Nightcliff Dragons beat Northern Sharks in NRL NT Round 6

The Nightcliff Dragons had to come back from an early deficit to see off Sharks, while the Darwin Brothers sides managed big wins in Round 6. Read the latest NRL NT action.

The Nightcliff Dragons survived a scary start from the Sharks to maintain their spot atop the NRL NT men’s championship after six rounds.

Nightcliff were top of the table after the first five rounds of the season, but with a few of their stars out and coming up against a Sharks unit finding form made for a difficult match.

However, despite conceding the opening two tries and an at-times oppressive Sharks defence the Dragons pulled through to win 16-12 and stay top six rounds in.

Reigning premiers Sharks were the side with momentum early shutting down any Nightcliff with their defensive set up led by Adam Hall.

They were the side finding more space to work through, and when a deft kick through from Johnny Pati was scooped up and set down by Thomas Laban, they had themselves a lead.

Sharks were running again shortly after, with Simaika Salaa able to make the most of a poor restart and a great pass inward found Laban who was able to roll through a tackle for his second.

It gave Nightcliff a growing mountain to climb, but half Robbie Butcher stayed composed and as Sharks gave up ground through ill-discipline, he sent Jekope Kauvere through a hole for a try.

The Dragons had the majority of the attack in the second half, but found little leeway in breaking Sharks’ defence.

Instead moments of magic were needed to find space, and as they neared the line it was Butcher who went himself holding his weight over the line to level the scoring.

The likes of Tommy Gunn and Salaa kept providing spark for the Sharks to work with, but missing men of their own such as Jacob McCarthy and David Munro took its toll.

Hudrick Mudu, Brenton Motlop and Timothy Muhammad were other key men in Nightcliff’s comeback, while Aidan Buckley proved his talents in just his second senior game.

Robbie Butcher was a standout for the Dragons against Sharks. Picture: Glenn Campbell

A crucial Mudu tackle was what gave his side territory once more, and eventually it fell to Butcher again, who this time put in a kick finding Warwick Williams for the winning score.

“That was big for our confidence, we had late changes and guys out with the army and we just kept on trying to battle and go through,” Butcher said.

“We didn’t change anything during the game, just kept on going and to go from two tries down to three tries to two really shows the character of the boys, and the spirit that’s in this team.

“We just have trust and confidence in our systems and coaches, knowing if we do we will come out the other side, and that’s really pleasing for us.

“It stems from our under-18s, we’ve got odd 30 kids running around at training, putting their hands up and backing up for us, which shows our club is in a good spot even when our depth is tested.

“Premierships aren’t won now, all we have to do is keep on building and if the results come that’s great, we’re about playing good footy, getting our systems down and blooding some young guys.”

The Darwin Brothers snapped their three-game losing run with a dominant 40-14 win over the second-placed Palmerston Raiders.

The Brethren knew they had to be up for the occasion, considering their recent form, and it was the known pace of Caleb Niki and Dallas Caulton that made the difference early.

Darwin Brothers player Caleb Niki playing in the 2024 NRL NT season. Picture: Patch Clapp / NRL NT

The pair scored a brace each while Isaac Seden-Kurnoth and Aaron Kurnoth did their own try scoring tallies no harm scoring themselves in a match that upset the run of form.

Litchfield also got back on the winning wagon with a run of tries late seeing them through to a 24-10 win against a spirited South Darwin Rabbitohs.

Julius Appo was the first to dive over the white paint for his eighth try of the season, retaining his spot on top of the leaderboard.

Souths were never out of the contest and with Corey Nowlan and Georgios Mallins going over for tries were in the contest, but Litchfield put it to bed late on with Jake Flanagan scoring twice.

The Litchfield women triumphed 50-6 over South Darwin, with Sarah O’Connor scoring a hat trick while Meg Clohesy and Piper Heath crossing twice each in the 10-try game.

Meg Clohesy scored two tries for Litchfield against South Darwin. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

And the Darwin Brothers women bounced back after trailing at half time to beat Palmerston 36-16.

Kagui Gimini crossed the paint twice for the Raiders, who continue to be the side to take the contest to the premiers, but Ellie Niki and Liana Niki showed their strength both scoring two tries.

The Litchfield women triumphed 50-6 over South Darwin, with Sarah O’Connor scoring a hat trick while Meg Clohesy and Piper Heath crossing twice each in the 10 try game.

High flying Nightcliff bracing for Sharks in NRL NT Round 6

Nightcliff coach Sam Irwin said his side started the season “much better than expected”, but they weren’t going to take any side lightly particularly with Northern Sharks up next.

The Dragons sit atop the table after five rounds of competition with their only loss coming in the season opener to Palmerston.

It’s a sharp improvement for a side that has finished outside of finals in the past couple of years and Irwin said it came down to a strong roster of players who had stuck together.

“It’s been better than expected, we’ve got a good roster and they’ve been performing well,” he said.

“We will struggle for the next couple of weeks with injuries and suspensions, but everyone’s in the same positon in that regard.

“The boys enjoy playing together and enjoy playing for each other, and that’s just aided us in what we’re trying to do.”

Nightcliff Dragons coach Sam Irwin ahead of the 2024 NRL NT season. Picture: Patch Clapp / NRL NT

Halves Robbie Butcher and Trey Crowley have been instrumental in the side’s run going forward and as a result the Dragons are the only team to have scored more than 200 points so far.

Asiveli Rauga has been another standout alongside co-captain Brenton Motlop, who gives it all defensively, while some of the club’s younger lights have given good account of themselves.

Next up is the Sharks who have been the competition’s benchmark side in recent years, and while they haven’t started the year with their known gusto are finding some form.

The Sharks beat the Darwin Brothers last week to put themselves in touching distance of the top four, and know they need to win here to maintain their momentum.

However, it was the Dragons who gave the reigning premiers their biggest defeat so far this season in a 56-14 match back in Round 3.

“The Sharks probably have the best pack in Darwin and they score a lot of tries through the middle so that’s something we’ve got to be looking at,” Irwin said.

“We just have to get the better of them up front and chop down their bigger fellas.

“The competition has a whole is probably better than ever when you throw in the fact that sides that have been struggling like us and Souths are putting good teams in every week.

“It’s great for the sport in Darwin.”

Meanwhile, the Palmerston Raiders will take on Darwin Brothers in an important tie for both sides, and Litchfield will go up against South Darwin.

Originally published as Nightcliff Dragons beat Northern Sharks in NRL NT Round 6