Frank Johnson Medalists set to bolster steadily improving Litchfield Bears contingent against Darwin Brothers

LITCHFIELD Bears upward momentum in form of the past few weeks will gain another boost this week with two former Frank Johnson Medallists to the A-grade side playing Darwin Brothers

Sam McAuley is set to make a return to Litchfield Bears against Darwin Brothers. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

LITCHFIELD Bears upward momentum in form of the past few weeks will gain another boost this week with two former Frank Johnson Medallists to the A-grade side playing Darwin Brothers.

The Bears may have struggled for wins early in the season but a strong showing in a losing effort against Nightcliff in Round 5 from their rebuilding squad showed plenty signs of progress.

The return of the past two NRL NT best-and-fairest winners Matt Goodfellow and Sam McAuley will only build on the developing squad.

MORE NT SPORT STORIES

The NT News looks at the talking points from Round 5 of the 2021 NRL NT season

Northern Sharks captain Jacob Collie: ‘We love being NRL NT underdogs’ after impressive win v Palmerston Raiders at Marrara

Nightcliff Dragons recovered from slow start to beat Litchfield Bears in Round 5 of the NRL NT

Against Dragons Dillan Vanderberg, David Jacobson and Jarrad Burgess all enjoyed stellar showings both offensively and defensively and it’s more of the same that coach Joe Carbone is after.

And plenty of younger players are getting experience at A-grade level as well including Nathan Dixon who made his Bears debut.

“We were extremely happy with the performance and stoked to build on the consistency but at the end of the day we know we didn’t get the win,” Carbone said.

“Plenty of guys had big games and it’s about building our consistency and building that match fitness.

“Nathan is the fourth under-18 guy that we’ve brought through this season and our goal is to get them playing this level consistently so that they’re ready by season end or next season.

“Obviously Goodfellow and McAuley in the side is going to be massive and will only build the confidence and experience of the squad we already have.

“But having said that they’re in after three strong games from the rest of the side which has done great together.”

Next up for Litchfield is the reigning premiers Darwin Brothers who have faced a developing season of their own due to an extensive list of injuries.

But the Brothers do have an inclusion of their own in the form of Frank Johnson Medallist Leon Rotumah.

Jonas Niki will continue as captain with Aaron Pollard and Thomas Clarke still out of the side, while Mickael Becat will look to continue his strong scoring form.

Both sides will know the significance of the match up with a win here likely securing fourth on the ladder.

“We’re looking to get on top Brothers with this match hopefully getting us to fourth where we will want to stay for the remainder of the season,” Carbone said.

“Brothers are always a surprise package that everyone knows they need to be careful about because on their day they can be unstoppable.

“For us we just need to keep building on what has made us strong over the past couple of weeks, be strong up forward and carry well across the ground.”

Meanwhile, Palmerston will play host to South Darwin at Goodline Park with the Raiders looking to bounce back from last week’s loss to Sharks.

And in form sides Nightcliff Dragons and Northern Sharks will face off at TRL Stadium with the winner taking home plenty of bragging rights.