Byron hand Kyogle a lesson in league | Northern Rivers Rugby League | NRL Rugby in Northern Rivers

Dave Kirkpatrick | 6th July 2009

DEVIL MAY CARE: A file photo of Byron Bay’s Simon Kelly, one of seven try-scorers for the Red Devils against Kyogle yesterday.

THREE players were given early showers in a spiteful finish to yesterday's Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League match between Byron Bay and Kyogle at Red Devil Park.

Byron won the match convincingly, 40-12, but not before Mick Lambert and Michael Chapman were given their marching orders along with Kyogle's Scott Lavelle.

Frustrations had been building in the game with a lot of ball-tossing and low blows in tackles, but with less than nine minutes left tempers boiled over.

Lavelle appeared to take exception to his treatment in a tackle and when he started swinging punches it was on for young and old.

Several subsidiary boxing bouts spilled into various sections of the field as the referee and touch judges struggled to regain control.

When the dust settled, and the touch judges made their reports, the two Devils were given 10 minutes in the sin-bin along with Lavelle, effectively ending their afternoon's work.

But playing with two men less didn't slow Byron Bay down in the slightest, as they added two tries in the period immediately after the punch-up.

The fisticuffs didn't detract from the Red Devils' performance as the defending premiers bounced back from last week's local derby loss to Mullumbimby.

“It's always hard to come down from the derbies,” Byron coach Nathan Cross said.

“There's always so much hype around the local derbies and we haven't played Kyogle here for about four or five years.

“Obviously they only just lost to United last week and we knew they would be switched on and we knew it was going to be pretty tough.

“Even though we are only one win away from the competition leaders a loss today would have been very detrimental to our season.”

The result was far from a foregone conclusion at half-time with the Devils ahead 16-6.

But Byron Bay came out in the second half and stunned the Turkeys, with the metres they made close to the ruck, and when they spun it wide to players like winger Bill Lowrie.

Lowrie scored a try and did most of the running for another, and has proven to be a handy acquisition since moving to Byron Bay this year for work.

He has a strong rugby league pedigree after playing for Wynnum in the Queensland Cup.

Although it is hard to believe, Cross said the lightning quick winger, who is able to bounce out of tackles and accelerate to warp speed in a nano-second, is only operating at about 70 per cent because of a knee injury.

“He probably hasn't been given the given the respect he deserves, but he is deceptively quick and very strong,” Cross said.

“But he has a chronic knee problem and he's probably going to have an arthroscope next week, so we will be missing him for four or five weeks, which is a lot. But we need him right for the finals.”

With five regular first-graders out, and inexperienced Under-18s and reserve grade players taking their spots, Kyogle captain-coach Clinton Horne wasn't too disappointed with his team's effort.

“I don't reckon we were outclassed, I just reckon we got tired near the end and that's when the score blew out,” he said.

Horne injured a shoulder in the loss, while Cross celebrated his 30th birthday with the win.

THE Grafton Rhinos inflicted a heavy defeat on Ballina at McKittrick Park, South Grafton, yesterday.

The Rhinos ran roughshod over the Seagulls 34-8.

Ballina were kept scoreless in the first half and weren't able to get on the board until Seagulls captain Brent Peterson crossed in the 47th minute, followed by another try to Jono Freeman.

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