Tallon Smith

Newly promoted Central Coast Rugby League First Grade side Ourimbah Magpies have received a significant boost ahead of the 2025 campaign after announcing the signing of local junior and former Origin half James Maloney.

After spending the past four years in Reserve Grade, the Magpies has been planning a triumphant return to the Central Coast’s top competition in 2025, with the acquisition of the former Storm, Warriors, Roosters, Sharks and Panthers five-eighth the icing on the cake for what is shaping as a strong squad.

Club President Warrick Faint said that the signing will help the club as they continue their rebuild in 2025.

“We’ve been out of First Grade for a while now and we’re just trying to rebuild and just trying to get our juniors back,” he said.

“So he’s just come back to guide them and lead them and just show them the ins and outs.”

Faint said that the big signing of Maloney will complement an already strong squad featuring many local juniors, with the aim to remain in the First Grade competition long term.

“We’ve got some great juniors back, [like] Dale Cox, he’s played Queensland Cup and all,” he said.

“He [Maloney] just puts the icing on the cake, he’s been there, done that.

“We want to be here for a long time, we just don’t want to come back and then go again.

“We want to really build something so all our juniors can go somewhere.”

After reaching the heights of the third-tier Bundaberg Rum Cup (now Ron Massey Cup) in the mid 2000s, the Magpies hit a new low in 2021, withdrawing from the First Grade competition to play Reserve Grade for the remainder of the season.

The decline led to the club joining the Newcastle and Hunter community competition in 2022, before they returned to the CCRL in 2023 via Reserve Grade, where they have played the past two seasons.

After all that, you could forgive the club for making smaller goals this season, however Faint said that the aim is to make the finals, just like any other season.

“Well, you play to win, we’re not there to make up numbers, we’re there to win,” he said.

“We believe we’ve got a good squad and we believe there’s a chance to make the semis and then from there you never know.”

Prior to joining the Magpies, Maloney spent time playing for Lezignan in France’s Super XIII domestic competition after retiring from professional football after a stint with fellow French club Catalans in the Super League.