‘It’s not the same.’

Home and Away fans are divided after it was announced that one of the show’s most popular storylines would be reintroduced over the next few weeks. A new teaser shared on Friday reveals that “a new generation” of River Boys, a criminal gang inspired by the real-life Bra Boys group, is coming to Summer Bay.

The River Boys were first introduced in 2011 and centred around Darryl ‘Brax’ Braxton (Steve Peacocke) and his brothers Heath (Dan Ewing), Casey (Lincoln Younes) and Kyle (Nic Westaway). The group is based in nearby Mangrove River and its members are easily identifiable thanks to their questionable tattoos.

The most recent River Boy was Dean Thompson (Patrick O’Connor), however, he left the show in March 2023.

While some fans said they were thrilled to see the return of the River Boys in Summer Bay and that it was “about flamin’ time”, a majority of viewers agreed it would be amazing if the original members made their long-awaited return.

“Definitely need Brax and Heath to come back to join them,” one person commented, to which another added, “Omg that would be the best”.

“Need some of the original boys back!” someone else agreed, with others saying that it would be great to see the return of Colby Thorne (Tim Franklin) who was sent to prison after murdering his abusive stepfather.

“It’s not the same we need the originals the Braxtons, Ash, Dean, Colby back. I stopped watching TV since Colby left,” a different user replied, followed by another who said, “How good would it be for Colby to come back!”.

Meanwhile, others said they were disappointed by the return of the River Boys and wished that the show could introduce some new storylines.

“Need some new families in the Bay and more realistic storylines please!” one fan replied, while another shared, “Yawn. Get a new producer with new ideas. One Trick Pony”.

“We needed kids and family and the school. Not more crimbos,” someone else remarked.