Isaac Seden-Kurnoth knows Darwin Brothers will only get better after smashing Litchfield Bears 42-24
The Darwin Brothers brought the flair to put Litchfield to the sword and strengthen their spot in the top two, while their women also had a big win. Read all the NRL NT action.
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The Darwin Brothers fired an ominous warning shot to the rest of the NRL NT Premiership competition after a dominant statement 18-point win against fellow top side Litchfield.
Both sides had big wins in Round 9 to confirm their place in the top three, with the Brethren only ahead on point difference.
But a flurry of tries late in the first half of their Round 10 match up secured the side a 42-24 over the Bears, and strengthened their grip on second place, ahead of the third-placed Bears.
“It was a really good win, we’ve gelled a lot as a team and I’m really proud of that,” Brothers’ Isaac Seden-Kurnoth said.
“We went through a lot of adversity with dropped balls, but we held our heads up and kept moving forward despite that.
“The tries came from our hard work, we defended our line for multiple sets and then we let our footy do the talking, we don’t throw too much structure just play the game.
“We’re at our best when we’re having fun, throwing the ball around and doing what we can to keep the ball flowing.
“We’re still looking to get better and know that we can, we want to get the silly mistakes out of our game and keep progressing as a side.”
Strong defensive efforts from Darcy Holmes and Drew Tobin set the tone early as Litchfield came knocking.
But once possession went their way they were able to pile on the pressure on their opposition with Antonio James eventually popping a pass out for Anthony Alley to run in for the first.
The Bears did strike back then, forcing a knock on and some smart game management from captain Trent Wedding and Matthew Woolmington eventuated in Julius Appo tying matters up.
The moment of hope was brief however as Brothers captain Aaron Pollard went for a hit up only to show some fancy footwork to secure his side’s second try.
Then came the razzle dazzle the Brethren are famous for, with Jonas Niki charging down a Wedding kick, to pick it up in space and offload for Jarrod Northam to stroll in for another score.
Seden-Kurnoth decisive break created space for James to run 60m for his second, and then on the other side of half time Seden-Kurnoth wrapped around the Litchfield line to score himself.
It was a flurry of tries in succession that took all the wind out of Litchfield’s sails, and for their part they botched moves themselves with dropped balls at inopportune times.
And their agony didn’t end there.
A heavy tackle from Pollard, which had Litchfield calling for a shoulder charge, forced a Bears knock on, and from the restart Jonas Niki powered through for a try.
His brother, last season’s Frank Johnson medal winner Caleb Niki, was a crucial runner too creating chances for his strike runners, including Alley and James, setting both up for tries.
Litchfield were left with a mountain to climb, but kept fighting with David Jacobson putting the side on his back to set up a try for full back Clancy Court.
Woolmington’s cross-field kicking took advantage of a blind spot on the right edge to set up too, and there he was able to set up tries for Jake Flanagan and Jacobson.
But despite the late points the match had long since gone against the Bears, with the midgame Brothers bluster, led by the likes of Seden-Kurnoth, blowing them away.
The Nightcliff Dragons retained their grip on the top spot beating South Darwin 60-6, with Stylianos Vrontos and David Tabuai among the multi-try scorers.
The Northern Sharks claimed a bounce back win too beating Palmerston 44-24, with a Bailey Zaro brace among their eight tries.
Meanwhile, it was also a day out for The Brothers women as they claimed a 34-16 win against the Litchfield Bears.
The benchmark women side lost their last encounter against the Bears, but was ready for revenge with Ellie Niki influential on return and Cassiela Wapau scoring a hat trick.
And three tries from Northern Sharks’ Danielle Smith helped her side to a 24-24 draw with Palmerston, for which Tiana Storey and Kagui Gimini had two tries each.
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