Four Group 20 players selected in strong, Group Nine-dominated Riverina squad

Tallon Smith

The Riverina Bulls have this week announced their 24-man squad for the upcoming Country Championships campaign set to begin in March.

The squad features 20 players from Group Nine and four from Group 20, with Jack Lyons being selected based on performances at Darlington Point-Coleambally before re-joining Gundagai for the upcoming season.

Including Lyons, the DPC club will supply three players to the squad, the same number as Temora and Albury Thunder, whose 2024 Country representative Lachy Munro is also a member of the squad.

Tumut have the most members selected at five, including returning star Jacob Sturt and coach Zac Masters, while defending Group Nine premiers Young have four players in the squad including their coach Tom Giles.

Not including Lyons, Gundagai will supply two squad members, a number matched by South City, while Wagga Kangaroos and Yenda each have one representative.

DPC have supplied three of Group 20’s four squad members, including Guy Thompson (pictured)

Riverina Coach Aaron Gorrell told Wagga Wagga’s Daily Advertiser that he believes the squad has what tit takes to go deeper into the competition in 2025.

“I’ve pulled a squad together, and on paper, it is probably the strongest I’ve had since I’ve been the coach,” he told the masthead.

“It’s an exciting squad.

“There’s some experience there and more or less everyone has made themselves available, which is good.”

Riverina face the Western Rams on March 9 at McDonald’s Park, in the competition’s second round.

The Country Championships will take on a single elimination format again in 2025, with the first round being a preliminary round.

The two matches on the opening weekend will see the Macarthur Wests Tigers take on the Illawarra-South Coast Dragons, while the Central Coast Roosters face the North Coast Bulldogs, with both matches taking place on Saturday February 22.

The second round sees the full bracket take shape, with Newcastle hosting the winner of North Coast v Central Coast and Monaro playing the winner of Macarthur and Illawarra-South Coast, while Northern Rivers Titans will face the Greater Northern Tigers in Lismore, with the final game being the clash between Riverina and Western.

Following that the winners of the four round two games will progress through to the Semi Finals, with the final to follow in late March.

FULL RIVERINA BULLS 2025 SQUAD: Isaac Carpenter, Paul Karaitiana, Lachy Munro (Albury), Billy Gilbert, Jack Lyons, Guy Thompson (Darlington Point-Coleambally), Wilson Hamblin, James Morgan (Gundagai), Kyle McCarthy, Cleve McGhie (South City), Hayden Philp, Billy Reardon, Hamish Starr (Temora), Malik Aitken, Jordan Anderson, Michael Fenn, Zac Masters, Jacob Sturt (Tumut), Jake Mascini (Wagga Kangaroos), Tikiko Noke (Yenda), Tom Demeio, Tom Giles, Jayke Hogan, Che Hyslop, Boro Navori (Young)