A quartet of early front-runners have emerged while four teams are still yet to fire heading into Group 4 Rugby League’s Magic Round on Friday.

The competition is beginning to take shape after an action-packed weekend saw the Boggabri Kangaroos, North Tamworth Bears, Gunnedah Bulldogs and Werris Creek Magpies continue their strong starts to the season as they all registered back-to-back wins.

All four sides emerged victorious in their respective round two matches to move to four points apiece after they had kicked off their campaigns with wins a week earlier.

Some early pressure is beginning to mount on the four winless teams, with Moree Boars, Wee Waa Panthers, Dungowan Cowboys and Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters all failing to register a point after two rounds as they head into the Magic Round looking to turn things around.

Round two kicked off on Saturday at Dungowan Recreation Ground where Boggabri downed the Cowboys 44-24, while North Tamworth shut out the Roosters 50-0 at Jack Woolaston Oval.

Sunday’s games saw Werris Creek take down Wee Waa Panthers 62-0 in 65 minutes as the mercy rule ended the contest at David Taylor Oval early, while Gunnedah outscored Moree 28-14 in the closest game of the round at Kitchener Park.

For the defending champs Moree, their start to the year is a surprising one given their dominance in recent seasons that culminated in a first grade premiership in 2024.

They have only lost by a combined 16 points across the first two fixtures though, so it is far too early to press the panic button, especially with a match against fellow winless side Dungowan ahead on Saturday afternoon that can kick-start their premiership defence.

2024 grand finalists Boggabri became the first and only team to surpass 100 points this season when they beat Dungowan on Saturday, but they have conceded the most points of the four undefeated sides, and their coach Shane Rampling has since demanded improvement from his men.

Gunnedah Bulldogs have been the big improvers so far in 2025 following two impressive early wins, including

Sunday’s huge scalp of the defending champions. They finished second last with just one win in 2023 and were sixth last year after losing more games than they won, but they are emerging as one of the teams to beat early on this season.

Wee Waa’s quest to improve on last season’s wooden spoon finish in their return from a multi-year hiatus has been hit with a strong blow following two mercy rule finishes this year, but they have managed to score more points than Magic Round opponents Kootingal-Moonbi so far and they are determined to replicate that in 80 minutes on Saturday night in round three.

Narrabri Shire clubs beaten in the lower grades across the weekend

Boggabri Kangaroos ended their round two matchday on a high as their first grade side defeated the Dungowan Cowboys 44-24, but the club’s other two teams were beaten at Dungowan Recreation Park on Saturday.

The Kangaroos entered the day on top of the reserve grade ladder following two consecutive wins in their round three and one games, but they suffered their first loss as Dungowan prevailed 26-12.

Werris Creek and Moree are both still undefeated following their round two wins on Sunday. They won their first games of the year before drawing their second against one another.

Moree’s 40-6 away win against Gunnedah and Werris Creek’s 42-24 home win against Wee Waa saw them both climb above the Roos on the ladder. They both have five points, and Boggabri and Dungowan both have four points.

The other match saw the North Tamworth Bears win their first game of the year as they downed Kootingal-Moonbi 38-12 at home on Saturday.

Norths, Gunnedah and Wee Waa all have one win from their first three games and Kootingal are still winless.

In the ladies’ league tag comp, Boggabri Kangaroos were beaten 42-10 by Dungowan on Saturday and Wee Waa went down 44-0 to Werris Creek on Sunday.

The other round two contest saw North Tamworth beat Kootingal-Moonbi 18-6.

In under-18s, Werris Creek took down Wee Waa 52-8 and Moree edged out Gunnedah 16-12, while Norths and Dungowan had byes.

The under-18s, ladies league tag and reserve grade competitions will resume on May 17 following this weekend’s first grade Magic Round standalone fixtures.