Litchfield captain Luke Mahood racks up 200th A-grade game for his beloved Bears

LITCHFIELD Bears captain Luke Mahood couldn’t have asked for a better occasion to mark his 200th NRL NT A-grade game for the club with the side hosting Palmerston on home turf at Webber Park

Litchfield Bears’ captain Luke Mahood racks up his 200th NRL NT game for the club this weekend. Picture: Che Chorley

LITCHFIELD Bears captain Luke Mahood couldn’t have asked for a better occasion to mark his 200th NRL NT A-grade game for the club with the side hosting Palmerston on home turf at Webber Park.

Mahood has devoted his playing career to the Bears winning his first club award in 1999 as the most consistent player in the under 10s.

Since then he has been no stranger to success winning back to back premierships in under-18s and made his A-grade debut in 2007.

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The now 32-year-old was awarded the NRL NT Frank Johnson Medal in 2016 and would go on to proudly captain his side to consecutive premiership titles in 2018 and 2019.

The forward has also represented the Territory with the Titans.

“It’s a proud moment for me. It’s quite easy to be at a club like this where there are so many good people,” Mahood said.

“And to have the game fall on a home match, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Everything just fell into place perfectly for the occasion.

“Playing for Litchfield means a lot. It takes a special club for someone to stick around and I’ve never felt out of place, it’s like a second home for me.

“I’ve played with so many people. The long termers and the new people that come in every year, it’s a great club and it’s great to qualify for life membership.”

Joel Tomes was the last player to cross the 200 game mark for Litchfield in 2011 and alongside Robbie Campbell, Brody Race and Cash Ward formed a group of consistent long termers through Mahood’s playing career.

Matt Goodfellow and Sam McAuley have also lit up the stage for Bears in recent years with the captain enjoying their buy-in to the club ethos.

Game 200 for Mahood will see his side take on a determined Raiders who are looking to bounce back from three consecutive losses.

For their part the Bears will carry confidence from an important 54-0 win over South Darwin last round.

Litchfield currently sit fifth and will be raring to give themselves every chance of breaking into the top four.

“The Souths boys do it tough every week and always give 100 percent but it was a handy win for us and a real confidence booster,” Mahood said.

“The game against Palmerston is going to massive. There will be lots of contact and it will be played with plenty of passion as always between our two sides.

“They’re a powerhouse through the middle so we will need to be switched on and everyone will need to do their job for us to get the better of them.”

Meanwhile, Northern Sharks will look to get back in the winning when they take on a South Darwin side eager to cause an upset.

And old rivals Darwin Brothers and Nightcliff Dragons will clash at TRL Stadium.