Bunnies belt Cougars to climb top of ladder

SOUTH Darwin returned to the top of the NTRU ladder after it beat Casuarina 38-13 and Palmerston went down to Dragons 47-12 in Round 12 at the weekend

Souths Rawiri Wilson during the NTRU Souths vs. Casuarina at Marrara. Pic Glenn Campbell

SOUTH Darwin returned to the top of the NTRU ladder after it beat Casuarina 38-13 and Palmerston went down to Dragons 47-12 in Round 12 at the weekend.

Following their 20-point loss to the Crocs in Round 11, Souths were demoted to second place but bounced straight back at Rugby Park on Saturday.

They never gave Casuarina a look-in. Brett Joyes, Dallas Penetito and Rapoama Dakaica all crossed the stripe in the first half to give the Bunnies an 18-3 lead at the break, with a dominant scrum leading to all the field position and territory.

The understrength Cougars showed some resistance in the second half, but never looked like snatching back the lead.

Cooper Segeyaro and Bobby Nurse scored for last year’s grand finalists but tries to Setefano Cakau, Vinny Mehn and Bryn Templeman secured victory for Souths.

Bunnies boss Brad Hunt said he was happy with how his team responded after a disappointing performance against Palmerston in Round 11.

“(The Palmerston loss) was a great motivator to get back on and keep going, I’m pretty happy,” Hunt said.

“It was a balanced performance, consistently across the park. And the firsthalf effort, we had the majority of territory and the majority of possession which set the platform for us to roll home in the second half.”

Meanwhile the loss of 10 players midweek proved too much for Palmerston to overcome as the Crocs went down to Dragons and relinquished top spot.

The teams went into the break locked at 7-7 and although they traded tries to begin the second half, it was Dragons who always looked the stronger.

Puru Westrupp’s side now sits in third having won three- straight matches.

University also entrenched itself in the top four, but only just, with a 26-25 win over Swampdogs.

The rural club led by six points until the last two minutes when the Pirates crossed the stripe to snatch a victory that Hone Edwards described as “an escape”.

“Swampies played well, but we also had a lot of guys missing. We were playing with players who normally don’t play in the backline and it made it tough for us,” the Uni coach said.

“But at the end of it, the boys held their nerve and got that last try and a win is a win and that was all we were looking for.”