Group 4 campaign beginning to heat up as teams reach the halfway mark

Group 4 Rugby League’s 2025 season reached its halfway mark following the weekend’s round seven fixtures, and the race to the finals in the first grade competition is very much wide open.

Five teams are closely clustered at the top but only four will compete in finals football this year, so the next few weeks will be crucial for them all as they look to solidify their spots in the top half of the table.

Werris Creek Magpies are currently ranked first with 13 points following six victories and a draw, while Moree Boars have launched themselves into second place on 10 points off the back of a five-game win streak following two losses to start the season.

Third-placed Gunnedah Bulldogs, fourth-placed North Tamworth Bears and fifth-placed Boggabri Kangaroos are all a point behind the defending champs on nine following four wins, a draw and two losses each.

Three teams have fallen behind and now face an uphill battle to stay in contention, with the second half of the season shaping up to be tough for them all.

Dungowan Cowboys are five points behind the Roos on four following two wins and five losses, Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters are seventh with two points following one win and six losses, and the winless Wee Waa Panthers are ranked last on the eight-team ladder with no points.

Boggabri and Werris Creek kicked off the weekend with dominant wins on Saturday as the Kangaroos beat Kootingal-Moonbi 48-6 in front of a home crowd at Jubilee Oval while the Magpies won 48-8 away from home at Dungowan Recreation Ground against the Cowboys.

North Tamworth were fifth on the live ladder heading into their home fixture against Gunnedah Bulldogs at Jack Woolaston Oval on Sunday and they got the job done 20-16 to join the Bulldogs and Kangaroos on nine points and sit between them in fourth on the ladder.

Moree extended their impressive winning streak to five games when they scored a dominant 62-24 home victory in a first-versus-last battle against Wee Waa at Boughton Oval.

Boggabri’s round seven win was a dominant one as they led 30-0 at half-time and then outscored the Roosters 18-6 in the second stanza. The home side ran in eight tries and converted all of them as Ash White slotted six goals and Josh Trindall kicked two.

Wingers Tevita Peceli and Josefa Goneduadua continued to wreak havoc on the rest of the competition as they finished the match with five tries between them. Peceli claimed a hat-trick on the left and Goneduadua bagged a double on the right.

Goneduadua became the first player this season to reach 10 tries, while Peceli sits one behind him on the leading try-scorer tally with nine.

Powerful centre Ilaisa Kalokalodrau also finished the match with a hat-trick for Boggabri.

The Kangaroos were beaten in the other two grades against the Roosters in round seven as the reserve grade side lost 20-14 to finish the weekend in fourth and the ladies’ league tag team lost 46-10 to remain in last place.

The Panthers were outscored 12 tries to four and seven conversions to four in their 62-24 first grade loss at Boughton Oval.

Moree led 22-0 early on after Adrian Smith converted Daniel Howe’s 17th-minute try, which was the home side’s first of the game, but Wee Waa hit back through Chris Clark in the 23rd minute and the score became 22-6 when the Panthers added the extras.

The home side made it 26-6 when Cameron Rodgers crossed in the 28th minute, and Wee Waa pounced again in the 33rd minute when Toby Knight crossed for a try that he converted himself.

The score remained 26-12 at the half-time break before the Boars produced a dominant second stanza in which they outscored Wee Waa seven tries to two and 36 points to 12.

There was only one other game played at Boughton Oval on Sunday afternoon, which saw Moree defeat Wee Waa Panthers 52-4 in the first round of the mid-season women’s tackle competition.

Wee Waa had the bye in the ladies’ league tag competition and forfeited both the under-18s and reserve grade games.

Round eight will be headlined by a Narrabri Shire derby on Sunday when Boggabri Kangaroos host Wee Waa Panthers at Jubilee Oval.

That matchday is the second of the Jeremey ‘JT’ Toomey Memorial Cup, and it will also kick off the second half of the Group 4 campaign for the two clubs.

Other round eight fixtures will see Werris Creek host Moree on Saturday, North Tamworth welcome Dungowan on Saturday, and Kootingal-Moonbi travel to Gunnedah on Sunday.