Every Group 7 Rugby League team graded, analysed at the halfway point

With the exception of a couple of catch up matches to be played, every team has now locked horns once this season.

We’re hardly the wiser about who will emerge victorious though, as the results have been unpredictable from one week to the next.

We’ve analysed the first half of the season, spoken to every coach and come up with a grade for each team in our mid-season report card.

Check them out below.

Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles

League position: 9th (2 wins, 1 draw, 6 losses)

Grade: D+

Biggest strength: The Eagles attack has improved massively over the last four weeks and has been to thank for their results they’ve picked up. They’re playing to their strengths in backing themselves running the footy, combinations are working more efficiently and the forwards have finally found their groove.

Needs improvement: Completions are a big one for the Eagles, letting them down early in the season. First contact in one-on-one defensive situations is another. Their kicking game could also do with some work, but this has been worked on in the past few weeks.

Best performance: 36-32 win vs Gerringong. Possibly the biggest upset of the season to date. Pumped in the first 20 minutes but the Eagles dug deep and produced a staggering comeback to get their first win of the year against the in-form Lions. The result no one say coming.

Standout performers: Josh Sainsbury, Jack Walsh, Kane Ball

Top try scorer: James Walsh (8)

Season expectation: The Eagles have chosen a good time to get in form and are hopeful of securing a win before the break to get them rolling for the second half of the year. It’s a congested middle of the table above them, so coach Danial Gorrel believes if they can string a few wins together and not drop silly points, they’re right in the mix still.

Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies

League position: 10th (2 wins, 1 draw, 6 losses)

Grade: D

Biggest strength: The Magpies have shown signs of real grit in the games that they’ve salvaged points from. Both their wins have been by two points and against quality opposition in Shellharbour and Jamberoo. They’ve shown that they can hang in there and defend their line until the final whistle when called upon.

Needs improvement: Getting the ball over the try line. It’s quite a sizeable gap forming at the bottom on the point difference side of things, with the Magpies only averaging 13 points scored per game. The most they’ve scored in a game has been 24, a figure some teams are hitting every week.

Best performance: 14-12 win vs Shellharbour Sharks. A round two victory against a Sharks side who were right off the back of a statement first round victory against the defending premiers. Tries to Billy Hayburn and Tahu Arberry were enough to do the business.

Top try scorer: Evan O’Shea & Joe Rogers (3)

Season expectation: It looks like a tough road to recovery for the Magpies this season based on how little damage they’ve inflicted on opposition in the first half of the year. Granted, like the Eagles, a few wins on the trot and they can pierce that congested middle of the table. They ultimately need to start putting more points on the board week in week out though, which will require their halves to step up and get some creative ball movement happening.

Gerringong Lions

League position: 3rd (6 wins, 0 draws, 3 losses)

Grade: B+

Biggest strength: The depth of the Gerringong squad and the talent of their juniors has been terrific to see in the 2023 season. They’ve had 10 or so first grade debuts from juniors at the club, all of whom have stood up and done their jobs when called upon.

Needs improvement: Just nailing their attack when they get in range. This has been a bit of problem due the forced rotation of the squad due to injuries, with some combinations not quite gelling at crucial moments.

Best performance: 13-6 win vs Shellharbour. A tight contest in which the Lions relied on a lot of young players filling in. The win was described by coach Stewart as “a thrill for the club” to see so many development players step up and perform admirably.

Standout players: Nathan Ford, Alexander Weir, Toby Gumley-Quine

Top try scorer: Toby Gumley-Quine (7)

Season expectation: Standards are always high at Gerringong and they always believe that the competition is their for the taking. After a slight dip in form, they want to start stringing wins together again and cement their place in the semis early on.

Jamberoo Superoos

League position: 5th (4 wins, 0 draws, 5 losses)

Grade: C+

Biggest strength: Desire. With the exception of their round seven clash with the Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs, which coach Jono Dallas admits they were deservedly blown off the park, the Superoos have been in and fighting in every match this season. This has led to some great results on their end, such as victories over Gerringong and Kiama.

Needs improvement: Attack has been a challenge for the Superoos at times. They have a hefty injury list which has meant a lot of rotation and a struggle to build fluidity in their attack. This will hopefully improve after the week off when a number of their starting players will hopefully return from injuries.

Best performance: 18-16 win vs Gerringong. A rare occasion where both teams played arguably their perfect games and neither deserved to lose the game. It was the Superoos who emerged victorious though, crucially sending them up to fifth on the ladder.

Standout performers: Jayden Morgan, Coreg Grigg, Mark Asquith, Cameron Brabender

Top try scorer: Mark Asquith (7)

Season expectation: After the amount of injuries the Superoos have had, Dallas says his side would be over the moon to retain their current position and make the top five. Once the regular team gets back together, the Superoos should be able to build some momentum and do some damage.

Kiama Knights

League position: 7th (3 wins, 0 draws, 5 losses)

Grade: C-

Biggest strength: The Knights have shown glimpses of really good footy and have been putting good points on the board most weeks, hitting 20+ points in six out of eight games played.

Needs improvement: Playing for the full 80 minutes. The Knights have been competitive in every game but have fallen short on a number of occasions by losing their composure and making silly errors. Stay switched on for the full 80 and the Knights could be in business.

Best performance: 26-20 win vs Shellharbour Sharks. A tough battle against a tough opposition where the Knights prevailed at home by just six points, with Cameron Cornell crucially crossing the line twice.

Standout players: Thomas Atkins, William Webb, Cameron Cornell

Top try scorer: Cameron Cornell (5)

Season expectation: Coach Marc Laird has told his side to forget about the first half of the year and enter the second half with a positive attitude. The league has shown this season that anyone can beat anyone and the Knights are keen to exploit that. String a few wins together and they can get themselves right back in the mixer.

Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs

League position: 6th (3 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses)

Grade: C

Biggest strength: There’s a great club vibe at the Bulldogs that is rubbing off on their on-field performances lately. A good mix of juniors breaking through and seniors supporting their development. This support extends off the field with a terrific fanbase in the women’s open tackle and LLT teams. There’s a great energy going on down south.

Needs improvement: Tying things up defensively. Occasional lapses in concentration really hurt the Bulldogs at the start of the season and contributed to a couple of bad results. They can’t afford undoing the hard work of performing in good spells by lapsing and having bad spells.

Best performance: 36-22 win vs Warilla-Lake South Gorillas. Down to 12 men for a while with a sin bin, the players had to really dig in there and hang on, defending their try line with sheer grit and ultimately highlighting how far the side has progressed since the start of the season.

Standout players: Blake Mackey, Bailey Sassall, Callum Franchi

Top try scorer: Mitchell Simington & Luke Millard (4)

Season expectation: Coach Lynch is setting the standard high for his side. Breaking it down and setting smaller goals, the side wants to forget about the first half of the season and focus on improvement in the second. They have a couple of massive games coming up that let them down in the first half of the year, but having improved out of sight since then, they believe they’ll be in with a much better shot this time round. With great support coming down from the top at the club as well, there’s a good energy feeding into this side.

Nowra-Bomaderry Jets

League position: 1st (7 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss)

Grade: A

Biggest strength: The Jets attack is simply a class above the competition, averaging a solid 29 points per game from the opening nine. Captain/coach Adam Quinlan highlighted as well that there’s no reliance on any one player and that the entire side chips in every week to get the results on the board.

Needs improvement: Quinlan reports that his side still needs to work on improving their defence and that they’re still letting in soft tries that they’re not happy with. The Jets have the fourth best defensive record in the league from the first half of the season, so it’s not bad, but there is room to improve.

Best performance: 27-14 win vs Stingrays of Shellharbour. Dealing the first loss of the season to the Stingrays of Shellharbour after they went seven games unbeaten was a massive moment for the 2023 season. Quinlan was at the heart of the victory, picking up three tries as his Jets soared to the top of the table.

Standout players: Adam Quinlan, Dylan Farrell, Beau Luland

Top try scorer: Beau Luland (9)

Season expectation: Quinlan emphasised that his side is not a finished product yet and there’s still some polishing to be done both in attack and defence. This should be worrying for the rest of the league. Leading at the halfway point and having not dropped any points since round three, you have to think this is the best chance the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets have of winning the league since their 2014 triumph.

Shellharbour Sharks

League position: 4th (5 wins, 0 draws, 4 losses)

Grade: B

Biggest strength: The defensive performances of the Sharks have been to thank for their results so far this season. An average of 14 points conceded per game is the best defensive statistic in the league and is a major testament to what the Sharks are building towards this season.

Needs improvement: On the flip side, there’s work to be done in attack still according to coach Atallah. They’ve definitely improved since the start of the year, putting on big numbers against the Eagles and Bulldogs, but Atallah believes they need to work on their attack so they can start putting teams away when the opportunity arises.

Best performance: 20-12 win vs Stingrays of Shellharbour. A derby win is important on any day, but this round nine clash was the first win for the Sharks over their cross-town rival since 2019. Crucially it also got the Sharks out of the mid-table pileup for the time being.

Standout players: Joshua Starling, Matthew Nicholson

Top try scorer: James Ralphs & Braxton Wallace (5)

Season expectations: Simply put by Atallah, he wants his side to keep improving week in week out to ensure they’re in a good spot come finals time. There were a few performances in the first half of the year that they’ll no doubt look back on with regret, but after a massive confidence booster in the Shellharbour derby, the Sharks could be ready to attack in the second half of the season.

Stingrays of Shellharbour

League position: 2nd (6 wins, 0 draws, 2 losses)

Grade: A-

Biggest strength: The Stingrays attack has been extremely productive in the first half of the season and contributed massively to their win run. 27 points averaged per game is something to be proud of, with flying winger Jayden Harris second in the league for tries scored.

Needs improvement: Coach/captain Tom Warner says his side could tighten up defensively a little, having leaked a few too many points in their most recent losses. Working on their discipline as well is another focus, giving away a few too many penalties and their completions dipping to under 70% recently.

Best performance: 30-22 win vs Gerringong. An early season statement from the Stingrays where they blew their opponents off the park in the first half, with Jayden Harris crossing for a hat trick.

Standout players: Tom Warner, Colby Smith, Jayden Harris

Top try scorer: Jayden Harris (8)

Season expectations: The goal at the start of the year was top three. This is still the case, with the Stingrays striving for a home semi final. They’ll look to once again find their groove after back-to-back losses and when they do they’ll be hard to stop.

Warilla-Lake South Gorillas

League position: 8th (3 wins, 0 draws, 6 losses)

Grade: C-

Biggest strength: Try scoring has not been an issue for the defending premiers at all. Despite sitting in eighth at the halfway point of the season they have the third most points scored. Justin Jones leads the way on eight tries, followed by a host of Gorillas sitting on four.

Needs improvement: Defence. No beating around the bush on that one. If a team is sitting in eighth on the ladder while having the third most points scored, it doesn’t take an expert to decipher where the weakness is. 28 points conceded per game on average simply isn’t good enough for a team looking to defend their title.

Best performance:30-22 win vs Kiama Knights. A gritty round six performance featuring a double from halfback Paul Roberts which temporarily took the Gorillas up to fourth on the ladder, in what looked as though it could have been a turning point in their season.

Standout players: Justin Jones, Samuel Hooper, Guy Rosewarn

Top try scorer: Justin Jones (8)

Season expectations: Tough to say at this point. The Gorillas have three losses on the trot at the end of round nine, falling short against sides that they put away in the 2022 season. The lethal edge is still there in the Gorillas attack, demonstrated by the points they put on the board every week. If they can just tighten up their defence and keep their discipline under control, there’s no reason they can’t shoot back up the ladder in the second half of the year.

Originally published as Mid-season report card: Every Group 7 Rugby League team graded, analysed at halfway point