Darwin Dragons triumph in grand final rematch over Casuarina Cougars in wet season opener

DARWIN Dragons lived up to their status as reigning premiers with a 25-19 win in their grand final rematch against Casuarina Cougars in the opening round of the Darwin A-grade rugby union competition.

Darwin Dragons fly-half Brayden Cunningham passes to captain Drew Tobin. Picture: Che Chorley

DARWIN Dragons lived up to their status as reigning premiers with a 25-19 win in their grand final rematch against Casuarina Cougars in the opening round of the Darwin A-grade rugby union competition.

Cougars were first to score through Shane Crowley eager for some instant revenge against the side that beat them in last season’s grand final.

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But Darwin refused to fold early on and brought themselves back, hammering against Casuarina’s defence to come away with the next two tries including one to Brayden Cunningham.

A line break and chip from Cougars’ Jarrod Northam gave his flank partner Martin Strachan an easy try to even the scores at halftime.

Casuarina carried that late half form into the next stanza, moving the ball across the field forcing the Dragons’ defence to scramble.

However, crucial penalties in the scrum and around the breakdown would punish the Cougars and allowed Darwin room to capitalise through Euan McKillop and Hayden Riggs tries.

The work of Hirini Murfitt up front and Mickael Becat-Narbey and captain Drew Tobin in the backs kept the ball in Dragons hands as much as possible.

A speedy try from fly-half Trey Crowley in the dying minutes of the game gave the Cougars another chance, but penalties plagued them once again afterwards.

Captain Tobin was pleased to be back in the side following an injury that saw him miss much of last season.

“It’s good to get back into the competition and get in with a win from the first game,” Tobin told the Sunday Territorian.

“But the first couple of weeks is all about settling into our game plan and executing that plan so while it’s nice to get the win there’s still plenty for us to work on.

“The big thing for us was our experience. We were still relying on last year’s game plan as we haven’t trained as well as we would like, but as it hasn’t been long since last season there’s still that continuity.

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“Personally it’s awesome to be back out there with the boys. It’s a lot more enjoyable being out on the field than it is being on the sidelines.”