Darwin Dragons knock Pirates out of the competition, while South Darwin surges into the grand final

REIGNING premiers the Dragons kept their three-peat chances alive after surviving the Darwin Rugby Union knockout semi-final with a 24-20 win over University Pirates.

Consistent Darwin Dragons star Hirini Murfitt. Picture: Glenn Campbell

REIGNING premiers the Dragons kept their three-peat chances alive after surviving the Darwin Rugby Union knockout semi-final with a 24-20 win over University Pirates.

Having finished fourth the Dragons knew that any misstep against the third place Pirates would see them bundled out of the competition.

But in a repeat of the 2020 semi-final it was Darwin that won, with a long defensive effort at the death crucial to its season survival, knocking out Pirates in the process.

Pirates’ pacy winger David Taylor showed his evasiveness to seal the first try for his side, running past two defenders to cross the white paint.

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But ill-discipline let the University outfit down and allowed Dragons a healthy slew of points as Nigel Maher kicked four penalties.

The well-known Darwin pack applied plenty of pressure in Pirates’ territory to push over for a try of their own and take control of the match.

Pirates threw the ball around more in the second half, finding space on the outside to score, but a quick response from the speedy Ankin Lewis kept Dragons in charge.

However, wasteful penalties let University down late in proceedings, opting not to kick, and though Joshua Hall scored they didn’t have enough time for another.

Dragons’ captain Drew Tobin was proud of his side’s passion in defence to see out the game, with Euan McKillop and Daniel Harnett standing out late on.

“It was a relief to win after a pretty scrappy game where we probably weren’t as polished as we would have wanted to be,” Tobin told the NT News.

“Honestly, I think it came down to hunger as both teams were fairly evenly matched.

“We’ve been playing without a bench for much of the year and have had to really dig deep so the practice of being in that sort of a state in game helped us close it out.

“Our defence at the end mainly came down to passion with no one wanting to let their teammates down.

“The culture is really strong at our club and everyone put in the last-ditch efforts to see that game out.

“Our goal now is to keep building and polish up ahead of next week.”

Meanwhile, South Darwin beat Casuarina 27-22 in the major semi-final, with the top two sides of the 2020-21 competition never separated by more than a score throughout the contest. Souths’ captain and playmaker Vincent Mehn scored the opener for his side, with Souths showing plenty of ability when on the front foot.

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His opposite number Zach Phillips kept Cougars in the contest with his steady scoring, but the Casuarina captain will rue a missed penalty late in the contest.