Northern Sharks men, Darwin Brothers women win in 2023 NRL NT grand finals
A dominant Sharks men’s side and a spirited Darwin Brothers women’s team were the big winners on NRL NT grand final day. Read the exciting action that wrapped up the season.
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The Northern Sharks have reclaimed the NRL NT title in a dominant display of defence and offence against a Litchfield side who showed plenty of heart in 2023.
For Sharks it was a chance to make amends for their loss in the 2022 grand final to the Palmerston Raiders, and they barely put a foot wrong as they charged to a 40-4 victory.
The Sharks came out and forced the mistakes from kick off with Matt Woolmington dropping the ball, and in an early show of passion both sides got in each other’s faces.
The niggle continued through the opening minutes and Litchfield full back David Jacobson was sin binned as a result setting the Bears at an early disadvantage.
Sharks’ captain Mitch Burke and Brent Crisp ran the game from there while Clint Chettle was consistently busy and soon enough Lachie Wright was over for the opening try.
Chances continued to come whether through Samuel Pearson or Chettle, but committed defending from the likes of Trent Wedding and Dillan Vanderburg or dropped passes put paid to those opportunities.
But they couldn’t be stopped from their second forever, with Crisp selling the dummy and charging through to score a try of his own.
A massive Bradley Sneddon run gave the Sharks another chance as the centre lay the foundation for what turned into a try for Luke Miller, who was fresh off the bench at the time.
For Litchfield’s part their chances were few and far between and when it seemed like something would go their way they either dropped the ball or couldn’t find their way through the Sharks’ wall.
The Sharks continued to dominate in the second half with David Munro finding Pearson, who absolutely splintered the Litchfield defence to score in the right corner.
And soon after it was Munro who had a try of his own sliding over the line after being picked out by Crisp to all but seal the match.
But the Bears never gave in constantly trying to give their fans something to celebrate, and it was crafty half Nathan Dixon who managed to, chucking the dummy and finding his way over the line.
It was the first and only moment of celebration in what was a long night for Litchfield, and the Sharks responded quickly as Crisp kicked cross field to set up Wright’s second try.
Pearson sliced through the Litchfield defence again in tandem with Caleb Smith to score his second, while Wright had his hat trick just before the match’s end.
Emotions flared at the death as the Bears charged it up once last time and an end-of-game scuffle resulted in the send off Sharks’ Adam Hall and Bears’ Woolmington and Rhys Morcom.
Sharks’ captain Mitch Burke said the victory was so much sweeter on the back of the 2022 grand final defeat.
“This feels so good after last year, it’s a big weight off our shoulders, a massive relief, it should have been three in a row,” Burke said.
“We’ve just been so dominant over the past three years and it’s so fulfilling to come away with this result.
“They’re all my best mates, I don’t go to town with anyone else, we’re tight as a group and it shows out there, this just means the world to us.
“All the boys love being in this club, we have a great committee and coaching staff and everyone around the club is awesome, so it’s a rewards for them.”
Litchfield captain Wedding said his side were obviously gutted with the defeat, but were expecting to improve again for 2024.
“We’re gutted, I have no words for it, the boys worked so hard all year with our backs against the wall and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Wedding said.
“Our average age is probably 23 while Sharks have quality players who have been together for years, they’re a well-gelled, quality team and hats off to them, they put the work in.
“We didn’t really get many chances and those we did or in our own half so we couldn’t really do anything with the footy, particularly with the penalty count against us.
“We’ll 100 per cent be back next year, compare where we were last year to now, we can go one better next year.”
Darwin Brothers women go back to back
The Darwin Brothers women’s squad has continued their season-long dominance to claim the 2023 premiership over the Palmerston Raiders.
For the fourth year in a row the women’s NRL NT grand final was settled between the league powerhouses with the Brothers taking the win 14-10.
The Brothers brought the intensity right from the opening minutes with captain Bianca Scrymgour and Ellie Niki charging the ball up the field.
And it wasn’t long after the ball found its way to Ivana Schober who took the line on and went through for the opening try.
But just as it looked like it could be a one-way game, Raiders struck back with Theresa Paterson and Shanoah Leedie carrying up the middle.
The foundations they set gave Deanna Peckham the room to pick out dangerous Kagui Gimini who was able to expose a gap on the left edge to score.
Raiders had the majority of possession from there carrying the ball in the right spots and completing their sets to put real pressure on the Brothers.
However, the Brothers’ goal line defence, despite being tested to its limits, fought hard with player after playing throwing their bodies at ball carriers to keep Palmerston out.
They were able to clear their lines off the back of some big runs from Niki, while a massive carry from Cassiela Wapau set up Bianca Stokes to charge through a couple of phases later.
Despite the confidence booster the Brothers did fumble the restart giving Palmerston the advantage early in the second half.
And they took those chances with Paterson strong on carry while Victoria Alley attacked the line, and while she was brought down her work did allow Yasmin Isaac a sneaky try from dummy half.
Uncharacteristic errors did creep into the Brothers’ game and Palmerston didn’t stop applying the pressure in response, though they did lose Gimini to injury.
A massive run from Tahlia Hazel did seem to set Rose-Maree Goninon up for what seemed like a near-certain try, but the play was brought back in a let off for the Brothers.
And they responded then increasing their intensity and finding room for the season’s leading try scorer Latoniya Norris room to run into.
Niki and Wapau brought the ball up the ground, but it was Leeanne Allia who made the play of the day with a long cross field kick which bounced up perfectly for Jacinda Summers to run in a try.
And while Palmerston didn’t stop coming it was the final scoring move of the day giving Brothers their second NRL NT premiership in as many years.
“It’s amazing, we copped so much criticism through the week with people saying we weren’t good enough,” Scrymgour said.
“It was tough, we knew it would be tough, and I give credit to them there but we did it.
“Defence wins games, we’ve got a sign in our change room which all the Brothers teams see which says ‘defence is attitude’, and that’s what we needed to bring and we did.
“I get emotional when talking about these girls, I wear my heart on my sleeve, we work hard week in week out and I’m just beyond proud of them, I can’t even describe it.”
Red-hot Sharks take on talented Litchfield in finals clash
The red-hot Northern Sharks are hoping the past is behind them when they take on a Litchfield side brimming with young talent in the 2023 NRL NT grand final.
Sharks have been the benchmark side for the past three seasons winning the premiership in 2021, and then coming within a whisker of back-to-back titles in 2022, losing to Palmerston.
It’s that loss which has defined their 2023 campaign with early losses to Litchfield and Brothers the only marks on their record.
They’re currently on an 11-match winning streak, including three wins in a row against the Bears, who the Sharks have only conceded four points to across their past two matches.
And captain Mitch Burke has put full credit in that progress on his side’s effort, camaraderie and defensive prowess.
But he and his squad, including experienced campaigners such as some of the season’s best Brent Crisp, Samuel Pearson, Clint Chettle and Jaydon Sneddon, know there’s no room for complacency.
“We’re very excited to be here again, it’s our third grand final in a row so we have a bit of experience,” Burke said.
“There’s a lot of boys from last year who are playing again so I think we’ve learned a lot from the past three years, and while we’re pretty confident we know not to get overwhelmed.
“We’re a pretty tight group, we’re all best mates with each other and love being around each other which just shows on the footy field.
“We’ve worked hard and we’re started to fire now, those first couple of games we lost really made us stand up and it’s been a good year since.”
Meanwhile, Litchfield have had to go the long way around having dropped their first semi-final against the Sharks in a match they only scored when their opponents were down to 10 men.
It was a defining moment for the young squad who started the season so brightly, and they responded with heart beating the Darwin Brothers 20-12 with just 12 men for most of the match.
For the big occasion they will be looking to some of their big carriers such as Dillan Vanderburg and Brody Race to set the platform for halves Nathan Dixon and Matthew Woolmington to work off.
Captain Trent Wedding knows his side have a massive task ahead of them with the battle in the middle set to define the outcome.
“We’re definitely confident, we lost against them in the semis but last week’s win really boosted our confidence, we scored a few tries and the group was really happy off that,” Wedding said.
“Our goal line defence is our strength, we hold guys out a lot there with our defensive pressure, while our attacking kicking game is another strength of ours.
“We started the season really well with our winning streak and then dropped off a little bit, but to bounce back from that patch helped grow the guy’s confidence again.
“Winning last week showed the attitude and effort our boys have through number 1 to 17, no matter who comes in and out each week they fill in their spot and role and do us proud.
“We just have to compete, limit our errors and penalties and not let ourselves get in a position where they score points in bunches.”
Raiders, Brothers clash in fourth women’s grand final in a row
For the fourth year in a row the women’s NRL NT grand final will be settled between league powerhouses Darwin Brothers and the Palmerston Raiders.
The Brothers have been the benchmark side in that period going undefeated in 2022 and they almost achieved the feat again in 2023.
That was until the Raiders beat them 18-10 in the semi-final to earn direct entry into the grand final, and force Brothers into a battle with the much-improved Litchfield Bears.
Now they meet again and four of the Brothers’ best Latoniya Norris, Ellie Niki, Ivana Schober and captain Bianca Scrymgour are back in the side.
Scrymgour said her side needed the wake-up call the loss brought to avoid taking any complacency into the big dance.
“You never want to go into a grand final fully undefeated, so to get that wakeup call and then have another opportunity to have a crack was what we needed,” she said.
“We’re pretty confident but it’s a grand final and anyone’s game, it’s definitely going to come down to who wants it the most.
“It’s going to come from the heart obviously, Palmerston are a powerhouse and they’ve always been our competition, a team we always look forward to playing.
“We lost to them in the semis and now we’re just excited and pumped for the challenge on Saturday, it will be a match which comes down to the last minute.”
It comes as Brothers’ forward Niki won the Gaynor Maggs best and fairest medal, also claiming the leading point scorer accolade, while Norris topped the try scoring tally.
“I get a bit emotional when I speak about Ellie, because her journey where she wasn’t actually going to be playing at the start of the season,” Scrymgour said.
“To come away with a prestigious award, after the hard work and effort she’s put in throughout the season, she deserves it undeniably.
“I’m absolutely thrilled for her and I can’t wait to get on the field with her this weekend and hopefully back it up.”
Meanwhile, Palmerston have plenty of powerful players of their own including Lucy Aigea who is a game breaker upfront, and also a proven finisher with 12 tries to her name.
Kagui Gimini is also sure to put pressure on the scoreboard with her ability to find the white line in broken play, while Victoria Alley can kick through the sticks from just about anywhere.
The Raiders are a side who have built their way into the 2023 season only losing once outside of a Brothers match, and have been playing some of their better matches late in the year.
Captain Briannon Ross praised her squad’s efforts to getting to the grand final, but said Raiders knew they were in for a challenge.
“We’re very keen to get on the field and get the job done,” she said.
“This will definitely be a challenge, we’ve been getting close to them each game this season and we got the win the major semi, but this is the game it’s all about.
“It’s just about focusing on what our strengths are and focusing on each individual to get that job done. We just have to focus on ourselves and what we can do.
“It’s definitely a good, friendly rivalry and it’s always good quality league when we go head to head with them.
“It’s awesome to see, great to watch and is all about building that culture in Darwin for the Women’s League which is growing with plenty of quality young players coming through.”
“Our players live and breathe league, we have a couple of quiet achievers and it’s good to see them getting recognised.”
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Originally published as Northern Sharks men, Darwin Brothers women win in 2023 NRL NT grand finals
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