Darwin Brothers women win NRL NT premiership over reigning premiers Palmerston Raiders
Darwin Brothers have claimed grand final redemption after managing victory over a fighting Palmerston side. All the action and pictures here.
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Darwin Brothers has claimed redemption in the NRL NT women’s competition, winning a hard-fought grand final 26-12 over the Palmerston Raiders.
The Brothers women had gone unbeaten all season but all bets were off once they came up against Palmerston, the reigning champions, in the big dance.
Raiders had won the same matchup in 2021 to take the crown from Brothers and it was the latter side out for vengeance in 2022.
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The side in blue and white showed their skills first with Tylah Kingdon finding an early gap in the Raiders defence.
But that chance was not to be as Palmerston held her out and turned possession over.
Once they had ball in hand the Raiders were able to turn up the intensity using their big forwards such as Ruti Tagiloa, Davina Isaac and Lucy Aigea to charge the ball up the field.
And once they were in striking distance they showed their scoring ability with Ashley Stott passing off to Aaliyah Lee, who was able to seal the opening try.
The score inspired a strong reaction from the Brothers, who had spent very little trailing throughout the whole season.
They got their own forwards Cassiela Wapau and Elisa Niki working hard, while Calista Boyd provided a brilliant service game.
Soon they were up the field themselves and Ilisapeci Bari was able to finish the move off on the right wing.
You can check out all the action from the men’s A Grade grandfinal.
Once Brothers had their taste of the try line they didn’t stop dominating the remainder of the opening period, with tries also coming from Talia Corrie and Erica Kurnoth.
Palmerston however still brought the hurt with more than one crunching tackle and were able to stay in the contest.
Raiders had their chance when Kingdon was sent from the field seconds before half time.
The player advantage created an overlap which it looked as if Palmerston would gladly accept but a knock on just before the line left that chance begging.
Palmerston clawed back some parity on the scoreboard early in the second half when Ciara Aigea went charging through the defensive line.
As they did in the first half Brothers responded with intent, but Raiders managed to hold off more than once scoring opportunity forcing knock-ons and putting their opposition into touch.
Wapau would eventually find a way through for herself to break the tie and put Brothers ahead once more.
However, in a loss for her side she was taken off only moments later with a leg injury.
That didn’t stop the Brothers onslaught however, and they piled on the tries from there with Bari, Niki and Tanisha Garling all claiming a try for themselves to seal the win.
Captain Bianca Scrymgour was overjoyed with the efforts of her side saying all the hard work had paid off.
“We were out for redemption and that’s what we did and it feels great,” Scrymgour said.
“All the hard work paid off. We had youth and experienced playing well together and to bring it all together here, well the result speaks for itself.
“We knew they would come out hard. The only game that mattered was today and we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy win.
“So when they came at us we just had to stay composed, level headed and go back to our game.”
Corrie, a stalwart of the Sistaz side over the past three season, was named the best on ground after a barnstorming performance in both offence and defence.
Working out of five eight Corrie assisted in many a try scoring move and managed to grab one for herself in the first half.
“There’s no words to describe this win, proud would be an understatement,” Corrie said.
“I was just happy to hit it out with the girls. I was out for a bit of the season, but to end the season with a bang in the end was great.
“It’s very amazing (to be named best on ground), I’m very proud and honoured, but all the girls were best on ground in my eyes. We wouldn’t have done it without the whole team.
“It just comes down to our sisterhood. We all train together and switch on and play hard together on game day.”
CHECK OUT THE WOMEN’S FINAL PICS
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