South Darwin Rabbitohs forfeit senior matches against Litchfield, while Nightcliff celebrate massive milestone
South Darwin Rabbitohs forfeited both their senior grade fixtures against Litchfield, while the Nightcliff Dragons celebrated their 60th anniversary. ALL THE NRL NT ACTION HERE
Northern Territory
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SOUTH Darwin Rabbitohs forfeited both their A-Grade and Reserve Grade fixtures against Litchfield Bears, while the Nightcliff Dragons celebrated their 60th anniversary.
The Bunnies were set to play at the Bears’ home ground as the lone Saturday A-Grade match of Round 13.
However, only hours before, it was announced on the Litchfield Facebook page that their opposition, who came off a heavy 72-6 round 12 loss, had forfeited in both divisions.
NRL NT general manager Tony Crowe said the organisation were seeking a please explain from the club.
“We understand there is a family illness that has impacted five or six players leading to this result,” Crowe said.
South Darwin were contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, one of Territory rugby’s oldest clubs Nightcliff Dragons have celebrated their 60th anniversary.
The Dragons are historically one of Darwin’s most successful clubs in both the men’s and women’s comps, with their most recent A-Grade premiership being in 2015.
On Saturday members past and present gathered at the Darwin Turf Club to celebrate the occasion following a Friday night of matches against Northern Sharks.
The Sharks came up trumps in the A-Grade winning 34-16 to give their 200 gamer Cameron Versteegh, who also previously played at Dragons, a match to remember.
It was a highly competitive game which was also played in remembrance of Noel ‘The King’ Turvey, Nightcliff founding member and the Sharks’ first ever coach.
It was Dragons turn to roar in the women’s match as they won 10-8 against a challenging Sharks side, and in doing so pulled off their first victory of the season.
Second placed Darwin Brothers will take on third placed Palmerston Raiders in the Sunday night fixture at TRL Stadium.
Forward power gets Palmerston sides over the line
PALMERSTON Raiders dug deep and came up trumps in a thrilling 40-32 win over Litchfield Bears in the NRL NT A-Grade competition.
Although Palmerston had plenty of the early territory it was Litchfield who were first to put their names on the board.
Bears found plenty of success in their first few pushes into the Palmerston half, and it was captain David Jacobson who made the move with a chip and chase, both his own, to score the opener.
It wasn’t long before the captain was the cause of celebrations once again weaving through the Raiders’ defence to dot down the second.
Palmerston had their chances early on as well, but the Bears’ defence mostly held strong, until a flat pass from Jacob Rainger put his captain Alex Johnson into space for a try.
But Jacobson, who was everywhere early on, slipped through a tackle to get another one down, off the back of strong ball control from halves Nathan Dixon and Brodie Morcom.
Raiders did just enough to keep their heads in the game ahead of half time with Matt Bennett and Shane Smith providing strong carries to allow Johnson to score his second.
And on the opposite side of the half time Rainger pounced on a Josh Strzelecki charge down to see the scores levelled.
The scores tied it was Litchfield’s turn to try and kindle something from the game and reclaim the lead.
Deep passes back from Aaron Barnes and Nathan Dixon saw the ball find the hands of Jacobson once more, and again he did not disappoint stepping half of Palmerston to claim his fourth try.
And with the momentum and lead reclaimed Bears came again, with Nathan Dixon diving under the posts to join the try scorer list.
It was then Palmerston flicked a switch and the momentum of the back and forth encounter turned again, and soon a big carry from Nasoni Rokobiau put Will Nugraha through for a try.
Palmerston didn’t stop coming in the final ten minutes, showing their fitness and want to win.
And they got the scores they needed, the first from Brad Hansen to go take the lead and another one Will Smith secured the Raiders win.
“We had a bit of a chat one of Litchfield’s try, we all banded together and everyone stood up from there, so really good effort from all the boys,” Johnson said.
“It came down to the character from the boys. Everyone dug deep and did for each other and in the end we came out trumps.
“Our forwards were getting us a few quick plays and got us on the front foot. And that just makes our job a lot easier when they’re giving us opportunities.
“We just want to keep building momentum now going into finals. We still have a few players out, but hopefully once we have them rolling back in we’ll be firing come finals.”
Meanwhile, it was dominant wins elsewhere in the comp with Brothers beating Nightcliff 72-6, while Northern Sharks pulled off the same scoreline over South Darwin.
Forward power gets Palmerston women over the line
PALMERSTON’S depth in ball carriers saw them overpower their Litchfield rivals and surge to a 30-8 win in Round 12 of the NRL NT women’s premiership.
Litchfield gave themselves every chance in the opening minutes with Kiyannah Toy and Genna Stiles constant dangers off the back of their ball carriers.
It wasn’t long before their early pressure was rewarded in points with Phoebe Caudill able to weave through the Raiders’ defence to score the opening try.
However, despite their continued pressure a massive 50m tackle-breaking carry from Palmerston’s Lucy Aigea completely changed the momentum of the game.
From there Raiders were on the front foot and Ruti Vaitusi Faatoafe was able to notch her side’s first of the day.
Palmerston kept coming and were able to put another score over the line before the end of the half through the ever-dangerous Ciara Aigea.
The Bears defended hard, but against the bigger runners from Palmerston they were forced to tackle in numbers stretching their defence.
Vaitusi Faatoafe charged through for her second, before Lucy Aigea, who had seen both her sisters already get a try powered through to grab one for herself.
Litchfield never gave up and captain Shari Togo crossed the white paint for the Bears’ second.
But Raiders’ Debbie Gimini scored one soon after to wrap up proceedings for Palmerston.
Raiders’ Ashley Stott credited the sides big runners for putting the team on the front foot.
“It was good to get the win. It was great to have girls come back from injury and sickness allowing us to regroup heading into the end of the season,” Stott said.
“Our forwards are definitely really strong and set a really good platform, which our back players really feed off.
“Now we just need to continue to regroup, keep up the good energy and lift the intensity heading towards the end of the season.”
Meanwhile, the Darwin Brothers women delivered a 60-0 beating of Nightcliff.
Sharks sides triumph in thrilling NRL NT Round 11
A DOMINANT first half effort kept the Northern Sharks outfit unbeaten streak alive after they beat Palmerston Raiders 38-6 in Round 11 of the NRL NT A-Grade competition.
The Raiders had plenty to play for looking to further their finals hopes, while celebrating 25 years at the club for one of their veterans, Brad Hansen.
But it was always going to be a tough ask coming up against the reigning premiers and so far unbeaten in 2022 Sharks.
As they have so often this season Sharks dominated from the outset creating overlaps in attack instantly putting Raiders on the back foot.
It wasn’t long until they scored their opening try through Lachie Wright and soon after they had added they two more to their name through David Munro and Simika Salaa.
Palmerston’s early woes went from bad to worse when Cooper Segeyaro cleanly gathered a chip to run in the fourth try to set a lofty target.
Raiders had their digs with attempts to get the ball out to their strikes runners in Tevita Kanalagi and Will Beers.
Hansen brought plenty of aggression with hard runs and harder tackles lifting his side to the occasion.
But every time they looked on for a score Sharks were quick to pounce and turn the tables to their advantage.
That eventuality was best displayed when the ball was spilled in a promising Palmerston attack and bounced perfectly for Samuel Pearson, who went on to run 90m to score under the posts.
The landslide of Sharks scores slowed down in the second half as they were forced to do more defending.
However, after 20 minutes of back and forth between the sides it was Wright who once again found his way over for the outfit.
Raiders kept plugging away and finally managed some points for their efforts when a Hansen pass was picked up by Beers, who ran a score in under the posts.
It was Sharks who had the last say when 17-year-old debutant Brandon Norris raced down the left wing to plant down a try on the buzzer.
Sharks coach PD Downes said the culture within the Sharks squad is at a high after going 11 rounds without a loss.
“Everyone’s feeling the vibe and everyone is taking part and getting involved with what we’re doing,” Downes said.
“There’s a culture and camaraderie within this team that has really clicked. They’ve just connected and have a really good understanding with each other.
“We just take it week by week and just focus on what we need to do, rather than looking at anything else.
“David Munro impressed coming back from injury, and I was pleased with Norris. We weren’t sure how we were going to utilise him, so he got the opportunity to show what he was made of and bagged a try.”
On the other side of the fence it wasn’t the result Hansen wanted but for him it meant a lot to still be able to represent the club he had spent so long at.
In his 25 years at Raiders he has seen the club transform from struggling to put a side together to a consistent finals team.
“It means a lot, I’ve been playing here since I was five-years-old and a lot has changed,” Hansen said.
“In my first couple of years of A-Grade we were barely able to make a side and got pumped and then winning the premiership in 2011 and 2013. We’ve come a long way as a club and it’s great.
“It wasn’t the result we wanted, but we’re sitting in the top three and we have potential, just a bit short on numbers
“No excuses, Sharks are the better team at the moment. We just need to look forward to taking it off them come finals and focus on building that brotherhood and tightness among our group.”
Meanwhile, Darwin Brothers kept their top two hopes alive with a 32-10 win over Litchfield Bears, with captain Isacc Sedan-Kurnoth and Caleb Niki among the try scorers.
And the Nightcliff Dragons pulled off a massive 74-18 victory over South Darwin.
Northern Sharks women survive late Palmerston raids
THE Northern Sharks survived a closing-minute charge to see off Palmerston Raiders 16-14 in round 11 of the NRL NT Women’s competition.
The Raiders made the first impression with their big runners getting their legs pumping early to batter the defence.
And it was ever-dangerous Ciara Aigea who broke through for the opening try, taking defenders with her on her way over the line.
The Sharks were quick to return the favour, running elusive lines through the Palmerston defence until captain Deanna Peckham scored on the right wing. Peckham made sure her side didn’t slow down following the try and caught her Palmerston rivals on the back foot, darting through a defensive gap.
Soon after Tokeru Munro crossed the line ball in hand to put the Sharks ahead.
It was then their turn on the defence and against the bigger bodies of their Palmerston rivals they were forced to do it in numbers.
Ashley Stott controlled the game with her kicking game while her big runners gained ground with every carry.
And up close there was no stopping Aigea who powered through for her second try of the day, levelling the scores at halftime.
The scoring back and forth slowed down in the second half with both sides getting their turn with ball in hand.
The Sharks broke the deadlock as Grace Bailey tumbled over the tryline, and it wasn’t long until she put another four-pointer on the board.
Palmerston was down, but a converted try from Aigea had it right back in the game but the clock was against it.
Sharks coach Anthony Castro was pleased with his side’s showing across the park.
“This was a relieving win, it’s been good for us to get numbers to training and it showed out there, he said.“We’re starting to play to be a bit of a structure in offence and they all stuck together in defence, so it was good.”
Meanwhile, the Darwin Brothers women remained unbeaten with a 24-0 win over Litchfield.
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