Litchfield Bears men, Darwin Brothers women win in 2023 NRL NT prelim finals
The Litchfield Bears’ win despite being a man down and a triumph from the Brothers women were the highlights from the NRL NT’s prelim final. Read the latest action.
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The Litchfield Bears showed their heart to qualify for the 2023 grand final despite being a man down for the majority of their NRL NT prelim final against the Darwin Brothers.
Litchfield brought all the effort in a better attacking display than they’ve managed in recent weeks to win 20-12 and earn qualification for next week’s big dance against the Northern Sharks.
The Bears came out with all the intent with Dillan Vanderburg and Brody Race industrious through the middle, while Matthew Woolmington frequently found space with his boot.
And their early efforts were rewarded fairly early on in the match with Woolmington breaking the line laying the foundation for a Billy Burn try under the posts.
However, from there Litchfield spent most of the time on defence with Isaac Seden-Kurnorth, Caleb Niki and Xavier Grant all dangerous when they got their chances with ball in hand.
Front rower Trent Kurnoth was another who was busy all day and constantly brave in attack and defence causing Litchfield problem after problem.
Big runs from Kenneth O’Connor and Colin Wilson-Perkins put serious pressure on the Bears’ line, only stopped by a Julius Appo tackle, who was consequently sent for the match for dissent.
But even with just 12 men the Litchfield defence held strong against barrages of attacks from Brothers who were constantly working to put their x-factor, Niki, into space.
Instead captain Trent Wedding was able to lay the foundation for a Bears’ move, which was followed up by some brilliant passing from Nathan Dixon and David Jacobson to set up a Corey Gregory try.
Brothers once again had the better of the chances early in the second with Kurnoth once again bringing some urgency with his side lacking points.
But still matters went Litchfield’s way with Dixon and Declan MacGillivray linking well to set a barnstorming run from Callum Dubbeld who barged through five defenders to score.
Brothers fought back then as Seden-Kunorth brought momentum and Niki broke the line, and though he was brought down the move was finished by Christian Meo to score the side’s first.
However, a knock on from the restart meant the Bears were back on the offensive, and a Dixon grubber popped up perfectly for Clancy Court to dot down over the line.
The Brethren did come back with a Danny Warren short pass sending Kurnoth barging right under the posts for his side’s second.
But with time on Litchfield’s side they were able to do enough in the dying stages to maintain the lead and secure their spot in the A-Grade grand final.
“We haven’t done anything yet, our goal was to make the grand final and now we’re there we’re just have to approach it like we have any other game,” Wedding said.
“We had two calls at training all week and that was attitude and effort, we stuck by that through the full 80 and when we went a man down we stuck by even more.
“Attack was another focus after last week, so we built on that throughout the week and came out with a lot of confidence and just tried to execute.
“That’s what it comes down to, effort, attitude and execution, and this week we did that so hopefully we’ll just build on this and do what we need to against Sharks.”
Brothers’ coach Leon Cleal said his side weren’t able to execute when opportunities came their way, but did confirm he would be putting his hand up again to coach the Brothers in 2024.
“We had our opportunities, but we didn’t execute when we had them, and to be honest the Bears were more desperate than we were,” Cleal said.
“They were desperate and ready to win, their defence was very good and did a great job of slowing us down and held us up nicely which our boys struggled to adjust to.
“We fought all the way and finished up with no one left on the bench, and to finish up just eight points behind is something I’m very happy about from that point of view.
“I’ll put my hand up for the job again, I was questioning if they needed someone else but the boys have got in my ear and said they don’t want anyone else.
“I’ve known a lot of these kids since they were 16 and I treat them like sons and I think they treat me like a father in most things, we have a very special bond and it’s something I won’t see again.”
Brothers women pull through against Litchfield
The Darwin Brothers women proved too strong in the second half to see off a courageous Litchfield unit and secure their spot in the 2023 grand final.
There was little to split the sides in the opening half, but a passionate second period including a Latoniya Norris hat trick completed the Brothers’ 26-12 prelim final victory.
The Brothers had been the benchmark side all season, but lost for the first time to Palmerston in the semi-finals with four of their stars Norris, Ellie Niki, Bianca Scrymgour and Ivana Schober away.
But those four immediately returned to their roles with Norris, the league’s leading try scorer, bouncing off two tacklers and sprinting 60m to score a try with her first touch.
Litchfield tightened their defence from there shutting down Brothers’ big tacklers while their own threats Rhiannon Fecht, Kiyanah Toy and Emma Forsyth made metres on the carry.
They eventually found their own chance when Meg Clohesy took on the defence to give Toy space to send Forsyth through a gap for a try.
Litchfield’s intent was evident early on with Lavinia Norris finding space on the attack while captain Shari Togo put in a massive shift defensively against Brothers’ big runners.
And the Bears went ahead when a cross field kick was scooped up by Teiya Nelson who was able to score on the wing.
However, the lead was only brief with Schober and Niki getting it up field in a move which was ultimately finished off by Bianca Stokes.
The Bears’ came out of half time with the same intensity knowing they were only two points adrift and it was from Toy putting boot to ball that they had their chances.
But the Brothers had built themselves into the occasion with Niki carrying hard to put the Bears’ defence on the back foot, and from there Jacinda Summers showed off her evasiveness to score.
It wasn’t long after that they had another off a scrum restart with the ball finding its way out to Norris who beat Togo for pace to get her second try of the match on the left edge.
She completed her hat trick on the opposite wing when Courtney Tamati worked it wide to the right wing where Norris again beat everyone to dart over for what was more than likely the sealer.
Litchfield never gave up with Genna Stiles and Chloe Molross among those carrying hard into contact to try to get something else out of the encounter, but the Brothers defence held strong.
The result capped off a massive day for captain Scrymgour who had coached the Brothers’ under-17s side to a 20-12 grand final victory in the match prior.
“It’s unreal, I’m on a really big high, the girls are battered and bruised but we’re excited and ready to focus on the grand final,” Scrymgour said.
“It was good to get the extra game, especially for the four of us who went away last week, we knew it was going to be tough so it was good to get some body contact and be pushed to our limits.
“Going into that second half we just had to reset and refocus, Ellie and I had just coached so there was a lot of energy, but we just needed to calm down as a group and play our game.
“My under-17s were amazing as well, they showed unbelievable fight against Litchfield, who have been strong all year, and so I’m a proud coach and can’t wait for the future of women in league.”
Litchfield coach Richard Hill said his side deserved plenty of credit considering how far they had come in the past two seasons.
“Wasn’t what we wanted but credit to my ladies, they stuck in the fight and to be within two points at half time is down to the effort they’ve put in,” Hill said.
“In the second half we knew Sistaz weren’t going to switch off, they play the full 60 minutes, and the end result showed that.
“But to come from where we were with just five or six at training every week to being within one game of making a grand final is credit to everyone and hopefully we can go one better next week.”
Litchfield to lift game against pacy Brothers in NRL NT prelim final
The Litchfield Bears know they need a lift in attack if they’re to see off a Darwin Brothers’ outfit full of flair and secure their place in the 2023 NRL NT grand final.
The Bears have been in the competition’s top two all season, but they’ve only won two matches from the past six games, including their most-recent 28-4 semi-final defeat to the Northern Sharks.
That defeat means Litchfield now need to fight it out with a Brothers’ side peaking at the right time to get into a grand final and play off for the premiership.
However, it was also a match in which the Bears were only able to score at the death when the Sharks were down to just 10 men.
Coach Jake Barnes said the issue was one his side needed to rectify if they were to find their way back into the trophy battle.
“We started fairly well and were pretty competitive in the first half, but became the victim of our own errors in the second half,” he said.
“We had our chances, it’s not as if we weren’t in it, and it was competitive for the most part.
“Sometimes we work so hard defensively that when we do get the ball we don’t give as much and our decision making probably isn’t quite what it should be.
“We’ve also had a fair bit of player rotation throughout the season so those key combinations probably aren’t quite where you’d like them to be at this time of the year.
“It’s disappointing but the boys have bounced back this week and are training hard and looking forward to the game this weekend.”
Now they come against the Brothers who last week beat the reigning premiers Palmerston Raiders 28-6 to keep their own title hopes alive.
The Brothers have been peaking at the right time and have some the fastest backs in the comp including Caleb Niki, Isaac Seden-Kurnorth and Xavier Grant.
But Litchfield have beaten them in two of their three meetings this season and with the troops at their disposal are hoping to make it three out of four.
Barnes has called on a big showing from his forwards Dillan Vanderburg, Brody Race and Billy Burn to create space for half Nathan Dixon to create some magic in attack.
“We’ve beaten them twice and they’ve beaten us once and they’ve all been close games,” he said.
“Brothers always hit form at the right time of year and you know you’re always going to get plenty of fast-paced, free-flowing attack when you play them.
“We’re looking for our forwards to step up this week, we spoke with them a bit this week about taking games on and letting our backs do their work.
“Basically looking for Dillan, Brody and Billy to lead from the front and get us a bit of space for our backs to play off.”
Meanwhile, it’s also Litchfield and Brothers facing off in the senior women’s contest with the Bears being one of the big improvers of the season.
And while they’re coming up against what will be a vengeful Brothers unit, after their undefeated streak was broken, Litchfield will do everything to give themselves a chance of making the big dance.
Barnes was impressed with how far his club’s women’s side had come in the past season.
“They’ve definitely hit their straps,” he said.
“They’ve come on leaps and bounds over the past few years, but even in just the back half of this season they’ve improved so much.
“They’ve been putting in at training and working hard so it’s good to see them getting a few rewards.”
All the talking points from the 2023 NRL NT semi-finals
Surprise wins, attacking flair and improved showings were some of the big talking points from the NRL NT semi-finals.
The Sharks and Brothers were the semi-final winners in the men’s competition, while Palmerston and Litchfield were victorious in the women’s draw.
That means Litchfield and the Brothers will face off in both senior prelim finals for their spot in the 2023 grand finals.
There the winning men’s team will come up against the red-hot Sharks and the women will face a Palmerston side with new-found confidence.
Will Brothers flair take them to a final?
As always the Brothers brought the flair and razzle dazzle to see off the reigning premiers Palmerston and keep their own premiership hopes alive for another week.
But their pace and attacking threat is not why they got the 28-6 win over the Raiders.
Across the opening 15 minutes it was Palmerston who dominated the possession, crashing the ball up the middle and trying their best to expose the Brothers’ edges.
Instead the Brethren held their own, weathered the storm and when the opportunity came forced the turnover and went on the counter attack.
This is a side that knows how to attack and its players excite when they do but their defensive work should not be underestimated.
Thomas Laban, Drew Tobin and Trent Kurnoth all fronted up in the front row and put in the minutes to keep their side going.
And when their forwards are performing it’s a lot easier for the Brothers’ backs to do all the flashy stuff they’re known for.
Caleb Niki was once again a live wire from the back and pace and ball smarts usually results in a try one way or another.
The bar has been set now, they have to maintain this level for the next two weeks of potentially challenging finals matches.
Palmerston give Brothers’ women necessary wake-up call
If the Brothers’ women wanted a wake-up call, this was the time to get it — or at least their last chance for one.
They’ve not lost since the Raiders beat them in the 2021 grand final and have absolutely dominated since.
However, it was the Raiders who once again broke the streak, bringing their forward power to the fray and dominating both possession and the scoreboard.
It should be noted the Brothers weren’t exactly at full strength for the occasion with their four best players, captain Bianca Scrymgour, Latoniya Norris, Ellie Niki and Ivana Schober all away.
But take nothing away from Palmerston, this was the team’s best performance of the season and the side took its opportunities when they came.
After losing by just a try to a full-strength Brothers side about a month ago, it proved full team or not, a battle between these two sides could always go either way.
But at least for a week this is a major shake-up, and while the Brothers will regain their players, it is Palmerston who will be waiting in the grand final with a renewed sense of confidence.
If they had to lose at any stage, this was probably the right time to do it, getting an extra week of match practice should they make it through to the grand final.
To get there they will need to beat the league’s most improved, Litchfield, who after their recent successes are eyeing a grand final spot of their own.
Litchfield women have biggest challenge ahead
The Litchfield women are the big improvers of the 2023 season, progressing from a side struggling for numbers to the preliminary final.
They brought speed and intensity, particularly in the second half, to seal the semi-final win against the Northern Sharks and give themselves a real shot at the grand final.
And once again it was their Gaynor Maggs winners Rhiannon Fecht and Kiyanah Toy who inspired the side to victory, taking the game on and finding gaps in defence.
With these two in form and firing the whole side lifted, and if the Bears have any chance of beating the Brothers in the prelim they will need to be at their best again.
The Brothers have been a step above of the pack all year, though proved in the semis they aren’t invincible.
They were, however, missing four of their best in that loss, and the quartet will be back to cause the Bears issues this weekend.
Litchfield have not beaten the Brethren in the past four years, with their most recent meeting resulting in a 50-4 win to the Brothers in Round 11.
Either way this has been a successful year for the Litchfield women with true depth coming out of their junior sides.
If they continue to build on what they have then this side will be pushing for a premiership title within the next couple of years.
Litchfield’s attacking woes continue
The Litchfield Bears have now gone two whole matches — or 160 minutes — against the Northern Sharks with only four points to show for it.
And that try came in the very last moment of play when the Sharks were already down to 10 men because of sin bins.
It’s as sure a sign as any that if the Bears are to make the grand final they will need to make some major adjustments, particularly in attack.
That doesn’t mean change the line-up, this is a team full of proven performers and young guns who can do the job.
But they do need to re-find the clinical edge which led to so much success early in the season and has since disappeared.
Against the Sharks there were plenty of one-up attacks which resulted in penalties or turnovers which just can’t be afforded when it comes to finals.
But when half Nathan Dixon, newly returned from injury, put the ball through the hands they were dangerous, it just didn’t happen enough.
Admittedly, the Sharks have been the benchmark side in the competition for the past three seasons and their defence is second to none.
They enjoy defence, even when down men, and to prove that they’ve conceded just 27 points from their past seven games, one less point than they scored against Litchfield.
Sharks’ discipline worry
The Northern Sharks may now be into the final but they know more than anyone they can’t let their foot off the gas now.
And discipline will be a particular focus for them, knowing send-offs could ruin their chances of a premiership for the second year in a row.
The Sharks dominated the 2022 grand final against Palmerston but a Clint Chettle send off before half time meant they spent most of the match down a man and eventually lost.
If there’s any chink in the armour of the 2023 side, who have now won 12 matches in a row, it’s that they can be prone to finding themselves on the wrong side of the ref.
They had three players sent off in their 34-22 win over the Brothers in Round 9 and again went a player down for a period in their 14-0 Round 13 victory against Litchfield.
Then against Litchfield again in the semi-final they had to finish the match with three men in the bin and it was then when they let a try through.
As mentioned, this is a side who loves to defend and does all the basic stuff very well but when it comes to discipline, they have been prone to concede in the wrong way.
In a lot of these examples the send offs or sin bins came late when the match was already won but they can’t afford to let lapses of discipline hit them earlier in a game.
The Sharks are in their third grand final in as many years and once again their discipline may be the deciding factor between victory and another heartbreaking defeat.
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