HUNGRY SHARKS ENJOY A LATE FEEDING FRENZY
A LATE of flurry of tries has resulted in Northern Sharks storming to a 26-6 win in a top-of-thetable clash against Darwin Brothers in round 14 of the NRL NT A-Grade competition.
It was Brothers, in their Humpty Dumpty Foundation jerseys, who set the standard early at TRL Stadium on Saturday, putting in heavy tackles in defence to set their rivals back.
Xavier Grant showed his footy skills, winning the early high-ball contests, while captain Isaac Sedan-Kurnoth, Lachlan Braun and Caleb Niki put the pressure on in attack.
But an early injury to half Jye Fong proved a massive setback for Brothers who were unable to break through their opposition’s defence.
It was instead the reigning premiers Sharks who sealed the opener, with Robert Rotaru-Temeamea charging through a gap to put a try under the posts.
And on the opposite end of the field, it was the Sharks’ defence that held strong, withstanding blow after blow to hold a slender 6-0 lead at halftime. The clash was tight for much of the second half as well, with Brothers putting in digs where they could.
But it was the Sharks who climbed further ahead with a break from Mitch Burke and a long cutout pass from Damien Mick sending stand-in captain Lachie Wright over for a try.
Once again, Burke and Mick worked in tandem to put fullback Caleb Smith through and the gap grew wider as Brothers began to tire.
A nasty bounce from a longrange kick slipped by Brothers’ fullback Antonio James, allowing Sharks’ speedster Cooper Segeyaro to swoop in and dot down a try of his own.
David Munro charged another over, with Brothers’ Nathan Wilson on his leg.
Brothers were able to add a consolation try to avoid the whitewash at the death through the busy Hayden Riggs feeding off a Wilson break, but it was not enough to put one over the premiers.
“There was a bit of fatigue in the back end but the boys just kept backing up and we got a few lucky breaks and some long-distance tries out of that,” Wright said.
“We just stuck to our guns. We noticed they were buggered, we were buggered, but they were more buggered than us and we knew we just needed to stop giving them piggybacks out of their half.
“Fitness is first and foremost for us, and we have a good depth in players which helps a lot when players are injured or away.
“Then defence is a main focus for us.
“That’s what we go into every game looking to do, win the game early and score the points late.”