Darwin Brothers women beat Palmerston Raiders in NRL NT Round 12
The Darwin Brothers women maintained their unbeaten run with a try in the dying minutes, while Northern Sharks had another massive win in the men’s. Check out the latest action from the NRL NT.
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The Darwin Brothers women maintained their unbeaten run with a thrilling last-minute try to pull away from a confident Palmerston Raiders outfit.
Brothers have been the benchmark side in the women’s comp for the past two seasons, but major rivals Raiders brought the heat early to put the result in doubt.
And though they had toiled all day with a draw looking likely Brothers were able score in the final minute of the match to win 20-16.
As expected Brothers were hot out of the gates with Latoniya Norris and Ivana Schober both looking lively on the offence.
But Palmerston held strong and forced mistakes from their opposition and were able to turn the momentum in their favour as a result.
Their forwards were quick to set the platform and soon a Jaymie Lawton burst allowed Lucy Aigea to crash through passionate defence to score in the corner.
Raiders dominated the ball from there locking Brothers in their own half and eventually they had their second score as Aaliyah Lee went over.
It was a wakeup call for the Brothers side who needed to score next to stay in the match, and it was Ellie Niki and Cassiela Wapau who created chances.
Back in opposition territory captain Bianca Scrymgour won an important penalty and soon after Bianca Stokes charged through multiple defenders to score.
They kicked off the second half with the same intent quickly finding parity on the scoreboard as Wapau put Jacinda Summers through a gap to score.
It wasn’t long before Summers was under the posts once again off the back of a strong 40m Norris’ counterattack to put Brothers ahead for the first time.
Palmerston weren’t done though as Aigea continued to prove a strong runner, while Victoria Alley and captain Briannon Ross were also important ball carriers.
Penalties started to go there way again as they found themselves in opposition territory and a great passage led to a levelling try for Rose-Maree Goninon.
It meant scores were tied with just 10 minutes left on the clock, for much of which neither side could find a way past their opposition’s defence.
With just a minute left Niki found herself in space on the charge taking on a tackle to offload to Norris who managed to dive over for the match winner.
“We always knew Raiders were going to bring it, they made us work really hard,” Scrymgour said.
“There were a few undisciplined errors from us which let them in, but I can’t take anything away from them, they pressured us in both attack and defence.
“We had to tidy up our mistakes, go back to our game and stick to our structure while we had been a ball happy early on.
“My girls dug really deep. It was going to take a team effort to win and everyone played to their role, I couldn’t be prouder.
“We couldn’t be happier to get the win and now it’s back to the drawing board and focusing on finals where we’re likely to face them again.”
Meanwhile, the Litchfield Bears were dominant at home beating South Darwin 48-8 with nine try scorers including Teiya Nelson who had a brace.
Sharks with dominant win over Nightcliff
Northern Sharks run of form has continued with the drubbing of a brave but undermanned Nightcliff Dragons squad.
The odds were always in Sharks’ favour with the side looking almost untouchable since their winning run began in Round 5.
But their chances of posting a massive score were bolstered when only ten men ran out for the Dragons, allowing Sharks a margin-boosting 94-2 win.
The Dragons showed their passion early on with captain Zak Mott and Joshua Austin making digs at the line, while the whole team tackled bravely forcing mistakes from Sharks’ early attacks.
But it was only a matter of time for Sharks who were able to swarm and overrun their foes at every tackle.
David Munro was strong with ball in hand for Sharks scoring the first of the side’s 18 tries with a show of pace out of the centres.
It was the beginning of an avalanche with Sharks going on to score with Bailey Zaro scoring a hattrick racing down the wing.
Luke Miller was another benefactor scoring off the service of halves Caleb Smith and Kieren Danovaro, who were standing in for usual pairing Mitch Burke and Brent Crisp.
Clint Chettle and Samuel Pearson were also on the end of some great moves, while a Rowan Kennett line break led to Damien Mick try to close out the half with his side already 42-0 up.
It was the same story in the second half with Chettle almost immediately adding to his try tally after cutting through the his former club’s defence.
By this stage Sharks were rocketing towards the 100 point score with Kieren Danovaro, Brody Bordina, Thomas Gunn, Luke Hitchcock and Shaquille Addo-Norris all also crossing the white paint.
Nightcliff were brave all the while though and were constantly looking for ways to avoid the whitewash using Brenton Motlop and Sitiveni Loko on the carry.
But Sharks defence held strong and Dragons had to resort to a Trey Crowley penalty kick to get some points on the board.
Sharks, however, weren’t done continuing the free flow of tries and continuing to force mistakes from their opposition.
A dropped ball at the death summed up the night with Smith gathering and bolting downfield passing off until the ball found its way to stand-in captain Lachie Wright who finished under the posts.
“It can be hard to play in games like that, but the boys did well with there being some hesitation early on to put them to the sword,” Wright said.
“In the second half we just stuck to our structures and kept playing footy rather than just trying to run away with it.
“It was a good chance for us to test combinations, we had props going in at five eight at one stage, and it was good to rotate and see what we could do to fill any potential voids.
“Now we just need to get our full team back so we can start practicing ahead of finals time, we have everything down pat and running smooth otherwise.
“The mood around the club is great, we have great numbers at training and everyone is getting around each other so it’s a good time for Sharks.”
Elsewhere, Darwin Brothers all but sealed a spot in top three with an 18-16 win against reigning premiers Palmerston.
And the Litchfield Bears posted a 46-0 win over South Darwin at Webber Park with Declan MacGillivray scoring four tries while Bailey Priestley had a hattrick.
Litchfield to put on their best for final NRL NT home match
Litchfield Bears are determined to close out their final home game of the season with a win, and know they can’t take their foes South Darwin lightly.
The Bears have had a largely successful year sitting in the top two all season, and likely to hold on to secure the finals double chance.
But a 22-16 home loss to a lively Darwin Brothers side in Round 11 has provided the side with a necessary wake-up call in the final games in the lead up to finals.
Coach Jake Barnes said his side made too many errors and were flat to start despite their initial goal of finishing the season without a loss at home.
“It wasn’t the result we were after, we had a goal this year to not lose any games at home,” Barnes said.
“We made far too many errors, didn’t play our style of footy and I think Brothers just capitalised on the errors we made.
“We were probably a little flat to start and Brothers got a couple of points, we came back into it but didn’t really maintain the consistency to stay in the game.”
It’s a loss which has reinvigorated the side’s hunger to do their large home supporter base proud with a game against South Darwin the last chance to do the Webber Park faithful proud.
And with young gun Harry Fulton set to debut in the match there’s plenty to celebrate for the occasion.
“All the boys get around it, the whole community does, and it’s quite a nice thing when we get to run out in front of our home fans at Webber Park,” Barnes said.
“We’ve got a very loyal supporter base who stick with us no matter what, through thick and thin, and after a couple of down years we wanted to push hard at home and play for them.
“We’re pretty stoked with where we are, we’ve worked hard to improve on last year only winning five then and we’re already on nine this season with a few more to play.”
Bears will be without their captain Trent Wedding who is being rested for the encounter after taking on a heavy workload throughout the season.
Plenty of weight will fall on halves pairing Nathan Dixon and Aaron Moss, while powerful forward trio Dillan Vanderburg, Brody Race and Luke Mahood will be depended on to set the platform.
Meanwhile, Souths may be at the bottom of the table but have impressed this season and are always up for a chance to score.
Ankin Lewis and Tyson Thew were among their standouts in the Chico Motlop Shield while the return of skipper Dustin Briscoe may spark something in the side.
“We’re looking to reset our momentum and get back into the swing of things hopefully with a win,” Barnes said.
“You can never underestimate Souths as Willie and that club have turned around their senior side over the past two years and have been competitive in every game.
“We’re just looking forward to going out there and focusing on our football, do what we need to do and hopefully come away with a win.”
Meanwhile, reigning premiers Palmerston Raiders took on Darwin Brothers on Friday night and Nightcliff Dragons will take on the red-hot Northern Sharks.
Silverware and playing depth: Big talking points from NRL NT Round 11
Brothers unnerving rivals, massive women’s results and some positives from South Darwin and Nightcliff were some of the big talking points from NRL NT Round 11.
In the men’s competition it was Brothers, Sharks and Nightcliff who came out on top, while Brothers and Palmerston triumphed in the women’s.
Here are all the big talking points from Round 11.
Brothers women in scary form
The Brothers women came back from their two-week rest better than ever, thrashing the Litchfield Bears 50-4 at Webber Park.
They’ve been the form side all year and have yet to drop a game and even given two weeks off, they showed no sign of rust.
Latoniya Norris, Ellie Niki and Ivana Schober have been among the best all season and they showed their talents again each scoring three tries.
Litchfield are no pushovers and are third for good reason, but against the league’s most complete side they were unable to put up much resistance.
It was a performance mirrored by second placed Palmerston who beat Sharks 40-0, with their forwards once again being the stars.
Joanne Faatoafe and Lucy Aigea were both bruising on the carry, while Kagui Gimini scored three tries to remain second on the try scoring tally.
It means the stage is set for a thriller with the two sides to meet this weekend in a match which will standard for finals.
The Brothers have had the upper hand in both their previous meetings winning 30-20 in Round 2 and 30-8 in Round 7.
Those remain Palmerston’s only losses this season, but they remain perhaps the only side who can on their day get the win over their rivals.
It’s more than likely the two sides will face off twice during finals, but this match will show how they stack up against each other.
South Darwin only steps away
In many ways the Rabbitohs were their own worst enemies in their losing effort against Nightcliff.
The building side often put themselves in a strong position against the Dragons, but unforced errors including dropped ball and mistimed passes put paid to those efforts.
When Souths beat Nightcliff earlier in the year they controlled the ball for the majority of the game and from there were able to dominate.
But in some respects the occasion of the Chico Motlop Shield got to them and they forced the ball when a more patient approach would have worked in their favour.
Their worst period came when captain Tian Nichols spent a spell on the bench with the side lacking his direction, while Dragons were able to smash through for two tries.
There’s plenty Souths can take from this match having not just fought to the end but also having proven they can create scoring chances rather than none.
Now they just need to put it all together where they can capitalise on those opportunities, and the way they’re developing they aren’t far away.
Ankin Lewis, Brenton Robertson and Tyson Thew were standouts for Souths and should form the core of this outfit for seasons to come.
After a long time in the wilderness the Bunnies’ goals for this season would have been grow depth, don’t forfeit a game and get a win.
As things stand they’ve achieved all three of those goals and now their sights for 2024 and beyond can be higher as they push to compete with the better teams on a consistent basis.
Brothers bring the heat
Deep in opposition territory of Webber Park it was the Darwin Brothers who brought the heat against the now second-placed Litchfield Bears.
Litchfield was the only side Brothers had failed to beat leading into the encounter, but in their final meeting of the year the Brethren got the job done winning 22-16.
They showed their intent from the opening minutes scoring their first two tries without reply to set themselves up for the win.
Bears responded showing their class with the usual performers Nathan Dixon and Trent Wedding doing everything in their power to take the win.
But Brothers kept their composure and weathered the storm unlike in Round 1 where they dropped off in the second half.
Caleb Niki was the instigator able to create scoring opportunities or counter attacks from full back, once again making a strong case for the Frank Johnson medal.
Halves pairing CJ Perkins and Cristian Meo were also impressive standing in for usual position holders Isaac Seden-Kurnoth and Jonas Niki.
Meanwhile, the Brothers forwards got under their opposition’s skin bringing the big hits leading to Bears’ lower set completion rate.
The odds aren’t in Brothers favour to finish in the top two needing Bears to drop two more games without losing one of their own in the process.
However, now with wins over all of their potential opponents they go towards finals knowing they can get the job done if they have their best side.
Nightcliff show what they’ve been missing
Against South Darwin we got a taste of what Nightcliff can do when they have their best players all playing at the same time.
It was a point made by captain Zak Mott following the match saying “it really shows what we can do when we have a decent side and a full bench”.
“When we have our best team we can stick to other sides,” he said.
The issue this season, and for much of 2022, is the Dragons have been unable to put their best side for the majority of matches.
And as a result the club with the proudest history will miss finals for the second time in as many seasons.
Of course this was the Chico Motlop Shield in a match where the loser would almost certainly take the season’s wooden spoon, so Nightcliff were always targeting this one.
Dain Smith and Shaun Wauchope were both terrific on the carry while Robbie Butcher and Adrian Corrie took advantage of any slip from Souths.
Brenton Motlop and Jerome Motlop were also on board for the match played in honour of their grandfather.
If Nightcliff can see more of these guys for the rest of the season, or more importantly next season, then the side will start competing with the top sides once more.
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