Wollongbar-Alstonville Rugby (WAR) have broken away at the top of the Far North Coast first-grade rugby ladder after defeating the Byron Shire Rebels 33–17 last Saturday at the Byron Recreation Grounds.
The home side posted the first points through a penalty, and then had a good run of possession from a strong showing at the scrums. Just before halftime they were awarded a penalty try that gave them a 10–5 lead at the break.
But as WAR got into their rhythm, augmented by a strong reserve bench, they were soon dominating set play and providing plenty of running opportunities to their backline, which was more than prepared to take everything on offer.
The sides traded tries early in the second half but as time went on, and the Rebels conceded more penalties, including a sin-binning, WAR achieved the ascendency. A dominant last 20 minutes and two unanswered tries sealed it for the visitors.
The results were better for the home side in the earlier games where the second-grade Byron Shire side beat WAR 29–7.
The Byron Shire women’s 12 side also had their first win of the season beating Casuarina Beach 19–7.
WAR (37) leads the first-grade table ahead of Byron Shire (30), Casuarina (25) and Ballina (24).
In second grade the Byron Shire are on top with 35 points, ahead of Casuarina (30), WAR (25) and Casino (24).
Next week the Byron Shire return to Shultz Oval in Bangalow to play Lismore.
