Cougars, Pirates and Swampdogs get the chockies on grand final day
From premiership droughts being broken to mother-daughter duos lifting the cup, all three NTRU grand finals delivered in spades. Relive all the action.
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From premiership droughts being broken and mother-daughter duos lifting the cup, all three NTRU grand finals delivered in spades.
Relive all the action.
A-grade: Casuarina Cougars 33 def. 30 University Pirates
The Casuarina Cougars have claimed their second premiership in a row after snatching victory at the death.
In a contest that could have gone either way, Casuarina sunk the dagger into University’s hearts when Trey Crowley slotted the game winning penalty goal after the full time siren, to win for his Cougars in a 33-30 scoreline.
And despite scoring four tries to Casuarina’s three, University’s ill-discipline in their own half gifted the Cougars 12 points from penalty goals.
Keeping true to this season’s form, both Casuarina and University went blow for blow and point for point throughout the entire 80 minutes.
In a frenetic and full-on affair, Casuarina were their own worst enemies on numerous occasions.
As for the Pirates, they took full advantage of Casuarina’s errors, scoring all three of their first half tries off mistakes.
The most spectacular of which was scored by Hugh Harbeck after he chased down an attempted Casuarina clearance in their own 10m, to score next in the corner.
The Cougars fought their way back into the game in the second half and took the lead with three minutes to go after University’s main man Robbie Butcher was sent for 10 in the bin.
University levelled the score at 30-30 with a minute and a half to play, but couldn’t keep out a rampaging Casuarina pack who drew the game winning penalty with 30 seconds on the clock.
“This is what makes finals so amazing,” Cougars’ captain Alani Malupo said after the game.
“These games come down to who can dig in the deepest and even though we were behind for a fair chunk of the game, we just had to trust one another and grind and grind and grind till the final play.
“Our plan of pick-and-drive was one of our strengths and we knew that they’d crack.
“And in those final minutes of the game is when the true character of players comes out, and fortunately for us, we stuck with it and got the win at the very end.”
Women: University Pirates 24 def. 0 Darwin Dragons
The University Pirates have toppled the back-to-back defending champions Darwin Dragons in stunning fashion.
Dominating the play from start to finish, the Pirates kept the yellow and black scoring machine scoreless while piling on 24 of their own in a 24-0 scoreline.
Taking full advantage of Darwin’s depleted pack, University’s forwards terrorised the Dragons through the middle, in turn, creating wide open holes for their backs to jet through and eat up field position.
Despite six Palmerston Crocs players filling the void of the Darwin players who chose to represent the NT in the rugby league rep side at nationals, the Dragons looked out of shape from the off, and struggled all game to find any momentum, and were unable to string anything of substance together in attack.
Overwhelmed with their victory, mother daughter duo Crystal and Paige McCourt couldn’t believe that they’d pulled off the upset.
“This is absolutely awesome,” Paige said.
“This is so great, I can’t believe we’ve finally finished the job.”
“I can’t explain how I’m feeling at the moment,” Crystal said.
“I think that from day dot we (Pirates) came together and formed a bit of a sisterhood early on and we’ve been a tight-knit group all season.
“We knew that we had the ability to win, but for me, being able to achieve this and have this moment alongside my daughter is surreal.
“I’m so happy.”
B-grade: Swampdogs 17 def. 15 Casuarina Cougars
The Swampdogs have broken their decade-plus premiership drought by the narrowest of margins.
Coming into the contest as the self confessed ‘underdogs’ the Dogs gritted their teeth to win in a tight 17-15 scoreline over the defending champions Casuarina Cougars.
Piling on the pressure early and pinning the Cougars inside their own 22, the Dogs finally broke through in the 13th, courtesy of a crash play to get on the board.
The Swampdogs continued to hold the lead until Casuarina’s Ice-man got the ball in space and scored a 50m solo try despite the Dogs’ best efforts.
The Cougars extended their lead not long after but went into the break down 14-12 after conceding on the stroke of half time.
The Swampdogs extended their lead almost immediately after the restart, slotting a penalty goal right in front in the 36th.
Then, unlike in the first half, neither side seemed to be able to find the chalk, as both teams struggled to string attacking phases together with effect.
Despite a scare with a minute to go on the clock, the Swampdogs held onto their slim lead until the whistle to bring home the silverware.
“This victory means a lot,” Swampdogs captain Mark Gilliam said.
“There’s players on this side that have been here since the last premiership over a decade ago.
“We knew that it was going to go down to the final play of the game based off our prior meetings.
“But we did exactly what we planned which was get on the board early and control the scoreboard.
“We also had a couple bounces of the ball go our way which is always needed in a grand final but all in all, I’m super proud of the whole team for getting us a long awaited cup.”
Previews
Grand final day is finally here and three blockbuster clashes are on the cards for the Darwin Rugby Union competition.
Out at Marrara, the day’s action will kick off with the B-grade followed by the Women’s and then A-grade to round out the day.
B-GRADE: Swampdogs vs. Casuarina Cougars (4pm, Field 1)
After University bombed out in straight sets for the second season in a row, a battle of second and third will decide the 2023-24 B-grade premiership.
Kicking off the afternoon’s action, the Swampdogs will head into the clash full of confidence having knocked off the Pirates in both of their regular season meetings to the tune of 24-12 in Round 6 and more recently 18-7 in Round 15.
“I’d count us as the underdogs,” Swampdogs’ captain Mark Gilliam said ahead of the final.
“We’ve prepared well, we had the week off which was obviously advantageous.
“The Cougars are a very good squad and have won a lot in the past five years.
“It’s been 11 or 12 years (since a premiership) so it’d be good to get one down the club again.”
But with the wind in their sails following a well-rounded victory over the Pirates last weekend, Cougars’ captain Nick Cramp said his side was ready for a two-peat.
“The boys have really worked hard through the second half of the season and we’re coming into this final really strong,” he said.
“We are feeling good and confident.
“But we know that they’re (Swampdogs) a really quick side that spread the ball wide which makes them challenging.
“We’ve got a game plan we’ve been working on but the best counter to speed is speed.”
WOMEN: Darwin Dragons vs. University Pirates (6pm, Field 1)
The Darwin Dragons are teetering on the precipice of dynasty status should they get the job done this weekend.
The two-time defending champions will have their biggest challenge to date, with ‘six or seven’ of their starting 12 not available, as they are currently representing the NT at the Women’s National (Rugby League) Championships on the Gold Coast.
“The NTRU have allowed us to borrow some players from Palmerston Crocs (for the final) which is about six or seven,” Darwin Dragons’ Ayesha Kay said ahead of their title defence.
“Our teamwork and determination all season has been pretty solid so we just need to keep that up.
“Obviously the fact that having a few girls out will be a bit hard on us.
“We are prepared for everything that they (Pirates) throw at us.”
Looking to snap the Dragons three-peat, Pirates captain Kaara Tweedie said it was a great chance for her team to win the premiership.
“They’ve (Dragons) definitely been the team to beat all season,” she said.
“We’re going to take them as full strength, so it’s still going to be a contest.
“We will stick to our game plan.”
A-GRADE: University Pirates vs. Casuarina Cougars (7.30pm, Field 1)
Casuarina Cougars are out to defend their title as champions of the NTRU, but will be put to the test by an in-form University outfit.
Neck-and-neck atop the ladder throughout the season, almost nothing has separated the two all year.
The Pirates took out Round 3 in a 31-30 scoreline, while Casuarina won Round 6 and Round 9 posting scores of 28-23 and 22-13 respectively.
The two met again in Week 1 of finals which resulted in the Pirates sealing victory after the buzzer, 36-34.
“The vibe around the camp is that the boys are ready,” University coach Michael Jennings said.
“We’ve been neck-and neck with the Cougars all year, Junior (Po Ching) and his boys are a pretty good rugby team and we respect them but like I say, tomorrow will be a pick ‘em game.
“The boys are prepared and ready, and we’re led by a pretty good core of senior players.”
Not one to give away too much, Jennings did however acknowledge the Cougars’ big forward pack as an area his side would keep an eye on.
After making the big dance the hard way, Casuarina’s captain Alani Malupo said the clash would be treated as a regular outing.
“It’s just another game to us,” he said.
“Sometimes going the hard way is a good thing, so we are ready for this battle and we’ve got some key players back so I’m excited.
“We know that they play a kicking game so obviously we know that we’re going to have to work hard on return ball.”
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