NT rugby table toppers South Darwin and Darwin Dragons both recover for victories

TABLE leaders South Darwin and Darwin Dragons both pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in A-grade rugby action on the weekend

Nigel Maher gets the ball away for Darwin Dragons against the Palmerston Crocs at Marrara . Picture: Glenn Campbell

TABLE leaders South Darwin and Darwin Dragons both pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in A-grade rugby action on Saturday night.

In the main fixture, the Palmerston Crocs flew out of the blocks to lead the Dragons 17-0 at halftime.

Four second-half tries secured the bonus-point 22-17 win for the Dragons, who now trail the Rabbits by just two points in the competition standings.

In the late game, South Darwin were dominated at the set piece by a well-drilled Casuarina Cougars side, but the Rabbitohs won a thriller 19-18.

The Cougars dominated possession, field position and the scoreline at halftime after a try and two penalty goals had them leading 11-0.

Bobby Nurse and Eric Erickson were outstanding in a forward pack that outplayed their opposition for most of the game. Zac Philips controlled the backline until he was sent to sin bin for 10 minutes.

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Souths took their chance with the extra numbers and Jake Rainger found his way to the tryline to bring the score to 11-7 with 20 minutes to play. Cougars, however, hit back 10 minutes later.

From an attacking set piece, the ball was shifted wide and classy centre Kailab Coventry was able to beat four defenders to score under the sticks.

The Zac Phillips conversion looked like it was enough for the win, the Cougars up by 11 with eight minutes to play.

But from the restart, the Rabbits were able to capitalise on repeat phase play.

Brett Joyes crashed over beside the sticks to narrow the gap to four. With one minute to play, Billy Burn kept his cool and sealed the win on fulltime with a try out wide.

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In the early game, Uni Pirates were too good for a committed Swampdogs outfit. Pirates scored eight tries in their 48-10 victory.

South Darwin 19 (Jake Rainger, Brett Joyes, Billy Burn tries; Jake Rainger 2 cons) d Casuarina Cougars 18 (Eric Erickson, Kailab Coventry tries; Zac Philips con and 2 pens)

Darwin Dragons 22 (Greg Smith 2, Hare Winitana, Nigel Maher tries; Nick Bierman con) d Palmerston Crocs 17 (Semisi Nabiri, Anthony Smith tries; Brayden Keirs 2 cons, pen)

University Pirates 48 (Robbie Butcher 2, Sivo Senicaukava 2, Jack Caspani, Dennis Hill, Dave Taylor, Matt Vitucci tries; Robbie Butcher 4 cons) d Swampdogs 10 (Joel Turaga 2 tries)