The highs and lows from Round 2 of the 2023 NRL NT season
The women’s grand final rematch and Litchfield’s young stars headlined the NRL NT’s second round. Check out all the talking points from Round 2 here.
Local sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The second round of the NRL NT was a thriller with some surprise results and plenty of stunning tries.
In the men’s competition Litchfield, Sharks and Brothers claimed the win, while in the women’s contest it was Litchfield and Brothers who came out on top.
And there were plenty of talking points from each match.
Litchfield much more assured
Litchfield are two for two from their opening games, and even in these early stages of the season look much improved on last season.
Bears’ investment in youth over the past two seasons is paying off and those young guns have developed into some of the best players in the comp.
Chief among them is Nathan Dixon, 2021 Rising Star winner, who has cemented his place as the successor to two-time Frank Johnson winner Matt Goodfellow.
Captain Trent Wedding, Jake Crawly and Corey Gregory among others all acquitted themselves well in the outing against Souths.
Big forwards Dillan Vanderburg and Brody Race were everywhere making dents in their opposition’s defence.
And with David Jacobson still to return at fullback there’s plenty of skill to come into this Bears’ side.
The true test for this Litchfield side will come in round 3 when they face the trail-blazing Northern Sharks.
The Sharks have been the dominant NRL NT team over the past two seasons, but if the Bears can give them a good run for their money, they will prove themselves as genuine contenders.
Palmerston’s winless start
The Palmerston Raiders suffered a tight loss against Darwin Brothers (24-20) at Goodline Park, marking their second defeat in their title defence season.
Raiders led early snatching a couple of early scores, but Brothers turned the game around to score their first win of the season.
Caleb Niki was the main thorn in the Raiders side crossing the white paint twice while his kicking boots were on point all night.
This latest defeat means that the reigning premiers are yet to secure a win in their opening two fixtures, having also suffered a loss to the Sharks (22-4) in their first game.
However, its worth noting Raiders didn’t get off to the races in 2022 either, losing to Sharks (36-0) and Brothers (30-16) in their first three games before finding their stride.
New coach Daniel Roach will be looking to follow a similar trajectory, particularly given new players and combinations he has to integrate into the team.
But with two of their toughest opponents behind them and a week off ahead of their match, against a struggling Nightcliff, Palmerston will have the time to make those combos work.
Raiders do have an extra week to bring it all together with a week off ahead of their Round 3 encounter against a struggling Nightcliff.
Brothers vs Palmerston remains the women’s benchmark
In recent years Brothers and Palmerston has been the benchmark sides of the women’s competition as they’ve faced off in the past three grand finals.
And once again that was clear to see when they faced off in an exciting back-and-forth tussle in Round 2.
Ultimately it was the reigning premiers, Brothers, who came out on top winning 30-20 in an exciting back-and-forth tussle.
But it showed once again that despite changing plenty of their number Palmerston are the side best placed to take down the Sistaz.
And with two more meetings ahead of finals Raiders will be doing everything they can to close that 10-point divide.
Lucy Aigea was once again the main try scoring weapon for Palmerston scoring twice off bulldozing runs.
Meanwhile, the young Brothers unit have undergone some changes of their own bringing in some fresh faces to complement their champions.
These are the clear top two sides in this competition, the question is whether or not someone else will rise to take them on.
At this stage Litchfield and Sharks both look chances, but both need to continue developing to catch up with the leading duo.
Another women’s forfeit
The South Darwin women forfeited their Round 1 fixture against Nightcliff, pushing their absence out another week.
But for the first time in over a season Souths turned up to play against Litchfield, and while they didn’t post a score on the board they did come to play.
However, in Round 2 it was Nightcliff who failed to make it out on the field for their match against Sharks, suggesting the traditional powerhouse of the women’s comp are in a spot of bother.
Their absence was more noticeable when several of their former players turned out for other clubs namely Tishara Davern for Souths and Rhiannon Fecht for Litchfield.
A club with Nightcliff’s history in the division would not have wanted to withdraw from the match, and will be working hard to rebuild those numbers.
But while it’s still early days in the comp, it will take some doing for Nightcliff or Souths to chase down Sharks and Litchfield in the race for finals.
More NRL games in the NT
A brief sidestep from the NRL NT to NRL in the NT following the Broncos 26-16 win over the Eels in front of a sold out TIO Stadium.
11,864 supporters turned out to watch the blockbuster encounter between last year’s grand finalist and the current table toppers.
And it was a testament to just how strongly Territorians get behind the NRL when it comes to town.
Of course Parramatta being genuine contenders in recent times and the Broncos being the best supported club in the comp does help numbers.
But with these numbers Top Enders have showed they’re more than ready for more NRL action.
It’s a notion which was last week backed by the legend himself, Wally Lewis, who noted the amount of support Queensland clubs received when they came north.
The Eels current contract was last year extended to 2025, but the question now is who will they bring north in 2024?
The Broncos for a third bout in four years? Or maybe the comp’s newest club, the Dolphins, who with Wayne Bennett in charge should get plenty of attention.
And what better way to boost the local comp than to expose youngsters to the best in the game more often?
Basketball racism scandal involving star Boomer erupts
One of Australia’s greatest Indigenous basketballers has been left shattered after allegedly being racially abused during a game. A club sponsor is now being investigated.
Uproar over league’s running of elite football academy program
Conflict of interest accusations have been levelled against Football Northern Territory over the running of its elite academy pathway. Read what has been said.