Nightcliff Dragons beat South Darwin Rabbitohs in NRL NT Round 7
Litchfield’s women pulled off the upset of the season out at Fred’s Pass, while the Nightcliff men retained the Chico Motlop Shield. Catch up on all the NRL NT action.
Rugby League
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby League. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Nightcliff Dragons fended off a passionate South Darwin outfit to stay top of the table and take hold of the Chico Motlop Shield again.
The Dragons have been the form side in the early stages of the 2024, and though Souths have yet to win this season they knew it would be a tough slog.
The Shield match is played in honour of Chico Motlop, who brought success to both clubs, and is an important game in the calendar for both sides.
Souths proved they’re making progress as Frith Warusam ran in the first try of the match, and for much of the piece there was little to separate the sides.
But Dragons’ experience from Robbie Butcher, who ran the show in the halves and named best on, to David Tabuai, who scored a brace, came to the fore and they did what they needed to see out a 36-20 win.
Timmy Muhamad was a workhorse for Nightcliff, while co-captain Brenton Motlop and his brother Jerome Motlop brought heart in the match played in honour of their grandfather.
Souths never went away and fought on until the dying minute, with Francis Wapau, Phoenix Pool and Petero Kini their other try scorers.
“It’s special, it’s an honour for us, particularly myself and my brother, to play in this match with some close friends we’ve grown up with,” Brenton Motlop said.
“It’s a great match for the culture of both clubs, we do a lot for a lot of our great Dragons’ families and it has played a large role in building our culture.
“It was great to see Souths step it up and really put us to the test, they’re going really well and to our credit we pushed through and came away with the goods.
“Our experienced players showed up and when we really needed it they strengthened up and tightened it up instead of playing the loose footy.
“We’ve had the chance to test our depth, particularly the past few weeks, our poor reserves are copping it a bit, but it’s great to see our depth test and still getting away with the wins.”
Meanwhile, the Litchfield women proved their growing strength with a tight win against reigning premiers the Darwin Brothers in front of their home faithful at Fred’s Pass.
The Brothers women outfit have been the benchmark side in recent times, winning three of the past four premierships and were so far undefeated in 2024.
But despite both sides scoring four tries it was Litchfield’s Erin Luchetti who made the difference off the tee to steer her side to a 22-16 win.
Litchfield have grown in strength in recent years making it to last season’s prelim final, where Brothers beat them, and the side has taken it up another notch in 2024.
Teka Voysey, Luchetti, Sophie Blake and Genna Stiles all crossed the white paint for tries, and with their kicker converting three out of four they had the win.
The Brothers had four tries as well with Kelam Nona scoring a brace while Liana Niki and Janna Ransome had the extras, but without Ellie Niki in the side they were unable to convert.
The Sharks women weren’t far off an upset of their own against Palmerston with Ayesha Kay getting plenty of action scoring a try and two conversions.
However, the Raiders, who have been in the past four grand finals, held on and had their own weapons in Lucy Aigea and Joanne Faatoaffe to see out the match 14-12.
Other men’s matches included reigning premiers Sharks doing the damage to beat Palmerston 38-6, despite still being down some of their arsenal.
Captain Adam Hall was a wrecking ball on the run charging through his opposition and it was little wonder when he broke through the first of his side’s eight tries.
The Sharks had plenty of strike weapons to call upon with usual danger men such as Samuel Pearson and Thomas Gunn among those to get on the board.
And the Darwin Brothers leapt into second place after beating the Litchfield Bears 24-18 out at Webber Park, with Frank Johnson medallist Leon Rotumah among the try scorers.
It was another match decided by conversions with Caleb Niki particularly potent from the tee, though Bears’ Julius Appo scored a brace to further his lead in the try scorer count.
Nightcliff and Souths to go all out for Chico Motlop Shield
They may currently be on opposite ends of the NRL NT table, but the passion and determination to win the important Chico Motlop Shield will be equal for both Nightcliff and South Darwin.
The shield’s namesake was a beloved figure in the history of both clubs, having inspired success for both teams including coaching the Dragons to the 1987 premiership.
His passing is now marked each year with an intense battle between the two clubs, and though the sides aren’t always level it’s a match for which the impact is always felt.
The Dragons have had the run of the occasion in recent years, winning last year’s battle 36-16 despite Rabbitohs scoring a win earlier in the 2023 season.
Nightcliff will once again come in as favourites as they fly at the top of the table while Souths still are without a win in 2024.
But recent matches against the Palmerston Raiders and the Litchfield Bears have shown the side are sticking in the fight for at least 60 minutes before late fades.
It’s for that reason Souths co-captain Kieren Crowe believes his side can take the challenge to their opposition.
“We’ve turned a few screws in the way we approach each week and it’s been really positive as we’ve got around each other more and have brought into the processes,” he said.
“We’ve been really competitive against good sides for 60 minutes and then we fade away very quickly, which isn’t ideal and we’re pushing to stick around for the full 80.
“The way we’re going we can feel a win is coming in our direction, we just have to stick with what we know and keep believing and not going down by massive margins is a great turnaround.”
Fellow captain Kanae Gimini has stepped up in the leadership role and has brought a real voice to the Rabbitohs’ outfit.
Kane Briggs from Western Australia is another to bring direction to the side, while usual rock Dustin Briscoe has put in to his usual high standard to lift his side.
But they know there’s a challenge ahead against the flying Dragons, who have the likes of Robbie Butcher and Trey Crowley pulling the strings from the halves
Dragons’ captain Brenton Motlop will be another who will be taking plenty of passion into the encounter.
“The history of this match to the clubs is massive, this is my first time captaining this game but it means a lot to a lot of guys here,” Crowe said.
“There’s plenty of guys who take a lot of passion and heart into this Shield guy, and there’s a lot of guys who are very close to the Motlop family on both sides.
“We can’t wait to put on the jersey for this fixture, and we know everyone will be going hard through the week to get the chance to play in it.
“We need to compete with them, we’re a smaller unit so we need to get up nice and quick and take the space away from them, and use our outside backs to our advantage from there.”
Parramatta Eels to play final game as Darwin NRL side
The Parramatta Eels and NT Government have made a huge call on their time as the Northern Territory home side post 2025, with the hunt under way for a replacement team. Read the latest.
Five Territorians selected for national league squads
Territory women are starring in the rugby league space with five young standouts selected to represent national teams. Read who they will be playing for.