Byron Bay Vixens finished a busy weekend in the Southern Cross Credit Union Women’s Premier League on a huge high taking maximum points from their two matches and moving up to equal first.

Friday night proved to be another goal feast for the Vixens as they ran in 8 unanswered goals against Tumbulgum Rangers. A four goal haul to midfielder Rose Argent and a brace to Cory Johnstone were the highlights as was the goal keeping display of Rangers Laura Reynolds who gave her all trying to stem the tide.

The tireless running and distribution of Byron’s pint sized Christy Hopley was the major difference between the two sides as was the finishing of Argent and Johnstone.

Backing up again on Sunday, Byron had a more difficult task against an improving Workers FC who had managed to take a point off runaway leaders Lennox Head in their Friday night encounter following a 0-0 draw.

Hopley was again the difference between the two teams popping up to score the winner againts the tiring Workers girls. Best for Workers was Jess Davidson, while Hopley and Sophie Butler were strong for Byron.

Workers Friday night match up with Lennox proved to be one of the games of the season with both sides pushing to get a result.

Open attacking football entertained the small crowd on hand but neither side could find the breakthrough to take the 3 points on offer. Best for Lennox were Amanda Brett and Martene Wallace while Gypsy Hechtl of Workers had an outstanding game.

In the other WPL fixture Richmond Rovers consigned Burringbar to the bottom of the league with an excellent 3-1 win.

Goals to Tamika Morrissey, Rosanne Bartlett and Richelle Freys set Rovers on the path to their first win of the season proving that last weekends improved form was not a one off.

For an under strength and undermanned Burringbar, coach Ralf Van de Scheur will be pleased with the efforts of Kelsie Clark and Morgan Lowe, with Clark scoring the solitary goal for the Bandits.

The mixture of Friday and Sunday games appears to be taking it’s toll on the Burringbar side who need to get their season back on track in a hurry.

Tweed Heads & Tumbulgum Rangers chances at promotion to the FFNC Premiership dramatically improved over the weekend as league leaders Lismore Thistles stumbled to a  1-1 draw in their local derby against South Lismore.

Tweed were made to work hard in their Newton, Denny, Chapelle Championship fixture, against an improving Casino battling out a 2 - 1 win while Rangers proved to strong for a struggling and injury ravaged Uki running in a 5 - 1 demolition.

Rangers hold a strong goal difference at this stage and fully deserve thier place on top.

For Thistles this is an opportunity lost as they already have a game in hand against Uki - and given the Pythons form this year it was probably a certain 3 points. Now they will have to use this postponed fixture just to grab back the lead.

For Souths the result was positive but doesn’t improve their league position at all - if anything it has allowed both Alstonville and Woodburn to close the gap between the top five and 6th & 7th making any further stumbles costly.

Alstonville and Woodburn picked up solid wins over Pottsville and Murwillumbah Saints, 2-1 and 4-0 respectively.

Next weekends fixtures between Souths and Woodburn and Thistles and Tumbulgum now take on extra importance as lost points here could hand Tweed, Alstonville and Pottsville an opportunity to reshape the table again.

Pottsville Beach Panthers were the big movers in round 6 of the NDC Championship as results brought the top six together with only a three point gap seperating first and fifth.

The Panthers proved that they will be a strong contender this year as they downed Tumbulgum Rangers 4 - 2 in an entertaining clash at Brian Breckenridge field. The win catupulted the Panthers to equal first as Lismore Thistles had the weekend off with players committed to the Far North Coast Suns.

Goals to James Lewis, Ben Blair and a double to Steven Pilcher secured the win for Pottsville with Darren Janezic and Tait Burns Vickery keeping Rangers in the hunt. Janezic was the most effective for Rangers while for the Panthers goalscorers Blair and Pilcher lead by example.

Third placed Tweed Heads sqeezed out a positive result over Alstonville in another tight affair. A solitary goal to Daniel French gave Tweed their second win of the season over Villa after their win in the Tursa Anzac Cup last month.

This win puts Tweed into fourth spot on the ladder but more importantly closes the gap between themselves and Thistles for the time being at least. Best for Tweed were Stephen Sing and Daniel French while Luke Wardrop gave his all for Alstonville.

Casino registered a good 3 - 2 win over an inconsistent Woodburn Wolves at Colley Park. The Cobras started slowly but eventually took control with Kevin Butwell, Ben Zeller and Trent George hitting the mark.

The Wolves replied through Dave Betteridge and Daniel Simpson but it was not enough to stop Casino from registering their second home win of the season. The result giving them plenty of encouragement to move further up the ladder.

South Lismore also increased the pressure on the top four with a strong showing against a determined Murwillumbah Saints. Souths controlled the majority of possession but a resolute Saints defence made it hard for the visitors.

A double to both Shaun McDonald and Max Toovey proved the difference with Saints only strike remaining uncredited by match official Jim Byrnes.

This one did end on a sour note with three red cards seeing the dismissal of Josh O’Driscoll of Souths and Bloomfield and Scholes for Saints. The suspensions of all three will impact on their teams performances in round 7 as Souths take on top of the ladder Lismore Thistles in the match of the round while Murwillumbah’s chances of taking anything from their visit to Woodburn greatly diminishing.

Round 7 of the Southern Cross Women’s Premier League produced predictable results with the leagues top three teams broadening what is now becoming a gulf between the top and bottom sides.

Friday nights fixture promised to be a competitive game given both Burringbar and Byron had close encounters during the Tursa Pre-Season. To some degree the match lived up to this expectation or at least it did until halftime, as the Bandits kept Byron within reach at only one goal down at the break.

The second half saw Byron step up a gear and aided by the loss of the bandits Heather Thomas with a recurring quad strain the Vixens produced another 5 goals to run out 6 - 1 winners, the bandits solitary strike coming from a nice Laura Cahill strike.

Best for Byron were Amy Baldwin and Jaime Picken with Rose Argent picking up a brace of goals to round out a pleasant evening out, while the pick of the bandits was Sharde Pohato.

League leaders Lennox Sharks again destroyed the opposition in what is becoming a predictable occurrance slamming in eight unanswered goals against a resolute Tumbulgum.

Hatricks to Abigail Allardyce and Chelsea Coleman were the highlight of the night with Martene Wallace also scoring a brace to round out the scoring for Lennox.

Best for Tumbulgum Sandra Zietlow and Kim Gallard who tried their hardest but the Tumbulgum girls really could only do their best to limit the damage.

In the Lismore derbyWorkers FC out fought Richmond Rovers 3 - 0 with Sheree Coubrough picking up a double and proving her form is on the way up and Gypsy Hechtl grabbing the other.

For Workers Coubrough and Nadine Toniello were outstanding while for Rovers the form of Richelle Freys is something to take away from the match.

This game did serve a good purpose as it proved that the teams at the bottom can compete against the top three, but perseverence is going to be the key to creating an upset this year.

Tumbulgum Rangers grabbed early bragging rights in the Southern Cross Credit Union WPL as they disposed of local rivals Burringbar 3 - 1 at Brian Breckenridge field last Friday night.

Rangers had been in poor form leading into this match but that accounted for nothing as the girls showed committment and composure in front of goal to comfortably take the match.

Best for Rangers were Brooke Brehaut and Laura Reynolds both who scored goals with Brehaut picking up a brace while for Burringbar Kelsie Clark tried hard along with Jacqueline Van de Sheur.

Elsewhere Lennox put 9 past Rovers for the second week running consigning the 2006 champions to the bottom of the table. A hat trick for Abigail Allardyce was the feature for the Sharks with a brace also to Martene Wallace.

Best on field were Martene Wallace and Allardyce for Lennox with Jessica Pickford the pick for an outclassed Rovers.

Byron Bay moved into second place with a solid 5 - 0 win over Workers FC.

The Byron Vixens knocked the ball round well keeping the Workers defence under pressure for most of the game and strikers Rose Argent and Chloe Dunsmore well supplied with opportunities.

Dunsmore proved to be the more potent grabbing 4 goals with Cory Johnstone adding the extra.

For Workers Gypsy Hechtl did not stop trying and best for Workers were Dunsmore and Baldwin.

Looking ahead to Round 6 Buuringbar will have to give their best at home against Byron on Friday night, Workers and Rovers will lock horns in a local Lismore derby on Sunday and Lennox will travel to Tumbulgum who may just come crashing back down to earth.

Lismore Grounds- Open

Ballina Grounds- Open

Byron Bay Grounds- Open

Tweed Grounds - At Owners Discretion.

Lennox Head and Italo Stars will meet up this Saturday at Skennars Head in what should prove to be a tight but entertaining clash.

With both sides on 8 points apiece they will be keen to take the advantage and close the gap on leaders Rovers.

Stars go into the game having conceded goals in every outing so far while Lennox have only managed just the one clean sheet which was to bottom side Workers FC.

That should make for plenty of goals with defences likely to be under pressure for the full 90 minutes. The match of the round kicking off from 5.00pm.

Leaders Rovers will have their toughest outing to date when they take on Goonellabah who are fresh from their success over Ballina. This Mothers Day game at 3.00pm maybe to close to call.

Fourth placed Byron Bay need to shake of their early season jitters and injuries to keep Burringbar under control and take bragging rights in this first ever derby between the Premierships most northern clubs.

The bandits will be hard to stop as they too broke through for their first win of the season last week over struggling Workers FC. Byron Bay will be the venue with kick off at 5.00pm.

Speaking of the Redmen they will have some hope of redemption when Bangalow visit Richards Oval at 3.00pm, but the Bluedogs will be primed for another three points after a disappionting fortnight.

Finally the Maclean v Ballina match at Saunders Oval from 3.00pm should also be a close affair with the Bobcats showing some positive improvement after a inconsistent start and Ballina coming back down to earth after a close loss to Goonellabah last week.

Lennox Head sounded an ominous warning to all clubs in the Southern Cross Credit Union WPL on the weekend with a 12 goal destruction of 2006 champions Richmond Rovers.

This win has continued the fine form Lennox have shown so far and it appears only Byron Bay is in any position to halt their march to the title having recently shortchanged the Lennox girls coming away with a 3 all draw.

Byron currently sit in 3rd place behind Workers FC and Lennox but they have a game in hand on the leaders so the opportunity to close the gap to just two points will give the Bay girls plenty to play for.

Tumbulgum, Rovers and Burringbar have started the season slowly and their ability to make the top five will come down to how each team competes against the other as they already sit five points adrift of the leading three teams.

This Mothers Day Round will provide the first WPL local derby in the northern suburbs as Tumbulgum host Burringbar on Friday night from 8.00pm while in the south on Sunday, Rovers will have all hands to the pump as they meet up with Lennox for the second time in eight days at Nielson Park at 2.30pm and Workers and Byron will feature in the match of the round at Richards Oval from 12.30pm.

Tumbulgum Rangers have proved the big improvers in the Newton Denny Chapelle Championship taking control of the league after the first four rounds.

After last weeks scalping of South Lismore, Rangers were always going to be too strong for a struggling Woodburn. Rangers finishing the day with a 5 - 2 win.

In the match of the round neither Alstonville or Souths could claim the points and close the gap on Tumbulgum with the game ending in a tight 1 all draw.

Thistles also continued their charge towards promotion with a solid 3 - 0 win over another of the seasons early improvers Pottsville.

Elsewhere Tweed got back to winning ways with a 5 - 1 demolition of Uki and Casino scored their first win of the year with a 1 - 0 win over a struggling Murwillumbah.

Richmond Rovers have opened up a nice four point break over the trailing pack after round four concluded on sunday.

The east lismore giants have managed to secure four wins from four as they destroyed newly promoted Bangalow 4 - 1 on saturday. Rovers have met to date the leagues struggling sides but have dished out a strong lesson in the process.

Stars and Byron tested each other with neither team coming away with much as the game ended in a tame 1 all draw. As did the meeting of Lennox and Maclean with the sharks coming away from the difficult road trip south with a point after a 2 all draw.

Burringbar were the rounds big improvers registering their first win with a 7 - 0 thrashing of Workers, including a hat trick to striker Simon Hurcombe.

Goonellabah also managed to shake the monkey off their back with a solid 2 - 1 win over Ballina.

The chasing pack to Rovers who are on 12 points are Stars & Lennox on 8, Byron on 7, Ballina on 6, Maclean 5, Bangalow 4, Goonellabah and Burringbar on 3 apiece and Workers 0.