Nightcliff Dragons hold on to lead to beat late surging Northern Sharks in round 6

NIGHTCLIFF Dragons survive a late comeback from Northern Sharks to win 28-22 in round 6 of the 2021 NRL NT premiership

Robbie Butcher played a key role in Nightcliff’s first half lead over Sharks. Picture: Glenn Campbell

NIGHTCLIFF Dragons survive a late comeback from Northern Sharks to win 28-22 in round 6 of the 2021 NRL NT premiership.

Both top three sides came into the encounter with plenty of form with Dragons sitting on top of the table while Sharks beat Palmerston Raiders in the previous round.

Sharks put in all the pressure early on running the ball through the middle with their big pack and kicking deep to test the Nightcliff defence.

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And that prodding and poking at the Dragons line paid off early on for Sharks with Kailab Coventry wrestling his way over the line against two defenders for the opening score.

Nightcliff however started rather slowly missing key playmaker and captain Brent Crisp putting a dent in the lineup.

But that score seemed to kick Dragons back into gear with the side regathering themselves with and forwards such as Jayden Jones and Shaun Wauchope pushing the ball up the middle.

And with territory in hand Robbie Butcher slung a long pass wide to create an overlap with Wise Sekitoga planting down on the right wing.

Butcher and Matt Woolmington showed plenty of footwork in the centre of the ground giving centre Jone Vakacegu the chance to weave through the Sharks defence and score his first of three tries.

A booming kick from Woolmington put the Sharks in trouble once again with Gavon Petterson beating the defence and dotting the ball down.

The Nightcliff forwards joined the scoring party in the second half with Adam Hall charging through the tiring Sharks’ defence to dot down.

However, Sharks found their way back into the scoring with Damien Mick kicking through to the benefit Robertson Franklin.

And with that the comeback was on with the side regaining their mojo holding strong in defence and scoring consecutive tries from Coventry and captain Jacob Collie.

However, it wasn’t to be with time not on their side and a last ditch tackle holding Dakota Marsh up on the try that would have tied the game.

Dragons hooker Jones was proud of his side’s efforts to hold on in and earn the win.

“It’s good to beat them considering they beat Palmy who we went down to the other week so good to get the win,” Jones said.

“We made it tough for ourselves coming into the second half lacking a bit of energy but we lifted in the end and we managed to scrape away with the win in the end.

“We just had to build off what we did in the first half and repeat what was a really good half for us in the second.

“Focus now is working a bit on our fitness and making sure we keep our heads when they score those tries.”

Meanwhile, Palmerston Raiders bounced back from their loss to Sharks to beat South Darwin 68-0 with Keegan Quakawoot, Blake Fletcher and Ethan Maney all scoring multiple tries.

And Litchfield Bears pulled off their second win of the season beating Darwin Brothers 26-22.

Frank Johnson medallist Matt Goodfellow scored a try on his first back for the side in front of his home crowd at Webber Park.