Palmerston Raiders surge late to pull off win over Litchfield Bears and maintain 2020 unbeaten run

PALMERSTON came from behind to pull off a 20-16 win against Litchfield Bears, and maintain its 2020 unbeaten run at Goodline Park, in Round 8 of the NRL NT Premiership over the weekend

Stephen Smith was part of the Raiders outfit to see off Litchfield Bears in Round 8. Picture: Glenn Campbell

PALMERSTON came from behind to pull off a 20-16 win against Litchfield Bears, and maintain its 2020 unbeaten run at Goodline Park, in Round 8 of the NRL NT Premiership over the weekend.

Although both sides had players out, neither wanted to give an edge in the top-of-the-table clash.

Reigning champions Litchfield had a point to prove after losing the match-up at Weber Park in Round 3, while Palmerston had an undefeated streak to maintain in front of a home audience.

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The Raiders backs benefited with scores from the hard work done by their hard-nosed forwards, with Blake Fletcher scoring a brace of tries, while Beau Black also crossed.

Bears had their own try-scorers in Sam McAuley, Jackson Smith and Luke Beatty and, when ahead with less than five minutes left on the clock, they looked set for a win.

However, a matchwinning try for Raiders’ A-grade debutant Thomas Watkin, after a last-ditch offensive effort from Palmerston, got his side over the line in the dying stages.

“Pretty happy to get the win seeing we had a few of our main guys out,” Palmerston coach Daniel Keelan said.

“Though we had a few guys come in from Katherine and our reserves, who stepped up into the A-grade, who all performed quite well.

“It mainly came down to our determination to work for each other as a team, while our forwards all matched up well against theirs and our work in defence was strong as it has been all season.

“We just never gave up. Our guys were hungry to get over the top of them particularly at home as we always want to impress at home.

“Two wins over Bears gives us a bit of confidence, but finals are a different ball game and we will get around to those when they come.”

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Meanwhile in other A-grade action, Brothers beat Nightcliff 34-10 and Sharks managed a 50-34 victory over South Darwin.

On the women’s side, Darwin Sistaz crushed Nightcliff 24-6, with La-Toniya Norris scoring three tries. Palmerston beat Litchfield 24-6.