Litchfield Bears beat Nightcliff Dragons in NRL NT Round 15
Litchfield Bears have secured the finals double chance against a brave Nightcliff side, while there was a forfeit elsewhere in the men’s premier league. Read the latest action from the NRL NT.
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The Litchfield Bears have secured their finals double chance against a gutsy Nightcliff, while another side posted just the first forfeit in the final round of the 2023 NRL NT season.
Litchfield came out with plenty of intent eager to gain the double chance heading into finals, but they were made to work for it beating Nightcliff 40-10 in Round 15.
The Bears have been one of the best sides all season, but haven’t been without their troubles late in the year losing three of their past four matches heading into the encounter.
And missing five-eight Nathan Dixon, out due to injury, the side lacked direction at times against a Dragons side eager to end their 2023 season on a high note.
But still the Bears were the better side on the night, winning the key battles with forwards Dillan Vanderburg and Brody Race dominant on the carry.
It was centre Corey Gregory who muscled his way through first scoring the opening try once his forwards had laid the foundation.
Bailey Priestly and Brock Priestly were also benefactors of their side’s passing game in the opening half, taking their opportunities to place the ball over the line.
And while disappointed to let consecutive tries in Nightcliff were never out of the battle constantly trying to make an impact in attack and defence in their final game of the year.
Captain Zak Mott, as he has been all year, was the heart and soul of the side carrying strong into the tackle and hitting rucks courageously all night.
And despite their deficit the Dragons got their try at the toll of half time with Harley Byers showing his pace around the ruck to set up a score in the corner for Jace Byers.
Adrian Corrie kept the intensity up for the Dragons in the second half booting the ball into Bears’ territory as much as he could to force Litchfield to work for every metre.
But Litchfield put the pressure on again crashing the ball up with their big forwards and a show and go from captain Trent Wedding kept the scoring rate up.
A break from the lively Gregory allowed full back Clancy Court to cross the white paint while the centre found his own way across not long after.
Tevita Koloamatangi also showed his prowess on the charge bulldozing his way through the Nightcliff defence to get a try under the posts.
But despite the tries against them Nightcliff never gave up, conceding less points than they have in recent rounds and fighting to the end on the attack.
They were still trying into the dying minutes with Mott, Joshua Austin and Patrick Ingall carrying into Litchfield territory.
And they had their reward late in the piece with Roberto Spice finding Lawrence Ayige who was able to close his season out with a score.
“It was our goal at the start of the year to get a top two finish, it was close at the end but good to secure that,” Wedding said.
“This match we just wanted to compete our sets and work on rolling through the middle, which is our strength, we made it hard for ourselves at times but got it done.
“Heading into finals we just need to work on completing those half chances, the 50-50s where we let ourselves down with a dropped ball or penalty, we just need to fix those little things and we’ll be there.”
Meanwhile, there was disappointment as South Darwin forfeited their match against the Palmerston Raiders meaning they would not get their final hit out of the year.
The Raiders will instead wait an extra week before facing the Darwin Brothers in the knockout semi final after the Brethren lost 30-4 to a formidable Northern Sharks.
The Sharks tuned up for the game well scoring six tries off six different players including Bradley Sneddon and Mitch Burke to cement the minor premiership.
In the women’s competition the Darwin Brothers continued their winning ways beating the Sharks 56-6 with four tries from the comp’s leading scorer Latoniya Norris.
It was also a positive day out for the Palmerston Raiders women who secured their finals double chance with a 38-4 win over South Darwin.
Palmerston shoot for finals momentum against South Darwin
The Palmerston Raiders are hoping their late season momentum keeps up with just one more challenge before finals, a South Darwin side looking to leave a final impression.
The Raiders are fresh off their biggest scalp of the year beating Litchfield 28-22 to bring up just their second win against another top four side.
However, despite their lack of results against other finals-bound teams, it’s a sign the reigning premiers are finding their momentum at the right time.
Palmerston were able to frustrate their opposition, forcing mistakes, and had the clear advantage when both Litchfield captain Trent Wedding and vice-captain David Jacobson were sent off.
Particularly pleasing for coach Daniel Roach is that his side got the win while missing a number of their first teamers, an issue which has impacted the side all season.
“The boys were over the moon to get the win, we were a bit shocked to be honest,” Roach said.
“We were always going in to win the game but considering how they’ve gone all year and our results against the top sides we didn’t think it would turn out how it did.
“It’s huge, to knock them off in the final rounds before the knockouts is going to be a big game booster for the boys.
“We’ve been missing players pretty much all season, we haven’t had our best 13 through commitments or injury but it’s always good to know we have players who can step up.”
And with Palmerston locked in for fourth, the final match of the regular season will be another chance to test the side’s depth against Souths, while some players rest up with injuries.
Roach will be dipping into the club’s under-18s for the Round 15 encounter with Sean Harris and Koen Hughes both getting the call-up for some senior experience.
They will join veteran A-grade players Shane Smith and Blake Fletcher in ensuring Palmerston’s momentum stays on track, particularly with a week’s bye ahead of finals.
But Roach knows it’s not a match South Darwin will be going easy on, with the Rabbitohs looking to end their season on a high note.
There’s been plenty of signs of progress at Souths in 2023 and the likes of Dustin Briscoe and Ty Nakata will be giving their all to prove they will be back stronger again in 2024.
“Souths have nothing to lose, they’ll want to come out with a bang and try to bash us so we will need to be ready,” Roach said.
“They’re just playing to finish their season on a high note so hopefully it will be a good game.
“We just want to get through injury free and get our combinations working particularly if the new blokes are going to be called on in finals.
“It’s good for these younger boys who have played a bit of reserve grade already and they’ve really stepped up and taken on the experience.
“Now we’re giving them the chance in the As alongside some of the senior guys they’ve never played with and hopefully they can take that on for next season and continue that hype for senior football.”
Meanwhile, the Litchfield Bears are after some momentum of their own losing three of their past four games, meaning a win against the Nightcliff Dragons will be crucial to reclaim second.
Coach Jake Barnes said his side had had it taken out of their hands, relying on the result of the Brothers vs Sharks match to get the finals double chance.
“We have left a little bit out of our hands and need the win if we’re any chance of finishing second and get momentum again,” he said.
“We haven’t played to our potential the past few weeks so hopefully we do things right and get the win against Nightcliff and then it depends on the Sharks and Brothers game.
“Either way we’re playing finals footy soon and we need to play better as a team and hold ourselves to a higher standard because things have slipped recently.”
Send-offs and milestone: NRL NT Round 14 Talking Points
Big milestones, controversial send-offs and upset victories were just some of the big talking points from Round 14 of the NRL NT.
In the men’s competition the Sharks, Brothers and Palmerston came out on top, while Litchfield and the Sharks were the winners in the women’s.
Here are all the big talking points from Round 14.
Brothers up to second
The Darwin Brothers enjoyed the perfect Round 14, beating old rivals Nightcliff 72-0, celebrating Aaron Pollard’s 100 game milestone and climbing into second on the table.
The last achievement is the only one which may remain temporary with a contest against the table-topping Sharks to come, while Litchfield take on Nightcliff in the final round.
However, it does put the Brothers’ destiny and an opportunity for a crucial finals double chance almost entirely in their own hands.
If they beat the Sharks by any margin on Friday it puts the onus on Litchfield to beat the Dragons by more than 65 points
As the season is tracking, the Brothers do have the harder task there, needing to beat a side who haven’t lost since Round 4, coincidentally when the Brethren beat them 34-6.
Meanwhile, Litchfield beat Nightcliff 70-0 last time they faced meaning the Brothers probably don’t just need to win but win convincingly against the league’s best side to take second.
Coach Leon Cleal has already indicated the side which plays this week will be the side he takes into finals with all his big guns expected to play.
When the Brothers are on song they’re as hard as anyone to beat especially with the league’s best player Caleb Niki in the full back position.
But even coming second means potentially losing your second chance in a match against the Sharks, again, in the first semi final.
Whereas third will mean a match against Palmerston, who while being the reigning premiers have struggled a bit more in 2023.
Win or lose in Round 15, the Brothers will be a real contender come finals time.
Litchfield’s frustrations result in controversial send-offs
It’s been a frustrating couple of weeks for the Litchfield men who slipped down from top position, which they held for so long, to third.
Losing three of their past four matches, all against other finals-bound sides, will sting, particularly with finals on the way.
Their most recent loss came to Palmerston which they had the better of throughout the year, but it was a couple of controversial send-offs which led to that point.
The match was a seesawing affair heading into the second half but the Bears found themselves at a disadvantage when captain Trent Wedding was given his marching orders.
Wedding, in his role as skipper, had questioned a call from the referee after a penalty went against his side and was given ten minutes in the bin as a result.
As Wedding walked away he appeared to say something to himself and was called back by the referee who this time sent him for the rest of the match.
Frustrations reached boiling point again when David Jacobson, acting as captain, questioned another call from the referee only to be sent to the bin and then sent off after arguing the call.
It meant the Bears had to see out the match with just 11 men and both their captains missing, and to come away losing by just a try is something they can have some pride in.
It isn’t the first time this season a player has missed the remainder of the game with the Sharks’ five-eighth Brent Crisp forced out in Round 9 because of back talk.
But it’s different when it’s the captain who has a job to talk to the referee and ensure their side understands decisions made.
Another loss for the Bears was Nathan Dixon, who came off injured late in the first half and had his arm in a sling by match end, an injury the club will keeping an eye on at this crucial time.
On the plus side, the club celebrated 100 games for Dillan Vanderburg, who has been one of their very best for the past four seasons.
Coach Jake Barnes commended the efforts of his prop calling it a massive achievement for someone who had grinded away in the forwards year after year.
“It’s a massive achievement, he’s been grinding away for a few years and is a big part of our club,” Barnes said.
“He’s still only quite young himself and is one of the leaders in our forward pack and particularly the front row, which is a hard spot to play in, especially when you’re younger and developing.
“But he’s become a leader and a great footballer, it was disappointing we couldn’t get it done for him but it’s great to have him in the club.”
Sharks 50th looms large
Should also be mentioned the Northern Sharks will be celebrating their big 50th anniversary this week and what a season to do it in.
The Sharks have been the most dominant side throughout the 2023 season, picking themselves up after an early season run of losses to go undefeated for 10 weeks.
Crucial to their success has been their consistency and depth with strength being replaced by strength whenever injury or absence arises.
Mitch Burke and Brent Crisp have absolutely run the show when they’ve been in the halves, but equally the likes of Kieran Danovaro have been able to step up in that area when the need arises.
It’s a real testament to how the club has developed over the past three seasons pulling themselves well and truly out of their wilderness years of 2019 and 2020.
Along the way they’ve brought their women’s team back into the contest, who despite missing the 2020 season are now once again in the finals mix each year.
It’s been a big year for the men’s side and they will be hoping to cap off the celebrations with a win against the Darwin Brothers to cement their place atop the ladder and carry plenty of form into the finals.
Women’s comp shake up
Are we starting to see a shake-up in the women’s comp?
For the past three seasons the women’s competition has been dominated by the Darwin Brothers and the Palmerston Raiders.
However, chasing sides Litchfield and the Sharks have made up some real ground in season 2023, best shown in the Bears dominant 22-4 win over Palmerston in Round 14.
Up until that stage Litchfield, while competitive, had failed to beat either of the top two sides so there most recent victory will give them plenty of confidence heading into finals.
The only blight on their record is they, like everyone else, have failed to knock off the Darwin Brothers, who remain undefeated going back to the 2021 grand final, which Palmerston won.
However, this competitive showing does put the Bears closer to the league favourites, considering it was only a last minute try in Round 12 which separated Darwin and Palmerston.
The Sharks shouldn’t be forgotten either as they’ve had improving results throughout the 2023 season, while South Darwin have had some wins of their own.
It bodes incredibly well not just for finals, but more importantly, coming seasons where there’s potential of four or potentially five sides vying for the top spots rather than just the big two.
The win Palmerston needed
It’s been a middling season for the reigning premiers who have struggled for consistency due to on and off player availability.
And as a result they have struggled for wins against the sides they know they will be meeting come finals time.
Heading into Round 14 they had only secured one win from nine matches against another top four side.
However, a hard-hitting pressure game got them their second in Round 14, frustrating Litchfield on and off the ball to win 28-22.
It was a tight win but one, particularly at this stage of the season, which Palmerston needed to prove they have what it takes to mix it with their finals rivals.
They will be most pleased they achieved it while missing several of their core players including Sam Ogden, Brad Hansen, Ed Murphy and Jacob Rainger.
Getting wins without those names is a big achievement for the side and shows consistency is growing elsewhere in the team.
Blake Fletcher has settled into the season and shown why he’s so highly rated while Blake Blomley has also been among the side’s best in the forward pack.
But they will want to get their big names on the field for the big matches to come as we now look towards the NRL NT finals.
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