Litchfield Bears enjoy successful second round of NRL NT beating South Darwin Rabbitohs
The Litchfield Bears men and women enjoyed a successful second round of the NRL NT with big wins over South Darwin. Read all the action here.
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Litchfield Bears have made it two wins from as many matches with some blistering footy against a South Darwin Rabbitohs side which showed plenty of fight.
The Bears were forced to come from behind in Round 1 to score their win against Darwin Brothers, but they led from the start against Souths on their way to posting a 54-10 win.
Their ascendency against South was clear from kick off where they were immediately able to force a knock on.
Captain Trent Wedding and playmaker Nathan Dixon kept their side on the front foot thereafter using the full width to put all the pressure on Souths.
Dillan Vanderburg and Brody Race also played big roles battering through their opposition’s defence, and eventually Vanderburg went through for the opening try.
The Bunnies showed plenty of effort in defence, but on the occasion they did make a mistake Bears pounced and made sure they were punished.
Cameron Cory, Corey Gregory and Clancy Court were all beneficiaries of Litchfield’s playmaking and their own electric pace to score, while Dixon sold a dummy to nab a try of his own.
South Darwin, who have not won a game for several seasons, did show some fight in attack late in the half with club president Joseph Wesley heavily involved in the action.
And despite some dropped ball Souths kept their shape to get the score off the back of a barnstorming run from former NT Titans representative Francis Wapau.
But Litchfield weren’t going to let their foes go into half time with a confidence boost with Race and Dylan Collins both scoring late in the opening period to post a 42-4 lead.
Souths showed their intent in the second holding onto the ball for much longer periods, helped by penalties on Litchfield’s end.
Tian Nichols used the width of his squad moving the ball from wing to wing, but it was a Victor Campbell kick to Dustin Briscoe which resulted in a score.
However, despite South’s advantage in possession Litchfield’s defence held firm and eventually it was Cameron Corey scoring up the other end for Bears.
Souths fought on, but their efforts came to naught as once again it was Vanderburg who charged through for his second try.
“Good to get the win, but we let off there a bit in the second half with a few minor errors and penalties,” Vanderburg said.
“But the boys stuck around and we got the win. It came down to executing our plays, playing hard up the middle and getting it wide when we needed to complete our moves.
“Our young boys really take control of the game, like Nathan Dixon, he’s a weapon and alongside Trent (Wedding) is really stepping up into that leadership role.
“And then there’s Brody (Race) who leads the forward pack around the field, he’s awesome too.
“The boys are getting keen, it’s going to be a good season and we’re looking forward to seeing what will happen.”
Meanwhile, Northern Sharks stayed top of the table with a 58-10 win including 11 tries against the Nightcliff Dragons.
And the Darwin Brothers got some redemption of their own narrowly beating Palmerston 24-20, with Caleb Niki scoring two tries.
Litchfield women keep Souths scoreless
The Litchfield Bears women piled on the tries for their first win of 2023 against a South Darwin side playing their first match for almost two years.
The Bears got their chance to show what they’re made of in Round 2, following a tricky opener against reigning premiers Brothers, to beat the Rabbitohs 42-0.
Despite their heavy defeat, it was a big day for the Bunnies as well who had not fielded a side since the 2020 season, and after a Round 1 forfeit it looked as if the trend would continue.
But they turned up ready to give their all, particularly early on with former Nightcliff player Tishara Davern directing the play.
Big props Nathalia Wauchope and Aimee Corkin made an impact with big carries and hard tackles in an attempt to put their foes off their game.
However, Litchfield were smarter, able to withstand the early pressure and eventually force the turnover leading to a try for 2021 Gaynor Maggs medallist Rhiannon Fecht.
Fecht wasn’t the only best and fairest medallist to feature for Bears with 2022 winner Kiyannah Toy also making an impact with more than one tackle breaking run.
And it was the duo of winners who fed captain Shari Togo through for a try under the posts, and soon after Toy went through for one of her own.
Bears once again came out all guns blazing in the second half picking the right lines and moving the ball well through their halves.
And once again they were rewarded for their efforts with Cheyanne Frickman and Lolita Chevalier-Roberts also finishing among the tryscorers.
“It’s really overwhelming to get the win and it’s really lovely to be rewarded for all our hard work,” Togo said.
“We stayed together as a team and all we had to do was keep working on that and completing our sets.
“We’ve got plenty of new, fresh faces in this season and we’re all growing and learning together at training.
“They’ve brought a different buzz around the Litchfield Bears ground, it’s just really nice to have women who enjoy and love playing footy in the side.”
Meanwhile, reigning premiers Darwin Brothers got an early win over their main rivals, Palmerston, beating them 30-20 in a grand final rematch at Goodline Park.
Palmerston target discipline ahead of Brothers game
Palmerston Raiders are eyeing up a more disciplined approach in Round 2 to give themselves the best chance of beating Darwin Brothers.
The reigning premiers did not quite achieve the start to the season they had hoped, going down to their grand final opponents Northern Sharks 26-4.
The match was pretty much even throughout the first half with the grand final sides only giving away a try each.
However, Sharks took control of the match in the second when the rain came in and didn’t look back on their way to sealing the win.
First-year Palmerston coach Daniel Roach was proud of his side’s Round 1 efforts, though conceded the second half shower got the better of them.
“I was happy with the effort last week, but in the second half we just let them run away with it,” Roach said.
“We just need a little more patience, we have a lot of new blokes in the side and new combinations, which is good, but the boys have just got to learn how to gel and work together.
“Our goal line defence was outstanding in the first half, there’s still plenty of improvement needed but for a first game it just fell together for us.
“And in the second half I guess the boys just aren’t used to playing wet weather football, being a dry season sport, but yeah I was impressed with what we showed in the first.”
The Raiders added plenty of new faces to their side during the offseason after their previous group finally grabbed the NRLNT premiership.
Fullback Sam Ogden is one of the club’s most promising newcomers for the season, however he was sidelined ahead of Round 1 due to injury.
But young gun Jackson Fraser and Abel Shirley both impressed in their first outing for the A-grade side.
Those new faces will now be much better for the experience, against arguably the best team in the comp in Sharks.
However, their eyes are now set on their first home game of the season up against a Darwin Brothers side who are also coming off an opening round win.
“We want to win at home, we want to set that tone of not getting beaten at home,” Roach said.
“But I dare say Brothers are going to be tough after coming off a loss last week themselves, so we just need to pull it together and be more patient.
“We’ve got to set the platform in the middle, and if our forwards can get the better of theirs, then hopefully our backs can finish the job off.”
Meanwhile, a grand final rematch will be fought out in the women’s competition with the Palmerston Raiders hosting reigning premiers Brothers.
Both sides cruised to wins in the opening round and know this match will play a major role in determining the top end of the table.
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