NRRRL coach joins rival club

A PREMIERSHIP-winning coach in Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League has made the surprise decision to sign on with a rival Tweed club.

Arwin Marcus will coach the Murwillumbah Mustangs this season after winning a premiership with the Bilambil Jets in 2022.

He took the Jets to another grand final appearance last year where they experienced a narrow 16-10 loss against Ballina.

Marcus was a Tweed Coast Raiders junior and played seniors with Bilambil before finding his calling as a coach.

He said coaching the Mustangs is a new challenge and one he is looking forward to.

“I’ve got some good mates at the club, I know by looking at the playing group that there is a lot of potential there, too,” Marcus said.

“They have a great culture there and it’s made it an easy transition for me.

“I was lucky to get a junior base of players coming into first grade at Bilambil and that’s what they’ve done well here, too.”

Murwillumbah tasted premiership success in 2012 and 2016.

It has remained one of the most consistent clubs across the grades since then.

Marcus will be looking for a fast start this season after the Mustangs lost four of their first six games.

They finished the year strongly and only just missed out on finals by one point.

Experienced forwards Blake Leary and Bodene Thompson both have NRL experience and will play key roles this season.

“It’s important to have guys like that in your squad,” Marcus said.

“As a coach you’re always learning things and I’ll lean on those guys.”

The Tweed Seagulls will also return this season, making it a 14-team competition with six finals spots up for grabs.

“Having Tweed Seagulls back is great for the competition and there’ll be a lot of those rivalry games on the Tweed,” Marcus said. “We know we’re going to have to work hard every week to get the two points.”

The Mustangs are back training and will take on Cudgen at Ned Byrne Field, Kingscliff in the first round of competition on the April 5–6 weekend.