Darwin Brothers men and women win in 2025 NRL NT Round 1
The Darwin Brothers men and women have got their title defences off to winning starts against strong Sharks outfits as the 2025 NRL NT season got under way. Catch up on the Round 1 action.
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The Darwin Brothers men came back from a scoreless opening half to beat their grand final rematch rivals Northern Sharks and start their title defence on a winning note.
The Brothers and Sharks met in last year’s grand final, a match the former came out on top of after a near-perfect opening half to claim NRL NT glory in 2024.
In Round 1 the pair faced off again in a rematch that naturally came with plenty of feeling, but try line defending and a second half bounce back set the stage for the Brethren’s 20-12 win.
Sharks had the perfect start showing off their dynamism and physical might with a few bruising runs that allowed Cooper Field to go over within the first two minutes.
Adam Hall and Jacob McCarthy were able to tenderise their opposition with their bruising runs, while Jacob Collie and Simaika Salaa were as lethal as ever with ball in hand.
However, for all their brutal running proving this side that has played in the past four grand finals will be a force again they were unable to take full advantage from a scoreboard point of view.
The Brethren were brave in defence holding their foes back time and time again to ensure their early deficit did not turn into a major leak of points.
Though they weren’t able to keep their foes out forever with the weight of possession against them and eventually it was Hall who forced a hole to appear to ensure a 12-0 half time lead.
Brothers came out with better nous in the second period and had their first real attacking opportunity within a couple of minutes when a ripped ball gifted a fresh set in a strong position.
Trent Kurnoth put in a few strong runs and some smart handling from new skipper Aaron Kurnoth put the side in a strong spot that allowed young half Dallas Caulton a chance to dive over.
There were fears for the side when 2023 Frank Johnson medallist Caleb Niki appeared injured, but he stayed on inspiring the next set of attack.
That chance came soon after with Daniel Good grubbering through and charging on to the ball himself and down field to score the second and create a spark of momentum for the Brothers.
Brothers were forced back on the defence from there needing to cover the rapid Tommy Gunn near the try line, but they were up to the task eventually causing a knock on.
The Brethren made full use of that regained possession racing down field, with Aaron Kurnoth again crucial with a grubber and a secondary toe poke to gift Antonio James a try to take the lead.
They had another opportunity soon after but Sharks played their role to disrupt and Kurnoth came in with a late push off the ball that saw him sin binned.
But the Brother didn’t lose traction then again showing off their short kicking game with Caulton chipping over the top where it bounced perfectly for Albert Rubu to score the sealing try.
“At half time we went back to what we built on last year, a goldfish mentality of forgetting about what’s happened and what we can’t change and creating moments for ourselves,” Kurnoth said.
“Good backed himself and scored, Trent Kurnoth puts in a big hit and those moments inspires the rest of us and creates a buzz, we feed off each other’s energy.
“When we’re playing typical Brothers footy having fun and throwing the ball around we’re hard to stop, that off the cuff footy is built into our roots and we delivered on that in the second half.
“The strength of Sharks forward pack showed, they probably should have scored another four or five tries, defence is an attitude and we kept turning up for each other.
“I’ve been at this club since I was six, I’ve been inspired by previous captains and I had my dad give me my jersey before the game and those things push me to give 110 percent for Brothers.”
Elsewhere, the Palmerston Raiders started the new season on a strong note beating South Darwin 46-6 with Blake Blomley and Tevita Koloamatangi scoring twice each.
Litchfield also got a big win with a 46-12 triumph over the Nightcliff Dragons with Luke Mahood and Brodie Morcom the multiple try scorers.
Brothers women start their own title defence
The Darwin Brothers women have started their charge toward a fourth straight title with their opening round defeat of the Northern Sharks, who look promising for the year ahead.
There was a slight change of the guard in the Brothers squad with plenty of their young crop getting their chance in the senior side while Ellie Niki had taken up the captaincy.
And after a quiet opening half on the scoring front, in which the Round 1 cobwebs were blown off, the Brothers were able to build a 16-8 win against a Sharks outfit with plenty of promise.
Sharks had made some changes of their own with plenty of new recruits and weren’t afraid of the contest against the league’s benchmark side.
New skipper Charlize Lloyd-Phillips as well as the footy smarts of Ayesha Kay kept the Brothers on their toes as the Sharks had the possession for the majority of the opening 15 minutes.
However, the rust of early season showed as they overplayed their hand once or twice giving the Brothers something to attack.
Kelam Nona and Zoe Kurnoth were both strong in defence, while Niki and Mawgan Keats were also busy and got involved plenty.
And where their moment came in their attacking half Courtney Tamati set into motion a try finished off by Janna Ransome who grazed the white line with the ball for the only score of the first half.
Sharks had another blow early in the second half when Kay was taken off injured and soon after some great driving runs from the Brothers resulted in a Niki try.
The pressure kept coming down their throat and Sharks full back Min Heo worked incredibly hard on the defence.
However, when she was put under pressure on her own line she was stripped by Nona who came through to score the Brothers third, while Keats scored the side’s fourth.
The Sharks didn’t drop their heads and when Brothers came knocking again Jaymee Park intercepted a misplaced chip kick from Niki.
The winger realised she was in space and ran almost the length of the field to put her side on the board, and it would be her again who went over for a second ahead of the siren.
“This was our first real team run with us coming in drips and drabs during the preseason with a lot of girls still playing other sports in that time,” Niki said.
“I’m really proud of how the girls performed, our younger squad held it down for us, we spoke about attitude in defence and they all stepped up.
“A few of our experienced players are still to come back later in the season, but our younger girls did what we asked of them and showed they want to be out there.
“There was a lot of talk that Sharks had recruited well and it showed in how they gave it to us, so big ups to them too.
“It was my first game as captain and it was good to get it out of my way for my nerves, I’ve been part of the leadership group for a while but now having that title is different.
“A lot of players are still learning as we work into the season but once everyone gets on the same page it will flow for us.”
Elsewhere, grand finalists Palmerston Raiders dominated South Darwin 48-0 with Dailene Doyle and Kagui Gimini both scoring twice.
The Litchfield Bears also found themselves with a strong start beating a returning Nightcliff outfit 52-0, with Erin Luchetti starring with two tries and an accurate showing off the tee.
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