Cover Photo: Kat Patton Photography
Tallon Smith
Just two years after being unable to field a side in the competition, the Narooma Devils have started the new Group 16 season with a 34-4 victory over the Moruya Sharks at Bill Smyth Oval.
Prop Jack Godfrey led the way in a man of the match performance for the Devils, scoring two of the side’s six tries, while new English recruit Logan Bradbury and halves pairing Johnny Constable and Clint Wright also impressed in the comfortable win.
After taking the side to the finals last year, Narooma coach Kieran Wyld was pleased to start the season with a strong performance against its local rivals in front of the club’s supporters at home.
“It was great to get a win at home first game of the season,” he said.
“They beat us last year in first grade so it was good to get some revenge in the local derby.”
Aside from the 30-point win in first grade, what made the day even sweeter for Narooma was securing a clean sweep of all three grades, with victories in reserve grade (22-18) and league tag (16-12).
After an uncertain off-season surrounding lower grade sides, the Devils managed to secure the necessary numbers to field a reserve grade team late in the pre-season, the club’s first since the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Wyld said that the addition of a reserves side will give the club some much needed depth as it aims for a third finals campaign in the past four seasons.
“I can’t believe we got a reserve team, it only happened in the last few weeks,” he said.
“It’s so good for the club and good for our depth because last year we really struggled with that.”
Next up for the Devils is a clash with fellow round one winners Bega, which started its season with a 30-18 win over the Eden Tigers at Cobargo on Saturday.
With a side boasting former Manly forward Zac Saddler as captain-coach, along with his brother Noah, recruited from Cooma over the off-season, Wyld said he is expecting a tougher match against the Roosters than the young Sharks.
“Bega are a much better and bigger side with their very experienced new coach [in Zac] and also new recruit Noah,” he said.
“[Moruya] do have some new recruits but they are a very young side, so I’m not sure how strong they are, but we need to be a lot better if we are going to beat Bega this weekend.”
Looking at other results from around the competition, Tathra started its premiership defence and centenary season with a 24-14 win over the Cooma Stallions, and Merimbula-Pambula showed it will again be a forced to be reckoned with in 2026 with a 60-0 shutout of Batemans Bay.
