Sport | Rugby league |
---|---|
Formerly known as | Group 1 Rugby League / Group 18 Rugby League |
Instituted | 2005 |
Inaugural season | 2005 |
Number of teams | 13 |
Country | Australia |
Premiers | Ballina Seagulls (2024) |
Most titles | Ballina Seagulls (5 titles) |
Website | NRRRL Facebook |
Broadcast partner | BarTV |
The Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL) is a rugby league competition run in the far north of New South Wales, Australia. It is run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. The league formed in 2005 as an extended Group 1 Rugby League competition, featuring teams from Group 18 Rugby League. Prior to this, teams from Group 18 played in a competition with teams from the Gold Coast region of Queensland; these clubs have since gone on to form the Gold Coast Rugby League competition. Both Group 1 and Group 18 continue to run junior competitions from Under 5s to Under 16s.
The competitions run by NRRRL include: First grade, Reserve grade, Under-18's and Ladies League Tag.
Due to sponsorship reasons, in 2007 and 2008 the competition was known as the Retravision Northern League. [1] As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 competition was suspended until August, with four clubs withdrawing. When it resumed, the competition was split in two due to Queensland border restrictions. The former Group 18 teams contested the Green competition, with the former Group 1 teams contesting the Gold competition.
There are fourteen member clubs of the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League as 2023.
The following clubs in NRRRL fielded teams in the 2024 Senior Mens and Ladies League Tag competitions:
The following clubs fielded teams in 2018 Group 1 junior competitions: Ballina Seagulls, Casino Cougars, Clarence Coast Magpies, Grafton Ghosts, Kyogle Tukeys, Lismore Marist Brothers Rams, South Grafton Rebels
The following clubs fielded teams in 2019 Group 18 junior competitions: Bilambil Terranora Jets, Byron Bay Lennox Head Red Devils/Dolphins, Cudgen Headland Hornets, Mullumbimby Giants, Murwillimbah Colts, South Tweed Koala Bears/Ospreys, Tugun Seahawks, Tweed Coast Raiders, Tweed Heads Seagulls
Season | Grand Final Information | Minor Premiers | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Premiers | Score | Runners-up | Reports | ||
2017 | Byron Bay Red Devils | 12–8 | Lismore Marist Brothers | ||
2018 | Lismore Marist Brothers | 22–4 | Byron Bay Red Devils | Lismore Marist Brothers | |
2019 | Tweed Coast Raiders | 12–10 | Lismore Marist Brothers | ||
2020 (Green) | Tweed Coast Raiders | 4–2 | Cudgen Hornets | Cudgen Hornets | |
2020 (Gold) | Lismore Marist Brothers | 18–0 | Ballina Seagulls | Lismore Marist Brothers | |
2021 season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||
2022 | Cudgen Hornets | 14–10 | Lismore Marist Brothers | Cudgen Hornets |
Both Group 1 and Group 18 run independent junior competitions as was before the merger to form the NRRRL in seniors.
Years | Acronym | Item | Available Online | Via |
---|---|---|---|---|
1967–69, 1971–96 | - | Country Rugby League Annual Report | No | State Library of NSW |
2003 to 2014 | RLW | Rugby League Week | Yes | eResources at State Library of NSW |
2007 to 2019 | Star | The Northern Star | Yes | Northern Star website |
2005 to 2019 | - | Various Newspaper Websites | Yes | As referenced |
Northern Rivers is the most northeasterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between 590 and 820 kilometres north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers. It extends from Tweed Heads in the north to the southern extent of the Clarence river catchment which lies between Grafton and Coffs Harbour, and includes the main towns of Tweed Heads, Byron Bay, Ballina, Kyogle, Lismore, Casino and Grafton. At its most northern point, the region is 102 kilometres (63 mi) south-southeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane.
Ballina is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire local government area. It lies 740 km (460 mi) north of Sydney and 185 km (115 mi) south of Brisbane. Ballina's urban population at the end of 2021 was 46,190.
Tweed Heads is a coastal city at the mouth of the Tweed River in the Northern Rivers region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Tweed Heads is the northernmost town in New South Wales, and is located in the Tweed Shire local government area. It is situated 830 km (520 mi) north of Sydney and 103 km (64 mi) south of Brisbane. The town is next to the border with Queensland and is adjacent to its "twin town" of Coolangatta, which is a suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland.
Murwillumbah is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Tweed Shire, on the Tweed River. Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwillumbah is 848 km north-east of Sydney, 13 km south of the Queensland border and 132 km south of Brisbane.
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fifteen teams, thirteen of which are based in Queensland, with one based in New South Wales and one in Central Province, Papua New Guinea.
Luke Covell is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a goal-kicking winger for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Wests Tigers in the NRL.
The Summerland Australian Football League or SAFL was an Australian rules football competition in the Northern Rivers and New England region of New South Wales, Australia, in existence from 1984 to 2011. It now is reformed under the AFL Queensland banner under various QFA divisions, currently QFA Division 2 South/Northern Rivers.
Football Far North Coast (FFNC) is the governing body controlling association football on the Far North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The name of the organisation was changed in late 2005 from Soccer Far North Coast in line with the national governing body which changed from Soccer Australia to Football Federation Australia.
Group 1 Rugby League was a rugby league competition held in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. The group, however, still runs a junior rugby league competition. When the Group 18-Gold Coast competition dissolved in 2005, the New South Wales sides joined together with Group 1 to form a divisional league, Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL). Group 18 also still holds its own individual junior rugby league competition.
Group 2 is a rugby league competition on the north coast of New South Wales Since 1966, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. The Group 2 area runs from Grafton in the north to Macksville in the south. Group 2 teams played for many decades before 1966 when some redistribution, amalgamation or control mechanism presumably changed. Teams on the Nambucca River, namely Bowraville, Macksville and Nambucca Heads played in a southern division against Kempsey, Smithtown, Port Macquarie and Wauchope before 1966.
The Clayton Cup is a trophy that was awarded by the Country Rugby League to the NSW country rugby league team with the best overall record for that season. To be eligible, the team must win the highest level of competition in its region. Usually the winner of the Clayton Cup goes through the season undefeated. In late 2019, the Country Rugby League was absorbed by the New South Wales Rugby League.
Group 18 is the name of a junior rugby league competition on the far north coast of New South Wales, Australia. Currently, the group has no senior competition. Prior to 2005, there was a joint Gold Coast-Group 18 competition which fielded teams from both the Queensland and New South Wales sides of the border. With the Burleigh Bears joining the Queensland Cup in 1997 and the Tweed Heads Seagulls joining them in 2003, the combined competition started to lose some of its lustre. In 2005, it was dissolved with the remaining Queensland teams forming a dedicated Gold Coast competition and the NSW teams joining an expanded Group 1 competition, now named Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League. Both Group 1 and Group 18 run junior competitions.
The Murwillumbah railway line is a mostly disused railway line in far north-eastern Northern Rivers New South Wales, Australia. The line ran from Casino to Lismore, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby and Murwillumbah, opening in 1894. It is one of only two branches off the North Coast line,. Train services to the region ceased in May 2004. The line from Casino to Bentley and Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek was formally closed on 23 September 2020 to facilitate the construction of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail.
The Grafton Ghosts are an Australian rugby league football team based in Grafton, New South Wales. The club was founded in 1963 as a joint venture of the Grafton All Blacks and Grafton United teams.
Ballina Seagulls Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Ballina, New South Wales formed in the late 1920s. The club has both junior and senior teams.
The Byron Bay Red Devils are an Australian rugby league football team based in Byron Bay, New South Wales.
Kyogle Turkeys Rugby League Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Kyogle, New South Wales in the Northern Rivers. They field both senior teams that compete in the Northern Rivers Rugby League competition and junior sides in the Group One competition.
The LJ Hooker League is a cricket competition on the NSW Far North Coast comprising teams from the Ballina, Casino, Lismore and Tweed District Cricket Associations.