Palmerston sink Bears in entertaining fixture
THE Mitchell Russell Shield always creates a cracking contest and it was no different at Goodline Park last night as Palmerston pipped Litchfield 32-18.
In a match that was tit-fortat for the majority, the Raiders pulled through in the final stages after the Bears snatched the lead with 20 minutes remaining.
The game started with a ferocious battle in the middle of the park. The first 28 minutes remained scoreless as both forward packs happily belted one another in the middle third.
A neat kick in the in-goal by Daniel Knight resulted in a repeat set for Palmerston and Daniel Russell took advantage for the first points.
From close range, the hooker bounded out of acting-half off a quick play-the-ball and dived over next to the uprights.
The Bears locked the scores up two minutes before the break. Standing at five-eighth off a scrum 20 metres from the Palmerston line, Aaron Barnes laid off a beautiful short ball to David Jacobson who ran an outside in angle. The fullback cut through the defence to stroll over and make it 6-6.
The Bears hit the lead 10 minutes into the second half. A cross field bomb was fired into the air. Alex Marchant rose above the pack, snatched the ball and weaved his way across the line.
In what was turning into a thriller, neither side could take control of the game. Both their own worst enemies at times with poor completion rates, it was the Raiders who scored next through prop Adam Hall.
It was soon backed up by a Matthew Johnson four-pointer, before James Beckett put the Bears back in front. From that point Brad Hansen stepped up for the Raiders, scoring his own try before setting up two for Lachlan Bryan as the home side kicked clear.
Meanwhile, the Northern Sharks responded from a first round loss at the hands of Palmerston in convincing fashion.
First half tries to Joey Tarau, Timothy Muhammad, Deba Cook, Johnson Tatuha and Joe Webster gave them a 26-0 half-time lead against Souths. They didn’t let their foot of the gas in the second either, streaking away to a 54-0 victory.
Brothers fought off a late comeback by Nightcliff to maintain their perfect start to the season winning 12-10.