Nightcliff Dragons run clear of depleted Brothers, while Palmerston retain Mitch Russell Shield against Litchfield

DESPITE some phases of scrappy play, Nightcliff Dragons pulled through to an impressive 40-6 win over Brothers, while Palmerston Raiders retained the Mitch Russell Shield against Litchfield

Brent Crisp played an instrumental role in the win over Darwin Brothers. Picture: Glenn Campbell

DESPITE some phases of scrappy play, Nightcliff ­Dragons pulled through to an impressive 40-6 win over Brothers, while Palmerston Raiders retained the Mitch Russell Shield against Litchfield.

For the majority of the opening 10 minutes, the Dragons had their old rivals and reigning premiers Brothers deep in their own territory.

Halves pairing Brent Crisp and Matt Woolmington controlled the play moving the ball left and right to bring all their attacking options to the fore.

And eventually that consistent pressure paid off for the Dragons, with the ball finding its way out on to the left wing to see Matt Kirwan go over for a try.

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Brothers struck back almost immediately, with Caleb Niki showing his leg power and ball-handling skills to run through the Nightcliff defence and score a try against the run of play.

Mickael Becat made some important contributions around the ball for Brothers, while stand-in captain Jonas Niki did his part to inspire.

But little came off for the Darwin outfit, which has suffered many an injury this season.

The Dragons regathered themselves quickly and a Woolmington pass to an in-form Clint Chettle sprinting down the line landed the side with their second score.

It took a while longer for Nightcliff’s next score to come with slipped balls and rushed play costing the side for a time.

That was until Adrian Corrie found room to bust through the Brothers’ defence and dot down his side’s third try.

Captain Crisp kept the Dragons moving forward in offence, crossing the white line twice himself followed by an Adam Hall try to widen the margin.

Chettle gave another powerful run to set fullback Anthony Hill up for a try with matters looking bleak for the reigning premiers.

Nightcliff coach Reg Rose was pleased to get the win but was disappointed that his side had made too many errors throughout the encounter.

“A win is a win but I’m upset with the dropped balls and the fact that we stooped down to their level,” Rose said.

“Good on them. They’re a side with 18 injuries so we shouldn’t be playing at their level. We lost our way a little bit, it wasn’t comprehensive even though the scoreboard says otherwise.

“Our defence is always and will continue to be our focus, it was great and I had no issues there but our execution and dropped balls killed us.

“We just need to keep defending, keep things together in the middle and though we have a long way to go we will just keep pushing through.”

Meanwhile, Northern Sharks continued their winning run with a decisive 40-6 win over a hapless South Darwin outfit.

And in the Mitch Russell Shield it was the Palmerston Raiders who came out on top beating Litchfield 50-8.

Josh Strzelecki starred in the scoring for the home side at Goodline Park notching up a hatrick for the side that notched up nine tries across seven players.

Palmerston Raiders players Anthony Orell and David Paull after winning the Mitch Russell Shield. Picture: Supplied

Star recruit Tom Murphy was also among those who scored for the Raiders outfit that remains undefeated in the 2021 competition.

Tavita Kanalagi, Jacob Rainger, Blake Fletcher, Stephan Smith and the bulldozing Joel Turaga were the other try scorers.