Nightcliff Dragons kept their winning run alive beating Darwin Brothers, while Litchfield celebrated captain’s milestone with win

TABLE leaders Nightcliff Dragons’ kept their NRL NT A-grade winning run alive with a handy 38-18 win over Darwin Brothers in round 9, while Litchfield celebrated captain’s milestone with win over Palmerston

Nightcliff captain Brent Crisp sends a hot one down the line. Picture: Che Chorley

TABLE leaders Nightcliff Dragons’ kept their NRL NT A-grade winning run alive with a handy 38-18 win over Darwin Brothers in round 9.

It was the Dragons that struck first moving the ball across the field to see Karl Younger over the line for the opening try.

Brothers, playing in pink for breast cancer research, reacted quickly with Pheonix Paeu showing his try scoring ability and athleticism to put his side on the board.

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A handy grubber through the Brothers defence saw Nightcliff back on the offence soon after with Tim Muhammad the scorer.

And back it went again to Brothers with Paeu muscling over the line for a second score.

The Dragons dominated the remainder of the half with Jone Vakacegu scoring, followed by a pivotal intercept from Matt Woolmington which saw Matt Kirwan over the try line as well.

Daniel Warren gave some hope to Brothers running from hooker to push over the line for another score.

But another try from Vakacegu and one from David Tabaui put the game to bed in Nighcliff’s favour.

The defensive work of Kirwan, Hodrick Mudu and Gavon Petterson was pivotal throughout the encounter pushing hard even when the game was put away to keep Brothers at bay.

Coach Reg Rose was pleased to see his side’s winning run continue but felt his side had plenty to improve on when it came to ball control.

“It was ugly. We’re happy that we’re winning but we’re doing it ugly at the moment,” Rose said.

“Our ball control was lacking. The guys know it and it was something we spoke about before the game.

“The first half was great but in the second we completed only six out of 17 which was ridiculous. So happy we won but we have plenty to work on.

“We have the fitness and the skills that we’re looking for but right now we need to improve our ball control because that’s where you win games.”

Meanwhile, Litchfield Bears celebrated captain Luke Mahood’s 200th game in style beating Palmerston Raiders 18-14 at Webber Park.

Jake Crawley, Brodie Race and Jack Welch all scored tries in the game that saw Litchfield retain their hopes of finals.