COMETS DOWN REBELS IN QUAGMIRE

By TIM HOWARD

The South Grafton Rebels Group 2 rugby league premiership defence is offer to a rocky start with 30-20 loss to the Coffs Harbour Comets.

A Rebels side minus a lot personnel from the team that won the 2022 grand fnal, conceded six tries against the Comets at Geoff King Motors Field on Sunday.

Club president Brendan Breitnauer was not too concerned with the loss.

“It’s just Rebels football,” he said. “We’re always slow starters, but once we get the team together, we’ll be right.”

Breitnauer conceded it was a new-look Rebels outft with only half a dozen players remaining from the grand fnal team.

He said the reemergence of Casino and Lower Clarence had lured players away, with centre Tom McGrady heading to the Cougars and father and son Grant and Tyhrese Brown and Brian Quinlan-Randall off to the Magpies.

Injuries had also hit the club, with last year’s skipper Lewis Cooper out for 12 months to recover from an ACL operation.

Breitnauer said Sunday’s game had some bright spots.

“They (he Comets) are hard to beat at home,” he said. “But we were right in it for a lot of the game.

“Conditions were woeful with rain falling most of the game and it was 12-all until the ref got injured and that seemed to change the momentum for us.”

He said the Rebels’ experienced core: backrower and skipper Grant Stevens, fveeighth Hughie Stanley and Luke Walker led from the front.

“We’ve got a few of our juniors coming through and with those experienced players showing them the way, they’re just going to keep improving.”

Breitnauer is looking for big things from Jye Boehme coming out of the 18s into frst grade.

“I think he might be able to do similar things to Quinlan-Randall once he gets his confdence in frst grade,” he said.

“He can wing, centre or second row, so we can fnd a spot for him to settle into and get his game to develop.”

Across the river it was a quiet start to the season with the Ghosts’ opening game of the season against Sawtell Panthers delayed until the frst bye round of the season on May 14.

The players put in a solid practice session instead of getting their frst competition hit out.

The Group 2 Rugby League has been forced to make changes to the draw, including more Saturday games, because of a shortage of referees and touch judges.

Breitnauer said this was unfortunate, but clubs would work with the Group to minimise the impact on the game.

Scores

Coffs Harbour 30: Tries: Michael Hart, Malakai Troutman,

Lewis Hall, Brian Palalagi, Bennet Bar Reech, Malakai Troutman. Goals: Nathan Curry 3.

South Grafton 20: Tries: Luke Walker, Keiran Johnson-Heron, Damon Kirby, Nicholas McGrady. Goals Hughie Stanley 2.