# Group 1 Rugby League

Group 1 Rugby League was a rugby league competition held in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. The group, however, still runs a junior rugby league competition. When the Group 18-Gold Coast competition dissolved in 2005, the New South Wales sides joined together with Group 1 to form a divisional league, Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League (NRRRL). Group 18 also still holds its own individual junior rugby league competition.

## Seniors

The Group 1 Senior Rugby League Premiership amalgamated with Group 18 Rugby League in 2005 to form the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League, and was thus discontinued in its own right.

## Juniors
### Current Teams

The following clubs are affiliated with Group 1 juniors, but run senior teams in the NRRRL competition:
* Ballina Seagulls
* Casino RSM
* Clarence Coast Magpies (as Lower Clarence in NRRRL)
* Kyogle Turkeys
* Lismore Marist Brothers Rams
The following clubs are affiliated with Group 1 juniors, but run senior teams in the Group 2 Rugby League competition:
* Grafton Ghosts
* South Grafton Rebels

### Former Teams

The following clubs fielded junior teams in Group 1 competitions earlier in the 2010s
* Evans Head Bombers
* Northern United Dirrawongs
* Lennox Head Dolphins
* South Lismore Rabbits
* Upper Clarence

## Notable Juniors
### Ballina Seagulls

* Frank Curran (1931–1937 South Sydney Rabbitohs)
* Mitchell Aubusson (2007–present Sydney Roosters)
* James Aubusson (2007–2010 Melbourne Storm & Sydney Roosters)
* James Roberts (2011–present South Sydney Rabbitohs, Penrith Panthers, Gold Coast Titans & Brisbane Broncos)
* Caleb Binge (2014 Gold Coast Titans)
* Brian Kelly (2017–present Manly Sea Eagles & Gold Coast Titans)
* Nick Meaney (2018–present Newcastle Knights & Canterbury Bulldogs)
* Tyrone Roberts (2011–present Newcastle Knights, Warrington Wolves & Gold Coast Titans)

### Casino RSM

* Matt King
* Brian Smith
* Tony Smith
* Ben Kennedy
* Albert Torrens
* John Elford
* Cody Walker (rugby league)

### Clarence Coast Magpies (Lower Clarence Coast Magpies)

* Luke Douglas
* Tony Priddle
* Nathan Brown
* Daine Laurie (born 1999)
* Daniel Wagon
* Kevin Plummer

### Kyogle Turkeys

* Ken Nagas – Former Canberra Raiders (1992–2002) player.
* Nigel Roy – Former Illawarra Steelers (1993–94), North Sydney Bears (1995–99), Northern Eagles (2000) & London Broncos (2001–04) player.
* Will Mathews – Former Gold Coast Titans (2008–11, 2018–19) & St George Illawarra Dragons (2012–17) player.
* Shannon Walker – Former Gold Coast Titans (2008–10) & Australia Rugby 7’s (2012–17) player.
* Jone Macilai – Former Fiji Bati (2008–09) player.
* David Grant – Former Canberra Raiders (1982–85) Balmain Tigers (1978–1981), Eastern Suburbs Roosters (1977) & South Sydney Rabbitohs (1976) player.
* Paul Doolan – Former St George Dragons (1990), Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (1991–93) and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (1994–95) player

### Lismore Marist Brothers Rams

* Andrew King (rugby league)
* Chris King (rugby league)
* David Mead (rugby league)
* Nick Ford-Daley (rugby league)

## First Grade Premierships

1964–1983 (Web Archive)
From The Vault on Wayback Machine
1961 Ballina def Casino RSM * Ballina also won the Clayton Cup.
1962 Casino RSM 19–14 Ballina
1963 Casino RSM 8–0 Woodburn
1964 Casino RSM
1965 Casino RSM
1966 Lismore Marist Brothers def Casino RSM
1967 Casino RSM * Casino RSM also won the Clayton Cup.
1968 Casino RSM 32–10 South Lismore
1969 (Two competitions) Ballina 7–3 Casino RSM & 1969 Mallanganee 23–15 Baryulgil
1970 Grafton 12–5 South Grafton
1971 Kyogle+ 14–9 Lower Clarence
1972 South Grafton+ 19-6 Kyogle
1973 Lower Clarence 27–13 Lismore Marist Brothers
1974 Western Suburbs 24–0 South Lismore-Woodburn
1975 South Grafton 17–8 South Lismore-Evans Head
1976 Casino RSM 22–7 South Grafton
1977 Grafton 16–14 South Grafton
1978 South Lismore-Evans Head 18–14 Casino RSM
1979 Casino RSM 33–10 South Grafton
1980 Lismore Marist Brothers 24–8 South Grafton
1981 Lismore Marist Brothers 20–2 Western Suburbs-Alstonville
1982 Ballina 14–4 Casino RSM
1983 Kyogle 14–12 Lower Clarence

### 1984–present (Grand Final results compiled from scores published in the Rugby League Week.)

| Season | Grand Final Information | Grand Final Information | Grand Final Information | Minor Premiers |
| Season | Premiers | Score | Runners-up | Minor Premiers |
| 1984 | Lower Clarence Mapgies | 25–8 | Grafton Ghosts | |
| 1985 | Casino Cougars | 17–10 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | Casino Cougars |
| 1986 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | 19–14 | South Grafton Rebels | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams |
| 1987 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | 22–6 | Kyogle Turkeys | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams |
| 1988 | Grafton Ghosts | 14–8 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | Grafton Ghosts |
| 1989 | Ballina Seagulls | 12–10 | Grafton Ghosts | Ballina Seagulls |
| 1990 | Casino Cougars | 38–29 | Kyogle Turkeys | Casino Cougars |
| 1991 | Grafton Ghosts | 29–14 | Ballina Seagulls | Grafton Ghosts |
| 1992 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | 6–4 | Ballina Seagulls | |
| 1993 | Ballina Seagulls | 12–8 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | |
| 1994 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | 13–6 | South Grafton Rebels | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams |
| 1995 | Byron Bay Red Devils | 17–10 | South Grafton Rebels | |
| 1996 | Byron Bay Red Devils | 11–10 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | |
| 1997 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | 20–10 | Ballina Seagulls | |
| 1998 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | 46–6 | Byron Bay Red Devils | |
| 1999 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | 29–16 | Casino Cougars | |
| 2000 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | 34–10 | Byron Bay Red Devils | |
| 2001 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | 26–2 | Ballina Seagulls | |
| 2002 | Grafton Ghosts | 22–20 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | Grafton Ghosts |
| 2003 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | 42–41 | South Grafton Rebels | |
| 2004 | Mullumbimby Giants | 14–12 | Lismore Marist Brothers Rams | Mullumbimby Giants |