Darwin Rugby union sides ready to open 2023-24 season

Rugby rivalries will be put to the test in the Darwin heat for the 2023-24 season, which promises an influx of young and exciting talent to the competition. See how the clubs are shaping up.

The Casuarina Cougars will be the club to watch again having won premierships in the A’s, B’s and under-16s competitions, while making the women’s grand final.

The A-Grade win was a drought-breaker for the proud club who had not won the Dennis Bree Shield since 2013, and is a title they will be keen to keep their hands on.

Club president and then-coach Luigi Andreoli said the club was hungry for more success after a noticing a lift in participation across the club after their victorious campaign.

“Success comes from good club culture, you need that for players and kids to keep rocking up and it showed in those wins last year,” he said.

“A lot of the guys are coming back, even those in their mid-30s who you would think see a grand final win as a swan song, but they’re all interested in coming back and going again.

“Our participation is definitely going up, more people are putting their hands up for different roles on the back of last year’s success which is great.

“The squad is probably going to look stronger this year with a new coach coming in with new ideas, while everyone is hungry to prove last year wasn’t a one off.”

Casuarina Cougars won the 2022-23 Darwin Rugby grand final against the Palmerston Crocs at Rugby Park.

It was a young Palmerston Crocs side who lost the gripping 35-21 decider, after they turned their season around from a slow start into a genuine title hunt.

And though the side overall was young indicating a strong upcoming generation, it was 71-year-old Dennis Bree who was the talk of the town coming in as a front rower with five minutes left.

“I’m back because I don’t know how to stop, I love it,” Bree said.

“Like any loss last year was disappointing for a while, but on reflection is was such a wonderful thing for a club who had started the way we had to come through in the second half of the season.

“And I put that down largely to the young players coming through, they gave us a lot to think about and now they’re another year older and they’re skilful so we can build a generation around them.

“It felt so good to run out with those guys, I’ve been very blessed to be able to continue to play this game at a mature age.

“Back in the era I played a lot more the Cougars were the team to beat, so it brought back a lot of memories, and being out there was fantastic.”

Meanwhile, the University Pirates, as well as Darwin Dragons and South Darwin Rabbitohs, will also be in the title hunt, with all three sides having clinched the premiership in the past five years.

Dennis Bree at the launch of the 2023-24 Darwin Rugby Union season. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Pirates coach Michael Jennings said a mix of the old guard, including Robbie Butcher, Wise Sekitoga and Shaun Wauchope, and juniors would feature in his side.

“We’ve got some new players, a lot of young fellas who were away are now back, and other players who were missing to injury or suspension are also back,” Jennings said.

“We’ve definitely got the old guard, like Butcher and Wauchope, with a lot of those younger guys impacted by the under-16s to seniors jump making their A-Grade debuts.

“Last year we ran out of gas, ran of cattle with key suspensions and injuries before running into a red-hot Palmerston so this year we’ve addressed our depth and hoping to go better.”

Swampdogs will also cause some problems in the B-Grade with their strong core of juniors all expected to make an impression.

“Preseason has been fantastic, the senior boys are boxing and going fit, and our juniors numbers are strong as they always are,” Peter Nason said.

“We’re never sure what makes our numbers so strong, it’s the parents wanting to get their kids outside and then probably the culture we have at the club.

“The senior guys are looking good too, we did toss up having an A-Grade side, but it’s hard with a lot of the boys working FIFO and on Saturdays, we will do what suits our group.”

Women’s Preview

The Darwin Dragons will be targeting another big showing in the women’s rugby union competition on the back of a strong 2022-23 campaign, while South Darwin returns to the division.

The Dragons claimed an emphatic 55-0 grand final win over Causarina in the open women’s to close out their season.

And while there will be plenty of new faces around the place as the group’s under-17s players will get their chance at the top level.

Dragons’ captain Bianca Scrymgour said she was excited for the new season which would have more women’s take part in the competition.

Bianca Scrymgour, Kaitlyn Watts and Ayesha Kay at the launch of the 2023-24 Darwin Rugby Union season. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“We’re excited, we know being the premiership team we’re the side with the targets on our backs heading into Round 1,” Scrymgour said.

“We had a good run in the 7s comp and we’ve got a few new girls, so hopefully we can just build on that and we’re excited to go back and see what we can do.

“Last year we didn’t have a junior squad, but this year we have an under-17s side with a few of those girls playing up with us when they get the chance, which is great for the competition.

“We’ve got five or six league girls, with a few maybes, but hopefully as the season goes on a few will get itchy feet and come down and join us.

“When you’re out there running you don’t think about the heat as much, we did do the 7s in the heatwave so that was pretty hot, but for us you just do the one percenters to get the job done.”

She will be joined by last season’s best and fairest, and another NRL NT standout, Ayesha Kay who said would take on the pressure winning the best player award carried.

“Last year it came down to our togetherness and our discipline as well, all our girls came together and really worked hard throughout,” Kay said.

“There’s a bit of pressure on me to come back in and act on what I did last season, but this year we’re rebuilding the team with new players coming in.”

Back left: Michael Jennings and Peter Nason. Front left: Luigi Andreoli, Dennis Bree, Kaitlyn Watts, Ayesha Kay and Bianca Scrymgour at the launch of the 2023-24 Darwin Rugby Union season. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Meanwhile, South Darwin are making a return to the women’s competition after a year’s break and will be looking to make an impression.

Souths player Kaitlyn Watts said it was great to have the side back giving extra opportunities to girls looking to get into the sport.

“I’m super keen, I’m really looking forward to the season now we’re back,” she said.

“We’ve seen quite a few players come back which is great to have that experience return, and we’ve got heaps of new faces too.

“The goal is just to focus on the basics, we have to gel as a squad and then hopefully we can go from there.

“It’s massive to me to have this team back, I love the sport and I love seeing it grow so to have this opportunity for girls is awesome.”