Darwin Sistaz sent a statement to the rest of the league after smashing Northern Sharks in the NRL NT Women’s premiership major semi-final
DARWIN Sistaz made a statement, defeating Sharks 44-0 to ease straight into the NRL NT Women’s grand final, while Palmerston scrapped through against a tough Nightcliff side
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DARWIN Sistaz made a statement, defeating Sharks 44-0 to ease straight into the NRL NT Women’s grand final, while Palmerston scrapped through against a tough Nightcliff side.
The reigning premiers were their dangerous selves from the early stages, pushing forward with every pass and tackle.
And it was half Talia Corrie who found the first breakthrough, bouncing off defenders and sprinting through a gap to score.
The consistent Bianca Stokes charged through next to grab the second try and the onslaught did not let up from there.
Tyla Kingdon, Jordan Ah Sam and Ivana Schober all crossed the white paint before the close of the first half to put Sistaz in control.
The Sharks battled on when they could with Crystal Browne and Deanna Peackham putting the pressure on at times to try to put their side in a scoring position.
But it was more of the same in the second half, with captain Bianca Scrymgour putting Corrie through for another score.
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Stokes scored another two tries to bring up her hat-trick in the second half, while Abi Sekitoga also managed a try to complete her side’s dominance.
“We knew what we wanted to do – we knew we had been the best side all season and we just wanted to put that on the scoreboard,” Scrymgour said.
“We had a really good training session coming out of restrictions and the vibe in the changing room was really uplifting.
“Our forwards really led from the front and our backs kept coming in showing that consistency. Everyone wanted to run, everyone wanted to tackle and it was just a team effort all around.
“Everyone is on a high, I’m proud of their work. The job isn’t done yet. We still have one game to go but we’re pumped and we’re ready to hopefully go back-to-back.”
Meanwhile, the Raiders women scrapped through 28-24 against a Nightcliff Dragons outfit that came to play.
Rhiannon Fecht opened the scoring for Nightcliff, surging through a break to put Palmerston the back foot.
Palmerston soon after saw its powerful forwards bursting up the field, with Christabel Aigea Faatoafe and Shaylah Barba putting points on the board.
But with Tishara Davern-Cahill directing the play from fullback, Nightcliff was never out of the game for long, with Fecht completing her hat-trick and Nanise Vakacavu also scoring a try.
However, it was Raiders who finished stronger with Ciara Aigea busting through the defence for a score, while Kelam Nona managed a brace including the winning score.
Palmerston will face Sharks in the preliminary final, with the winner of that encounter moving on to face Sistaz in the grand final.
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