take a recess from the Woodbridge Cup this season. Picture: Blayney Bears Facebook Page

After winning their opener, the Roosters slumped to lose their next four games, but returned to form in a big way against the third-placed Bulls.

Peak Hill outscored Molong six tries to five, including the final one to Jaedyn Murray, but the Bulls salvaged a point through the accuracy of Sebastian Backhouse and Harry Taylor with the boot.

Cargo caused a boilover on home soil, picking up its first win of the year with a 34-32 win over Trundle.

The Blue Heelers got the monkey off their backs in style, with Jake Blimka scoring a double and Ryan Moore’s five conversions doing enough to sneak home.

The points continued to flow at Eugowra with the Golden Eagles edging out Orange United 32-24.

The Warriors started strong and led 14-6 inside 20 minutes, before leading by two inside the final 20 minutes.

That’s when Eugowra finished too strong, capped off with William Fonohema’s second try in the closing stages.

Condobolin overcame a slow start to power past Grenfell 42-22.

Trent Veney gave the home side a 10-0 lead early doors, but the Rams clicked into gear to run out convincing winners.

STANDINGS: Cowra 12, Manildra 10, Oberon 10, Molong 9, Orange 8, Eugowra 8, Conwindra 6, Trundle 6, Condobolin 6, Cargo 4, Peak Hill 3, Grenfell 2

Originally published as Local Rugby League Wrap: All the latest local footy news from the big leagues around New South Wales