Home and Away is about to welcome the River Boys back to Summer Bay, with the arrival of Rory and Dingo as they help Mali out of trouble.

With Mali (Kyle Shilling) and his brother Iluka (Dion Williams) currently in serious trouble with the Allen gang, this week’s Australian episodes see Mali call on his old mate Dean (Patrick O’Connor) for help – prompting the return of the River Boys to Summer Bay.

The River Boys are a criminal gang from nearby Mangrove River, whose storylines dominated Home and Away for almost 6 years from 2011 until 2016.

Their numbers dwindled as the years went by, with Heath being the last of the brothers to leave.

He returned in 2017, having followed wife Bianca (Lisa Gormley) back the Bay. She’d taken refuge at Irene’s (Lynne McGranger) place after discovering that Heath had killed Gunno, a criminal who’d previously kidnapped Casey and tried to kill Brax.

The pair eventually patched things up, and they moved back to the city, bringing an end to the River Boys’ domination of Home and Away’s storylines.

That was until Dean Thompson arrived in February 2018.

Dean had become the new leader of the gang after the Braxtons’ demise, and they were summoned back to Summer Bay by Ash (George Mason), who was on the hunt for an on-the-run Robbo Shaw (Jake Ryan).

Ash blamed Robbo for the death of Kat Chapman (Pia Miller) and his own unborn son in a car accident, and was seeking revenge.

When the gang finally tracked down Robbo, Ash chased him up to the lighthouse whilst the boys delayed the police.

Dean was shocked when he was pinned to the ground by another recent arrival who was a new recruit to the force, former River Boy Colby Thorne (Tim Franklin). Dean soon put his River Boy life behind him (for the most part) and settled into a more relaxed life in Summer Bay, eventually finding himself running Ben’s Boards and shacking up with Ziggy (Sophie Dillman).

However, Dean could never fully put his River Boy past behind him, and the gang returned on a number of occasions to help Dean and his friends out of some sticky situations.

In the 2021 Season Return, Heath made a very brief return as he helped Ari (Rob Kipa-Williams) and Tane (Ethan Browne) deal with Paul (Jack Finsterer) and Leon (Will McNeill), two men who were terrorising the Parata brothers.

The trouble started when Tane (Ethan Browne) took part in a job for Paul which went wrong. Tane was left with a van full of stolen goods to dispose of, which unbeknownst to him also had drugs hidden in the panels.

When Ziggy and Willow (Sarah Roberts) made an ill-fated decision to dispose of the van, Ari and Tane were left indebted to Paul and Leon.

They were forced to carry out an armed robbery to pay them back, but as the day of the robbery arrived, Dean pulled in a favour and offered the Paratas help in the form of the River Boys.

As Ari, Tane, Paul and Leon arrived at a local leagues club to carry out the robbery, they were ambushed by Heath and his River Boy heavies.

The group bundled Paul and Leon into their utes and took them for a ride, roughing them up in the hopes that it would deter them from ever going after the Paratas again.

Another set of River Boys made another brief appearance in 2022, when Dean’s sister Mackenzie (Emily Weir) ended up indebted to PK King (Ryan Johnson) after running an illegal poker night. Dean and some River Boys kidnapped PK to warn him off Mac, but there was grave concern when PK later turned up dead.Whilst Ziggy gave Dean a false alibi, the police saw through it. She was angry when Dean then turned to the River Boys again to entrap the real killer, another poker player named Nathan (Ryan Panizza), whilst keeping her in the dark.She went away for a few days as she reconsidered their relationship, but ultimately chose to stay with Dean after he explained that he’d always be a River Boy.

Dean’s 2023 departure put an end to the next phase of the River Boy story, but this week will see the saga continue, as Mali (Kyle Shilling) looks for help with getting his brother Iluka out of difficulty.

Last week’s Home and Away in Australia saw the Allen siblings arrive in Summer Bay. Led by ringleader Nat (Claire Lovering), the Allens are a group of petty criminals from Mali and Iluka’s home town of Mantaray Point.