Northern Sharks overcame being a man down for 30 minutes to beat Litchfield Bears

Northern Sharks remain unbeaten, Darwin Brothers pulled off a massive win and the Litchfield women showed big hearts in another big week of the NRL NT. ALL THE ACTION HERE

NORTHERN Sharks have kept their unbeaten run alive despite finishing a man down against Litchfield, but for the senior women it was the Bears women who won out over Sharks.

Litchfield started with the intensity and were quick to reap the rewards when Billy Burn leaped over the line, but some smart interplay from Damien Mick allowed Simaika Salaa to return the favour.

Bears’ playmaker was next to show some crafty footwork, with a show and go allowing him to poke a gap in the Sharks defence in a move which eventually turned into a try for Trent Wedding.

But the reigning premiers kept their cool and managed to grind out a lead with a try either side of half time through Mitch Burke and Clarence Baird.

But a ten minute sin bin on Shark’s big man Adam Hall and a straight send-off on Mitch Burke for dissent reinvigorated Litchfield’s spirits.

It was then that the Sharks’ character really came to the fore holding off attack after attack until it was their own Cooper Segeyaro who closed out the game with the last try to seal it off 20-14.

“It was a tough game. We took a penalty, which in the heat of the moment in footy there needs to be some tolerance for reaction,” captain Jacob Collie said.

“But the team is good. Everyone’s on the same path. They all turn up. We’re just a really well-oiled machine and even though we’ve made it hard for ourselves over the past couple of weeks we’ve seen it through.

“We had a sin bin and a send off, so for us to be winning that game is ridiculous, it will give the side so much confidence.”

Darwin Brothers showed their might in a massive 74-6 win over South Darwin with try scorers galore.

The tries flowed from the outset with the second placed side sending a message to the rest of the league with Caleb Niki scoring twice, while Sam Ryan-Winn managed a hat-trick.

Jye Fong on debut as Darwin Brothers take on South Darwin Rabbitohs in round 10 of the 2022 A-Grade NRL NT season. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Also in the try scoring for the Brothers side full of pace and intensity was Aaron Pollard (2), Lachlan Braun (2), Elijah Coombes, Dylan Dos Santos, Jarrod Northam and debutant Jye Fong.

Souths for their part showed plenty of flair, but Brothers were defensively sound until Francis Wapau wrestled his way across the line with only three minutes left on the clock.

Meanwhile, Palmerston Raiders stayed in the top three with a big 42-16 win over Nightcliff.

A late surge saw the Litchfield women survive a tight encounter against the lady Sharks winning 12-4.

Neither side gave an inch for much of the match trading blows in hard runs and solid defending, but it was Bears who dotted down first through Meg Clohesy.

Sharks returned the favour in the second half scoring in almost the same part of the field after a stunning run from Crystal Browne set Tamara Madzika up for the try.

Genna Stiles ( Ball) in the NRL NT Women's round 10 match between Northern Sharks and Litchfield Bears. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Bears were eventually able to pick themselves up from that set back thanks to the intensity of passion of Kiyanah Toy who ran in two late tries to see the game out for her side.

“Our defence won today’s game, the girls all worked for each other,” Litchfield coach Richard Hill said.

“It just came down to heart. We’re playing with our hearts this year. Big hearts is our motto this year and hopefully we can keep going.

“There was a little bit of emotion coming into this game against my former side, but full credit to Sharks they played well and hopefully we see them in finals.”

Litchfield outfits enjoy big day out

LITCHFIELD’S men showed plenty of offensive cohesiveness in a strong win over Nightcliff, while their women overcame a deficit in personnel to claim victory.

It was all Nightcliff early on with quick tries from Tyrone Nona and Oyeyemi Obieye suggesting it would be tough days out for the Bears.

But the side showed their grit hanging on during those tough, early exchanges and soon found themselves on the front foot thanks to strong forward work and the control of Nathan Dixon.

The long-serving Daniel Gallow was the first to see Bears on the board powering through tackles, while a smart carry and pass from Dixon saw Dillan Vanderburg through for the Bear’s second.

Michael Freeman off the bench brought plenty of thrust to the Litchfield attack breaking through tackles to put returning captain David Jacobson through for a try.

Will Burn charged through to tap another one down, before a perfectly weighted kick from Dixon set Jacobson up for his second.

Litchfield’s Nathan Dixon boots a goal against Nightcliff. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

And Matty McGregor leaped over for another to give the Bears a score they could defend.

Nightcliff tried to push their case to get back in the game, but passes and kicks went askew while the bounce of the ball continued to go Litchfield’s way.

To make matters worse two second half send-offs made a comeback for the Dragons even harder.

But they didn’t give up managing to secure tries for David Tabuai and Yowanie Namaibai off the back of some strong carries from their halves and the bulldozing runs of Dain Smith.

“We’re starting to get a bit of momentum and it feels like we’re clicking in the right places,” Jacobson said.

“We started poor, but we knew we could turn it on and beat them. We did well to get into a good position at half time and held on.

“Our body language was key, we were very up and about. If we did have errors we got around each other and that’s what we’ve been working really hard on lately.”

Meanwhile, the Litchfield women overturned a personnel deficit to seize a 26-18 win and see off a tough challenge from Nightcliff.

Starting with just 10 in their side it was always going to be a tough day at the office for the ladies Bears, but they went about their business as if they were a full team.

They held out some initial digs from their Dragons’ foes and then went on the attack pushing through tackles until Meg Clohsey was over for the first try.

Nightcliff showed their numbers in the overlaps and were quickly on the board themselves following a half field sprint from Vanessa Lee Cheu.

Kiyanah Toy bounced off tackles to give the Bears another score , but still the Nightcliff numbers were a worthy counter and Almaeve Ara took full advantage for a try of her own.

But it was never an advantage that overwhelmed the lady Bears with captain Shari Togo leading her women across the field and also exposing a key defensive gap to Emma Forsyth through.

Captain Shari Togo led her team to victory despite their deficit in numbers. Picture: Che Chorley

Melody Wehipeihana and another from Toy put Litchfield way ahead, and despite tries for Dragons from Holly Lovatt and Ingrid Aretupe there was no catching the Bears.

“It was tough having only ten on the field, we knew it was going to be a competitive game against Dragons,” Litchfield captain Shari Togo said.

“We knew coming in that we had nothing to lose, we’re all about big heart at Bears this year and playing with what we got on game day.

“Communication is the key in these types of games where there’s more of them. And just stay in tight and remember there’s safety in defending in numbers.”

‘Missed opportunities’: Barnes rues Bears’ blues

IT’S been a season of missed opportunities for Litchfield Bears but returning coach Jake Barnes believes his side has the goods to hang onto fourth spot after round nine of NRL NT.

The Bears take on Nightcliff Dragons on Saturday afternoon and Barnes, who returned to the club this season after a year off, says his squad has been rejuvenated by teenage youth (2021 Rising Star Nathan Dixon, Jake Crawley, Matt McGregor) and some new faces in Corey Gregory and Trent Wedding.

Barnes was no stranger to success in his first stint as Litchfield head coach, winning two titles (2018, 2019) and reaching the grand final in his third year (2020).

However, he confessed Litchfield had endured an “up and down” season so far in 2022, reflective of the overall season, with only Northern Sharks a clear standout.

“We probably haven’t gone as well as we would have liked,” Barnes told the NT News.

“We’ve had a lot of missed opportunities ... a lot of games where we’ve let teams get out to big leads at half time and then we’ve nearly run them down.

Litchfield Bears coach Jake Barnes with 2018 captain Luke Mahood and the NRL NT premiership. Picture: Supplied.

“We win a few of those games and we’d be sitting near second, but it is what it is.

“It’s very very even (this year). It’s very evenly poised.”

Barnes said Saturday’s match was huge in the context of the season and finals approaching with the winner cementing fourth spot.

He was promising a few positional changes after their last meeting in May where the Bears smashed Nightcliff 54-18, running away with the win after half time.

“We’re quietly confident but we know Nightcliff are going to turn up,” he said.

“It’s a big game for the rest of the season.

“They’ve got a big forward pack so we’ll be trying to slow them down, contain Robbie Butcher as well.”

Meanwhile, Barnes said he had not tinkered too much with his own coaching approach after returning to the club after a year off.

“Not pick up where I left off in 2020 but instil the importance of doing the little things well,” he said.

Originally published as Northern Sharks overcame being a man down for 30 minutes to beat Litchfield Bears