Palmerston Raiders beat Northern Sharks in 2025 NRL NT Round 3
Palmerston remain on top of the table after passing their big Round 3 test, while the Sharks women proved they’re a force to be reckoned with in 2025. Catch up on the latest NRL NT action.
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The Palmerston Raiders have announced themselves as a side in title contention after their resounding defeat of the Sharks to further their stay on top of the 2025 NRL NT table.
The Raiders didn’t make finals last season while the Sharks made their fourth successive grand final, but with two wins already under their belts heading into Round 3 Palmerston had the momentum.
And they made it three from three in a demolition job of their foes winning 42-10 to prove they should be in the mix by the end of the season.
Palmerston took the early lead off the back of two huge, splintering runs from Jarrad Lane with the first resulting in a try for himself.
The second also gave Palmerston plenty of territory and an opportunity that captain Brad Hansen ensured they took advantage of passing out to Dennis Jevdenijevic for the second try.
Sharks regathered themselves and used the likes of Adam Hall and Jacob McCarthy to move the ball up the ground.
Some smart passing from Jacob Collie and a few contributions from Taariq Salih eventually paid off in a run through from Luke Hitchcock.
But it proved only a small blip on Palmerston’s charge as their defence was otherwise solid and Hansen bossed it with ball in hand.
The captain was key in try assists with a grubber pounced on perfectly by young debutant Lamontae Banderson while he passed off to send Jevdenijevic through a gap to make it 20-4 at half time.
Sharks had their digs in the second half, but still it was the Raiders who came denied once on the right wing with a foot in touch before playing-coach Chuck Norris burst through for one of his own.
Kobi McGrath and Jayden Salam both found themselves over the white paint as well to deny any comeback from their Sharks opposition.
Collie again showed his smarts running exposing a gap from dummy half to put some respectability on the board, but it was cancelled out when Palmerston’s Jack Walsh got another try on the siren.
“There’s a feeling around the club that we’re getting back to where we were a couple of years ago when we won the comp,” Hansen said.
“Everyone in the group is buying in to Chuck as coach and AJ (Alex Johnson) and myself as assistants, there’s that different feeling around the group and it’s showing in our footy.
“This game was our real test and to win as we did and the energy from the boys all the way to the end was excellent, apart from a little bit of slackness letting in a try you couldn’t fault any of them.
“We’ve got young guys like Lamontae putting their hands up and having great games, which is great for our leadership team bringing these young fellas through to carry on for this club.
“There’s tough games ahead but we’ll keep doing the same thing and come out with a lot of energy, play our way and work for another, the results will show from there.”
Meanwhile, Nightcliff clinched victory with a last minute try for player-coach Sam Irwin to beat South Darwin 36-34.
Souths had built themselves a strong lead heading into the second half with Vincent Mehn and Heath Probert among those having an impact.
However, the Dragons came in the second with three successive tries early in the second wrapping up braces for both Laitham Shirley and Ilalio Lutua.
But a response from the Rabbitohs nudged the side back ahead for the majority of the final period, until the Dragons found their way over to secure their first win of the season.
And the Litchfield Bears won at their home track against reigning premiers the Darwin Brothers 30-22 with six different try scorers including captain Trent Wedding.
Sharks women prove they’ll be a threat in 2025
The Northern Sharks women have proved they’ll be a force this season knocking over frequent grand finalists Palmerston to celebrate a milestone for one of their leaders.
The Sharks have been among the chasing pack in the women’s competition behind Brothers and Raiders since their 2019 premiership.
But some strong recruiting in the offseason has turned the side into a threat early in the season and they showed it with their 42-8 defeat of the Raiders, marking 50 games for playmaker Ayesha Kay.
The Sharks had the majority of possession and field position from the outset and were rewarded for those efforts when the exciting Skye Cash went through for the opener.
But Palmerston, missing a couple of players including Vic Alley, used their strong runners to take the challenge right to their rivals.
Dailene Doyle went down for the side’s first try finding space while Kagui Gimini showed why she’s become a mainstay in the side with a brilliant cutting run beating multiple defenders to score.
However, it was a short lived lead with Megan Craufurd among the Sharks players offering themselves to take up the challenge and they had a try back to go ahead once more.
Kay was busy in her milestone game bringing her backs into the occasion and it was a great pass to Tamara Madzika who dotted down that took the game beyond a score for the first time.
Cash had more than a few great runs and set up Adrianne Furlan for the side’s fourth and would get a second of her own to celebrate.
Rekisha Humes also got reward for her massive efforts in the forwards when she crashed over through a pack of Raiders defenders, and would get another to confirm the win.
For Palmerston they fronted up well when they had to with a younger squad and Gimini was a huge presence with some try saving tackles, but it wasn’t enough to halt the Sharks tidal wave.
And when all seemed said and done Kay took on the line once more giving a final offload to Madzika who made it two of her own.
“It’s surreal to see how we’ve evolved for this new season, this is such a new team and it’s great to see our new girls step into the side and play the way we’ve always played,” Kay said.
“Skye Cash has been one of our standouts so far and our winger Maddy Patrick brings a lot with her kicking and running game, they’ve been magnificent.
“I’m so impressed with how we played against Raiders, we’ve come from finishing third, fourth or sometimes fifth to beating the team in last year’s grand final.
“It’s such a good feeling to have played 50 games, my commitment to this club is something I pride myself on, this is my junior club and it’s great to have played here for this long.”
Meanwhile, the Darwin Brothers stay top of the table after their 26-4 defeat of the Litchfield Bears and the Nightcliff Dragons scored their first win back in the comp beating South Darwin 22-18.
Unbeaten Palmerston to take on Sharks test in NRL NT Round 3
The Palmerston Raiders are building in confidence following a strong start to the season, but know they’re in for a test against a Sharks outfit eager to grab their first win.
Palmerston kicked off their season in style beating South Darwin 46-6 and then last year’s minor premiers Nightcliff 48-20 to sit on top of the table after two rounds.
It’s exactly the start the Raiders needed after finishing outside of finals in 2024 and gives them the chance to build momentum under new coach and club great Chuck Norris.
The recruitment of Tevita Koloamatangi from Litchfield and A-grade return of Jarrad Lane, who scored a hat-trick against the Dragons, has been integral to that early success.
“The feeling is pretty great around the squad and the boys are pretty geed up about the game and what’s ahead of us,” Norris said.
“Beating Nightcliff at home gave us a big boost in confidence in finding where we’re at and showed our strength at home.
“Our structure in attack has been a weapon, but our focus has been on our defence, that’s what wins games and we know we’ve just got to get in the grind and show we’re the fitter side.
“We believe in each other, we have a strong forward pack and a backline that will come into life when it’s time.”
Koloamatangi has been key in the forwards bringing strong running alongside Blake Blomley, while Lane has helped bring stability to the side.
Captain Brad Hansen has been another to have an influence leading by example while Lamonta Banderson will get his taste of senior action up from the under-18s against the Sharks.
The Sharks have been the benchmark side of recent times playing in the past four grand finals and despite failing to win from their opening two matches have shown they’re still dangerous.
They’ve led both reigning premiers Brothers and Litchfield at half time but fallen off the lead in the second half, an area they will want to rectify against the strong finishing Raiders.
Simaika Salaa has been among their best in his play making while Adam Hall and Jacob Collie are other experienced heads ready to throw the Raiders off their game.
“They’re hungry for a win so we basically have to stick to our game plan and focus on what we need to do,” Norris said.
“They’re a tough team and have been for a long time, we know that so we have to go out there and treat it as any other game and be confident in ourselves as we do.
“Tevita has had a big input for us alongside Blake, they’ve both been great for us so far and it’s great to see Jared back where he belongs too bringing stability to our forwards.
“Brad’s another who brings a lot to the boys, he leads by example and he brings confidence to everyone in the way he plays.”
Meanwhile, the Nightcliff Dragons will take on South Darwin Rabbitohs with both sides hunting a first win and Litchfield and Brothers compete to secure their respective undefeated runs.
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