NRL NT DABSCO Men's Premiership Preliminary Final - Nightcliff Dragons v Northern Sharks

please get ready to ladies and gentlemen [Music] [Applause] thank you C [Music] [Music] very good evening ladies and gentlemen and uh welcome to the prelim finals we're live at TRL stadium with the dbco Premiership cup three teams remain and the down Brothers have sub mened their spot in the books next weekend they'll wait their Challenger the northern sharks and the nft dragons the minor Premier have an opportunity to pencil themselves into the history books tonight commentary team tonight K font joined by sharks and N referees life member Chris Foy very thrilled to have you company tonight and uh 80 minutes awaits one team will advance the Grand Final to face the down Brothers for the dbso Premiership cup what a season it's been Chris see how do we see this one tonight going good day Kyle welcome everybody uh I mean you would expect on the season likely finished as minor Premier uh that they should be favorites tonight we got uh some of the major Playmakers in the side tonight Butcher and Crowley Tabu uh the last game I saw Sharks play they beat brothers who are in the Grand Final and they played extremely well so I'm expecting to be a a tight well for game really looking forward to this por gets us underway here we go prelim finals Hy brings it back for the first run up of the match what a tackle on the 20 oh and now and uh from Adam Hall as he's going to play the ball not the start that sh would have been looking for would have uh like to got that first set in and been able to get the ball out of there into the field relieve some pressure but uh yeah a little mistake there from Hall in the play the ball certainly gives nli the first opportunity crowling out to butcher he swings It Wide it's a low Ball B manages to hold on to it there's mlop now he played a great game last weekend and and uh big efforts and big meters is amori tackle just short of the 10 they're going to go right side here no they won't swing it back to Crowley through to the center oh beautiful inside ball gabed now taken in a tough tackle they're inside the 10 here's rager he's brought down last tackle who are they going to find butcher's there butcher with a little chip it's nice but sharks get there just in time oh no they don't we' got a knock on according to the [Music] referee lucky there for the uh Northern sharks yeah L like he missed grounding the ball the Sharks player but then nff unfortunately w't able to take Advantage so coming out for a restart seven tackle set here zpos now brought down work it through to the middle now McCarthy he takes over one Defender but brought down sneden now puts a little chip little step on gets off a couple Defenders pushes might Lop straight to the ground brought down just short of the halfway by Crowley they go go short side now we're going to produce on the wing look out oh he steps out good cover there from Nik putting the pressure on and forc the Winger just to uh little for a into the into the touch line and Norris just didn't have his bearings right dragons with to play the ball now finder Mory gets off one Defender short of the halfway Bry asking for the ball first goes past him here's mlop now great work by the Sharks defense thus far Jesse Norris short side again out of dummy half gets the offload beautiful ball Norris with it Tak it on the 30 bring it through the middle now here's Amore find sned in and uh we've just got time off here looks like the players going down with an injury certainly looking a little the worse for where the Mori so copped a whack to the to the head in the tackle um but in that play there before was good work from Norris to uh follow up after playing the ball he kept himself alive and was able to receive the pass from Manu try and put a little bit of pressure on the north defensive line some discussions here with snadden in the referee not sure he hasn't signaled any Foul Play or anything of that ilk at the moment so just not sure what he's what has happened we didn't get a good shot of that and what a day it's been here at TRL Stadium we've been celebrating the Juniors the Junior Grand Final fixtures have been running all day long here what a Dale will run through some of those scores a little later in the coverage but the game just prior to this the women's Premiership the paliston Raiders picking up a big win against the Lichfield Bears they'll advance to the 2024 NRL NT Grand Final where they'll meet the DAR sisters and what will no doubt be a FY Clash two traditional rivals in that in that competition they've been um Premiership winners those two sides over the last four or five years between them so look forward to another run of of those two clubs in the in the Grand Final again this year sisters went in directly from the major semi-final whereas uh we've just seen Raiders beat litfield to secure their place as Mor now still be getting back to his feet which is good signs we just saw crley and Salah having a little discussion and in the reserve grade fixture earlier today the gatle shieldfield bears picked up a big win against the South D rabos 26 points a nil they get a second chance they'll meet the Raiders the parmeson Raiders next week in the Grand Final you catch that game here at TRL state in from 3:00 as we see Amore coming off the field so uh don't come to me for a diagnosis it's not his head it's actually his ankle by the look of it he looks to be replaced by Sha Walker in the 20 coming onto the field looking at that you would suggest that Ami won't take any further part in the game he seems to be really flavoring that right ankle and he certainly a big inclusion last week for the dragons uh plenty of touches plenty involvement in their in their match against the brothers so certainly a loss uh for the dragons this early in the game uh but no doubt sha was missing in action last week so a big inclusion for the dragons today uh and yeah plenty experience he brings we're back underway now it's last tackle butcher puts it in the air it's right side corner oh goodness rontos what a try vonos was perfectly positioned for that one I was going to say it was a perfect uh Perfect Kick from butcher really made the Sharks Winger there looking straight into the Sun and vonos steaming down the wing as we'll see in the replay here see butcher puts up a great little kick just over the Winger and he's lost it in the sun and bronos comes flashing through Ah that's a wonderful try as you see there gabed just uh unfortunately hit with the sun sunlight there and uh just that second off and the dragons pick up the first points here in our preliminary final match for the dbso from ship cup yeah there was a bit unfortunate there for the Winger the Sharks Winger but smart thinking from butcher making the most of the uh the fact that the sun's beginning to set and it's not going to uh probably affect them in the second half but uh making the most of it in this first half and it it's likely for the first points on on the board and of course uh today's game proudly brought to you by Top End Print thanks very much for their services and uh proud game partner as you see Crowley now attempting this kick it's low it's too low the dragons drawn first blood they'll be very happy to get away to a good start put the pressure right on the Northern sharks right from the start of the game you see Salah getting ready to restart go now back on the way good row good run there from the uh front rower down heting that tackle walk up now charges through sneden he meets sneden former teammates oh juggles holds on to it though as mlop kick early here inside the [Music] 40 Waters now he's going to bring this one back oh he's driven back Brenton mlop short side now from Salah gab ey good little run here Bryce just taken down short of the halfway here's Big Hall certainly need him at them at his best tonight McCarthy just taking short of the 40 last tackle go to Salah he put it in the air doesn't quite got the leg he's probably hoping for and uh finds it out on the fo yeah he's pulled that one a change over here about 8 m from halfway see nikli get play back underway and secar now just out a dummy half was met by Hall didn't find a lot of meters number eight now Jesse Norris he went down here's Manu what a game he had last week short side now butcher puts it in the air oh look out zos is handed that better than the first one didn't have the same uh hide on that kick so he was able to keep his eye on that one and safely retrieve it diffuse the situation Pearson takes a run into the center of field the seasons he's had Samuel Pearson standing now Lex to go himself bumps off one Defender taken though just on the 20 bring it back through the middle here to the Sharks Sal Mohamed Salah just tackled there last tackle Salah puts that one deep it's inside the 40 well done there though V vonos always ready for it good strong tackle over the top there absolutely flipped him Salah nice little shimmy from buers secar now he goes short side he's M on halfway finds Manu no we hoping to go to Manu Norris now tries to Palm off the defender but he's brought down inside to JJ Norris mlop sorry again dragons of the sharks have done well in defense here oh look at this kick torpedo like they let it bounce and just a bit too much on it they find uh the dead ball [Music] line now the shks with an opportunity a 7 tackle set yeah good good result for the sharks there they didn't have to worry too much about the Sun that time SOS now that with Saga Sal swings It Wide kilip up through the guts colie left side finds Adam Hall with the passing game Thomas laan now swings It Wide good offload there snadden with it it's on the [Music] step Sala setting up here on the right side puts a little chip over the top it's good oh it's great and the eror from Rager just in the in goal so we'll have a goal line drop out oh perfectly placed kick there from uh Salah and good thinking too a little bit of a change the last tackle nikli were probably expecting the bomb um so he's kicked it kept it low with really good weight on it just made the in goal and uh yeah rager was unfortunate wasn't able to handle it a short side here now there takes that well gets up again finally brought down NATO now Lin NATO strong run down on the 10 s Mohamed s short side oh he's going to run hard here he's over the line oh I think the ball's down it is Lan Nao referee's going to check this touchies are happy we're going to get a try here for the northern [Applause] sharks and that came from the uh the great kick at the end of the set before allowed uh allowed sharks to keep the pressure on a fairly high kick there from butcher to restart play but Pearson took it well couple of rucks and natapu just barges his way over takes about four five nft players with him yeah you can see there the dragons players pleading with the referee but uh it's clear as day that ball touches the Green Turf great work there by Lan natapu and this man here SAR look to get the sharks in front for the first time in this game if he can slot these two points it's lined up nicely he kicks it adds the two points the sharks lead now six points to four against the dragons next to Chemist Warehouse don't forget folks it is actually 1 V4 here the dragons finishing M Premier and the Sharks finishing fourth they picked up a big win another 10 seconds last week against the the Lichfield Bears secure their spot and have another chance getting themselves to the big dance Brothers sit comfortably await see here their face next week NRL NT dsco Premiership Grand Final not quite the uh length on it bring it back out sharks Thomas laan they could have gone anywhere that they're letting the ball bounce is not a good idea at any time but maybe the sun got in their eyes there a little hall now brought down just on the 40 back to the middle here's M kilip what Lop boys just dragging him back sned now chosen go SN in find Space he's got open there oh he gets the Palm he gets it away to piercon they're still going here the Sharks and oh goodness the error oh that was unfortunate sneden made a great break then I thought he was actually going to put Pearson away uh the first time he came up but he hang to the ball and then tried to turn him inside and he had to go back into the the teeth of the N Clift defense and that um that caused the narrow when contact was made so there was bit of a missed opportunity there for sharks yeah certainly was but uh good run from snid yeah bit of show and go still got it the old boy nli now trying to work their way out of their 30 oh could be a bit dangerous this one and uh it is toora raru um yeah I didn't think it was too bad obviously the referee sees it's a penalty and that's all and now dragons get a nice 25 30 m kick great kick certainly puts him right on the attack work to be done now the fence by the sharks butcher he goes himself by collie to the middle now a Ball's G backwards W knock on call is the referees yeah been untiy that pass from dummy half and mlot was at six and S trying to pick it up yeah just a bit too low there for Jerome mlop and uh sure sharks will be a bit of relief no doubt side relief be asked to pack this scrum again on the 40 he go short side now zos cpos gets away from the first two Defenders he's got saten now finally brought to the ground and a little 360 in there s now bit of full work sharks with the Run of momentum working up the middle Thomas labin halls there he's going to run hard Coga though takes him by the legs it works SN in the wide big front row McCarthy it's going to take a few Defenders to bring him down just short of the T short of the TR line last tackle he go short side here he runs hard and he's [Applause] over rotary almost in exactly the same spot as the last try and again run running hard close to the line the bigger players just charging onto the ball there was H some good good passing here in the play before which spread the ball 40 m across the field and really stretched the N Clift defense and sharks were then able to take take the opportunity nothing fancy about it either Chrissy uh just big boys running hard and pushing over the defense as you said they targeted that same side [Music] again I think the the fact that they spread the ball so quickly in that in that tackle before really put nff in two two mins of where they were going and stretch their defensive line and sharks were able to take the opportunity that that offered come up with their second try of the evening Sala and just misses this one to the right and we've seen uh forl product Samuel irn feature for the dragons last week uh but went down early in the the early opening minutes of the uh first half with an injury and he's taking the coaches Ro back on this week with his co- partner Darren manway [Music] sharks off to a good start the dragons 10 points to four down 19 minutes remain here in the first half it's preliminary finals football TRL Stadium they go short now it's come up well there as the tri scorer Pearson now Pearson's having another solid game I've been impressed with him all year he's he's not that big a fell but he's really involves himself so and runs hard when he has the opportunity balls come away derse has knock on so Hamish clap be disappointed with that he's just come onto the field not what you want in the first set after a TR has being scored no certainly not give Nik an opportunity straight away there's a good crowd here tonight Kyle to watch the game absolutely not too many seats left in the grand stand here we go now left side inside Ball g ey gets the ball backwards picked up though well by Crowley down just on the 30 they find Brenton mlop he runs hard takes two to bring him down butcher askes for it short side inside ball CLS J J mlop left side now Crowley cut out [Applause] ball looking down on the sideline they're going to bring him out they do Elliot [Music] Bryce great work there and uh yeah rager just couldn't hold on and stay in the in the field of play could get that ball away either in time looks like a hard man to tackle doesn't when he's got the ball ra now sharks now they have to play the ball on the 10 Salah goes to uh clap holds on to this one and a dummy half collie waiting for a penalty short side again now the sharks Amish CL with another [Music] run Sal now inside ball finds mckp gets off one Defender geez that's a good run Jeremy uh sorry Jacob McCarthy short side again the Sharks seems to be working for them open space look out here they go oh gets the ball away and Isaac Waters just couldn't hold on to it Muhammad Salah just uh what a run it was down the left side had support on the inside but you're right Kyle they they seem to identified a bit of a weakness in the nli defense two between the two and three men in from the touch line they've made quite a number of attacks attacking raids down that channel dragons now bit of work to be done bu is brought down strong [Music] tackle cley let the go himself do find too many meters in the dummy half again now need to work on the structure a bit here Dragons It's not a lot happening it's uh three play the ball's out a dummy half finally find a half and it's butcher inside it's a beautiful kick that it's met by a sharks player well taken SOS I think back well positioned well good chance of that one bounce it was going to cross the [Music] 20 we've got a penalty now the plays been uh pretty free flowing so far I think that's only the second penalty one each um so that's a seems seems to be that referee de has got fairly good control over these two SE two sides now wup he'll be doing everything he can to uh bring this dragons team back into this game only down by a try converted try left side to Salah they're liking this left side a good run there Bryce tweaked at the dragons and again massive run from Muhammad Salah thinks about kicking changes his mind I don't think his outside players knew uh were expecting a kick so he refrained last tackle go the inside ball I thought SN might have elected to kick that but finds Thomas labin and uh he's brought down just short of the tri line still not a bad spot to hand over the ball if you have to yeah no absolutely the dragons now a lot of work to do oh butcher look out where's he support he doesn't need it oh he does he's brought down just on the halfway oh what a run from the 5'8 and this might be a professional foul it is Waters the fullback I think oh no that's the big [Music] F I think that's Thomas Lain just uh all the momentum will swing in the dragon fav he just held on too long so he'll sit out for the next 10 minutes and uh sorry that's Hamish clap sent to the [Applause] inin sooga now Bren mop inside for walk up oh he's lost it great tackle from laan right around the bootlaces just topping him over and the balls come loose as he's the ground sharks will be very happy with that M iford really marched from their own goal line at the start of the last set with the help of a a penalty and were deep heading deep into the Sharks 20 putting some real serious pressure on but a really good tackle there from laan and just over 10 minutes remain m not sure where the uh 30 odd minutes of this first half is gone but what a match we've had here at TRL Stadium they're fighting for everything and really a uh a dream a chance to uh pencil themselves into the history books and meet the DAR Brothers next week at the big dance Pearson now [Applause] cing just uh returning from the from the bench the Sharks left to play the best part of the remainder of this first half one man down takes a bit to stop him there's leban is hall [Music] now last tackle Salah gets it he puts a nice kick up ah rontos does well doesn't want to be brought down to the ground though certainly no problems with his hands taking some great catches so far like a to now at both ends of the field that a dummy half short side here goes penny swing it back out butcher he swings It Wide come down the middle Manu butcher swings It Wide secar with the ball what's he going to do here finds butcher back again he'll be taken just short of the halfway it's last tackle set Manu ask for the ball no kicks it well there it's Crowley allowed to bounce the [Applause] [Music] Sharks a through four Defenders here he goes oh he's hit by high tackle no referee says it's fine shoulder I think I think that was fine but that was his sixth Defender he'd come up to how good was that from Jay B sorry Isaac Waters [Music] Thomas labin now down the left side they've targeted all day going to do it again here's Hall seara gets the strip and they'll get a sec set restart lucky really because uh butcher was offside then yeah so they would have got possession either way Kaleb he's brought down hall now oh pushes through Adam Hall he crosses the [Applause] line the northern sharks extend their lead 14 points to four big run there from H and and they've done it with 12 players on the end of a couple of other search sing runs down that left hand side of the field Salah seems to have parked himself out there to run their attack and with pretty good results so far the two other tries have been on this side of the field but they were making lots and lots of ground down their leftand side seeing back play a dragons player being brought from the field he's clutching at his for rest come off the field for an assessment and uh hopefully nothing serious it's Tim mamed I think didn't quite get a look at his number there but uh Sean wup back on the field as the replacement dragons now all of a sudden feeling the pressure we've had a great season the the nightlift dragons finishing minor premes oh it's the post it's gone over though sasala flags are in the air Chemist Warehouse scores 16 points to four 6 minutes remain in the first half prelim final so you can see when uh when Robbie but is in imposing himself on the play that Nik of making things happen but there's got to be some other players that go with him he can't do it all on his [Music] own of course uh NRL gives thanks to nrl.com and kick digital today's live stream on the NRL Pathways panel short again now oh look at that how good is that from [Music] Ruru leaps off the ground and takes the ball back to the middle here he again oh gets through three Defenders finally brought down by Breton mlop on the halfway lot of play got their tails up the sharks they do he's locking NATO all the momentum in favor of the sharks at the moment snaden swings it to Salah he swings It Wide Thomas labin last tackle Z out of dummy half kicks for himself might be a bit too much on it oh my God it's bounc back [Applause] oh how did it do that ACC y an eval ball and just lucky for the dragons Vos was there I'm sure they were all thinking the same thing real thing and that ball was going dead yeah I thought it was too heavy but uh the joys of football one of the great bouncers I've ever seen but good covering there from vonos to be able to save kicked this short oh he might have been just a bit early there he is it's going to result in a penalty and uh yeah he just needs to put that to the 10 Mark the referee and a little unlucky was vonos just a probably an inch or so too early as he leaped up pushed that one back now sneden s taking the ball there sharks are trying to make another impression on the scoreboard in the final three minutes they all very close there it's Lan natapu again as a barge his way over oh bit early there as the [Applause] dragons probably just a step or two very unlucky [Music] work to be done swing it wide oh look at that open space in the corner and Elliot Bryce scores for the Sharks a little bit too much pressure there um the first one unfortunate penalty from butcher not being able to get the ball to the 10 from the restart second one was just a mix up under the post by the N defense you see here mckp to laan you can see the overlap and Bryce just heads for the corner pins his ears back and just slides in to the Delight of his teammates s going to attempt the conversion from oh looks like within a foot of the Far Eastern touch line the sun's just about set now so there'll be no more issues with that Far Eastern side of the field in the second half for for Nik cliff in particular who'll be running down towards the airport end but they're going to be chasing some points in the second half 16 points behind now can be done we did see it last week they did TR a few tries against the brothers and uh G for back into the match came up short by try that one's missed there by Salah good kick but didn't quite have the legs just fell short just over a minute remains here in the first half got to imagine they're going to go short here butcher te to is there but no taken beautifully ni [Music] sios wa n he loses that just holds on to it here's clap returns from these 10-minute spell n Defender has lost his football there his boot wome he's return to a defensive line actually that dragons player with h one one foot one Bo one boot on priorities no doubt uh for the defensive line for the dragons last tackle they're still going here the Sharks on that left side they like to Target it still going gets the ball away still alive Hamish clap and it'll come to a abrupt end there what a first half of football at TRL Stadium we hope you've enjoyed coverage thus far still 40 minutes remain to determine who will advance to the 2024 NRL NT Grand Final for the debco Premiership Cup against the DAR Brothers stay around folks we'll be right back for more NRL NT prelim action ni of course [Music] [Applause] Grand for e [Applause] e e e e e e back to thei here your [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hold e [Music] [Applause] welcome back just about to get on the way here 40 minutes from the two teams Edge themselves into the Grand Final to face the DAR Brothers sharks dominated primary most of this uh first half eaing the N Dragon 20 points to four plenty of work to be done about to kick off the second half here TRL stage it's the preliminary finals for the dbco Premiership here we go mlop gets it with the first run again brought down by sneden dragons now strong tackle Lawrence AER here's Gregory didn't see much of him in the first half short of the halfway butcher now oh beautiful cut out ball second TOA now Ros is on the inside oh he gets the ball out play on gets it out again butcher now with it swings it back to the middle Manu gets the ball away oh the flick ball Manu with it now it's still going how is this still alive and again the dragons down the left side it's still going here's the fullback and buers have we seen that many passes Chrissy in in one set play wow it's last tackle though butcher shows and goes Manu oh with a missed opportunity I tell you what manty picks that up and they score yeah well cleared up there by Salah but seem we if we if that's any indication we can understand what uh Sam Ann and has said to his players at half time and it's just throw the ball around stretch sharks and attack attack attack and if that's the case it's going to be an entertaining second half and we see it works I mean the Meers they gained yikes [Music] yeah uh of a dangerous tackle there by Lawrence egg and Samuel Pearson Pearson's okay though he's up but this what it does do is give sharks the opportunity to get out of their own half Sal's looking to he off some meters here what a kick bus bu Sal which he's done almost 30 m easy me pearon now takes a tap himself look to the middle it's Mohammad oh next the go oh sharks you're joking Jacob [Applause] McCarthy another one of the big men score I think that's four out of their five Tri scorers have been their big forwards and you can see McCarthy come on to it with a bit of pace but it was all some footwork here he's uh off his right gets through the first line off his left beats the fullback and just Dives over the field finishes it off with a with a little some assault to uh enhance the degree of difficulty and uh puts sharks 20 points out now so that was a uh a telling blow only 4 minutes in only 4 minutes into the to the second half great for sharks that's what they would have been hoping for but definitely not what coaches manow and Inn would have been looking out [Music] for the N Cliff side oh jeez and he's missed it Salah from almost in front and you just seen there the dis appointment and straight on the head from Su Cala could it could prove critical uh in this fixture of course uh just joining us we uh celebrated the Juniors the Junior Grand finals today here at TRL Stadium what a day it's been we give thanks and congratulations to the under 1 boys the Lichfield Bears defeated the nft dragon 16 points to 12 and in the girls again the Lichfield Bears defeated the Darwin brothers 16-6 and we'll provide you some further updates with the remainder of those fixtures through the broadcast now Hall he's tackled on the 20 just over bringing it back L NATO that by Brenton wlop andish clap now dragons need to do a lot of work here in defense and should not look to give away another penalty and run that was there by the second row and Muhammad fortunately slipped over left side now Salah he puts it in the air and taken very nicely there by J B they're going go left side here mager th down make their way back up it's Lawrence EG and a uh timely penalty for the nightlift dragons see the Adam Hall just questioning the referee's [Applause] decision good leg up there for Nik Cliff now 30 m out in the Sharks line here's Gregory that by three [Music] Defenders the way back to the middle now butcher with it chosen goes Walk Up Walk up through he will score this big walkup but he's over Sean walk up hits back for the N [Applause] dragons I tell you what we've been waiting to see that all night Chrissy that's the energy the the N Cliff dragons need from Shawn some good slide of hand from Robie butcher there too um good understanding between those two players they also play rugby together for the University Pirates hard man to stop when he's got the ball sha Walker big man and can can run had a fair clip as well and fullback Isaac Waters attempted to tackle but uh was certainly going to be a difficult task yeah like tackling a buffalo alone in the water with a shark if you will Buffalo one shark nil in that [Music] instance now butcher with kicking duties to bring this team back into this match kicks it nicely flags are in the air now touch judges yo Morris Jordan Riddle and N certainly needed that sharks be ruing that penalty they gave away in the last set right down on the N 40 though going to have to defend a lot more stly than that in the remaining 30 minutes of this game if they want to progress to meet Brothers next week There's D mlop now see s in there just ah he's playing the odd games Bradley snaden he knows how to work it with the referee now Gregory met by Hall assisted by clap slow play the ball left side now Manu gets it away oh look out here he goes Trey crley has he got support he doesn't need it oh beautiful work there by Isaac Waters I thought Crowley may have made it through but he just gets stopped oh look out look out he's M who [Applause] scores Crowley certainly bent the line there and I I agree with you KY I thought he was passed he really clapped on the pace but wers made a great tackle but none of his none of his teammates were back to defend with him they the Sharks were shot to pieces and from the next play we see here buyers to Manu just a dummy Pearson takes it and you see there Pearson was still looking the other way yeah and uh and Mar's over ah how about that from the dragons how about the individual Brilliance from Trey Crowley what a brilliant run and uh somehow stopped by Isaac Waters I was sure for all for all money was through but it didn't matter as uh the hooker Manu gets the dragons on the board goes a lot quicker when he's got both his boots on mate that's right that's exactly right Manu didn't worry about that football boot in the first half and a critical kick is converted well well well Robert butcher extends it to 16 points for the dragons got a game on our hands here folks the preliminary [Music] finals now to get us back on theway yeah three tries in the first 10 minutes of this second half is certainly Mak it interesting here's Gregory big Collision [Music] short side Manu had a dummy half what a run what a game he's having he certainly stepped up his involvement in the second half the middle BR mlop and he finds here we go butcher oh met by brick wall and Salah short side Manu puts the kick in not a lot on it but it'll do for now Isaac Waters bringing it back and Tre Crowley there getting a bit of redemption good positioning from Waters there for that kick [Applause] both sides need to just consolidate not do anything silly in the next 10 minutes oh look at that oh some good strong defense there from Bren mlo just drove him back we hear the crowd shouting defense and this dragons team have come to life in the second half back to the middle [Applause] karthy finds clap gets over the halfway last tackle they've done well on defense to dragons they go short side snadden he puts the kick over the top he's going to find touch here sharks have got collee back out there now at dmy half too which I think will improve and to see rager let that one go give his team a breather smart play yeah good kick there from snedden there wasn't too many chases so he's just put it out nice and deep and will make nikli work it out see L there just taken down saten now at a dumy half he's met by McCarthy and Collie Hollins side now walk up big contact takes a bit of effort to bring him [Applause] down shorts side Manu trying to catch the Sha Defenders off guard BR mlop he swings it to butcher Butcher inside the 40 it's got the leg oh the bounce is good oh for is there he gets the offl to Kaka inside ball dragons score Timothy Muhammad talk about great positioning they're certainly on a roll n cliff and again another example of the bounce of a rugby league ball it's done its own thing tonight you really couldn't call it zos was expecting not expecting it to do that and here we go we see the kick here as it comes down I thought zos had it pretty well covered and he was almost on top of it and it bounced back and then and then took right angle vonos great work from rontos to Sea Waters comes across and but just little pass inside to Muhammad and great finish from the nft side this will give butcher a chance to get him within two points they certainly on a roll what a hit back it has been here in the second half by the nli dragons yeah whatever was Sam ow and Darren R manway said to them at half time they've certainly turned around their fortunes butcher kicks it nff now within two and all of a sudden the dragons are back in the hunt for this uh Grand Final spot face the D Brothers next week we also make mentioned uh as the Junior Grand finals were held earlier today the under 14 boys the northern sharks defeated D Brothers 20 points to 18 and in the under 15 girls the DAR sisters is Win 12 points to four and here what a run is uh walk up my goodness it's a steam train running [Applause] [Music] [Applause] through Lawrence EG is brought to a [Applause] stoppage sharks have really got to stop this roll real so quickly find themselves behind on the [Applause] scoreboard see they're getting ready to bring Hall and kill it back into the play oh no one time luckily oh comes up with the era bers was that inside ball there b butcher no one home not sure if bers was right onto that he um he seemed to switch back inside late and the ball went down and then he couldn't pick it up on the bounce bit unfortunate there obviously there was an opportunity as we see walk up come from the field for for Nik Cliffe they'll certainly miss him with his hard running but I think it might just be for a spell yeah Hopey not too long for the dragons be counting on him out there SN now looks to all his boys back on and finds some momentum dragons have had all of it it's your side now Pearson Tak a strong tackle Jesse Norris oh good work there from dummy half jarro [Music] [Applause] colly it there Jacob KY and uh [Applause] [Music] Brent mlop great [Applause] tackle off oh it's a bit clunky here McCarthy overrun it oh strong shot there but there was a penalty oh he's caught obstruction certainly didn't see it that I thought he was penalizing a a shoulder in the shoulder charg in the tackle [Applause] but again gives nli opportunity to get on the front foot secondo [Applause] now this dragons this dragon energy is just uh really bringing the M team Back to Life Jesse Norris down short of the 30 Crowley swings It Wide goes himself here is the number 15 in Penny butcher looks to kick doesn't Anda just comes up with the error [Applause] there you can see with butcher getting more and more involved that's where all there attack revolves around sharks have really got to be watching where he's floating in the field Salah five minutes or so ago was right there when butcher took a bit of a dart and he he shortened him up pretty well but since then bch has been able to run with impunity no one's no one's been up in his face and he's certainly dictating the Nik Cliff attack which is what sharks have got to be very careful of through the middle now [Applause] zpos go under the into the last 20 minutes two points separating us a hit that was there pen short side piercing whoa Penny uh rindo just came out with a firing hit doesn't quite hit the mark and McCarthy tackled on the 40 Salah great pass swings It Wide here's sharks down the left side beautiful inside pull but Salah comes up with the [Applause] error after initially setting it up with that beautiful pass certainly certainly a great pass and a good good idea there with the Salah following up toor rotaro looking for the inside ball back in which he he did provide but it just wasn't able to be taken by uh by Salah certainly would have put a lot of pressure on the nikli fullback if that had to come to dragons now to work their way out of the 20 comes up a bit High there and uh yeah [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] penalty just under 18 minutes remain remain here in the second half and uh jeez what a cracking second half we've had it was all sharks in the first half and dragons have hit [Music] [Music] [Applause] back now makes the tap that's Muhammad through the middle BR mlop next to it goes himself oh look out [Music] mcarthy just drives him into the ground here's Gregory he's met by Salah tries to get away and it's lost it's gone into a Defender it'll be a lost ball couple of strong tackles there from sharks which is they really need they really need to get on the front foot here Nik have been dominating for the last 20 minutes or so of this second half so sharks really need to try and get some possession get down into the N Cliff end of the field see if they can trouble the scoreboard only two points in front at this stage with 16 minutes to go and uh dragons are dragons have got the ball so the yeah the referee's G with a nli sorry sharks era which unusual I thought it was a uh certainly a dragons era by Gregory who Tred to get the offload but h a [Music] Defender lose carry but nonetheless dragons now with possession Seca taking just short to the 40 low ball there for Gregory does [Applause] well now [Applause] butcher Muhammed taken a good tackle by Bryce short side now butcher shows and goes two1 EV met by mckop taken on the 20 back to the middle now oh what a strong run there by the number 15 in penny bendalo left side dragons now brenon motlop he puts the kick in O and uh too much on that they still had a couple tackles up their sleeve so good thing there was a fence there that might have ended up out in the car park unusual play disappointed with that uh that end to the set there's Norris [Music] now inside [Music] SOS big [Music] run that lock in the too got a try for the sharks in the first half early snap now tries a bit of footwork but he's met by the defensive line and he go short s side here gets off one but he's eventually brought down through the middle Salah with it kicks over the top and uh yeah BR is there that's Crowley C Crowley with the [Applause] ball positioned himself well lot of support play the dragons oh he still gets the offload look out rager play on at this stage got a whistle here thought it might have been a a late bump or a trip yeah I didn't quite see what happened there but it would appear that way he certainly went down in a heap after the ball had left ail Rago is still down in back play here for the dragons yeah I can't um I hope it wasn't a trip [Music] going to play on and uh he's in back play so Le assest and will continue for the moment he's back up he rager so gets himself back into the attacking line good to see nothing serious with that bounce it's okay it's picked up there by Jesse Norris [Applause] who's himself as the hooker in [Music] [Applause] Manu that's still down after the previous tackle oh it's a knock on though [Applause] B Manu comes up with the eror and time off two points in it 11 minutes remain here in the second half to determine who will advance to the Grand Final to play the DAR Brothers for the dabco Premiership Cup match we've had seems bit of a lull at the moment Kyle there was a certainly a big momentum from from nle for a little while but shark seemed to have stalled that and trying to get themselves back into the game just done a couple more of those Junior score updates the Thon Raiders winning over the night the litfield Bears down to 16 16 points to 12 and the under 17 girls the down sisters getting the win 18 the 10 against the edfield Bears and now sharks down the short side rager penalty for offside so male has made plenty of meters in these kicks throughout the night and does so again yeah big kick over 20 meters again they're easy yards natapu charges it [Music] forward calling it dumy off to Leen oh wops there puts on a big hit doesn't quite bring him down Sala now inside ball finds McCarthy takes a bit to stop him he gets within 10 go short side left side Salah oh beautiful inside ball Hall's going to score his second try of the evening how good is that from the 58 Su [Applause] Cala certainly controlling the play there Salah and that's just what sharks were after to put a little bit of breathing space between them and the dragons pass some calling there Dy half a nice little inside and a good Line run there by Adam Hall he charges over and as Cole said for his second try of the night with a kick to come which would eight points if it's successful with 10 minutes to go so we're certainly coming down to the crucial part of the game where both these sides need to really extend themselves to make sure that they can be still in the game still in the Premiership for next week and the opportunity to come out and play Brothers in the Grand Final of course thanks to Top End Print our g day partner for today's preliminary finals and McDonald's for their support of NRL NT Premiership and just in the seniors of the Juniors competition the Darwin Brothers defeated the Lichfield Bears 26 points to 12 in the preliminary final match so they've Advanced the Grand Final and they'll play the parmon Raiders next weekend Salah converted that extends the lead for the northern sharks 30 points to 22 now in the final minutes of this this matchup of course the NL give thanks to the nor TOA government for their tremendous sport for the 2024 competition season dragons now with a semi-short kickoff lets it bounce oh I don't know how he managed to do that oh it's Ford yeah I think that's right yeah who was that that passed it I think there was clap clap gifted Nik the opportunity he didn't get the pass it was certainly going into touch you certainly had to play for it or R KN if would have got the restart anyway bit untiy you go now [Music] butcher down short of the 20 the middle TR rally finds walk up oh what a contact Ball's come loose that's Lan natapu the two big enforcers uh met each other and uh well comes away with a win on that occasion two big men and you see there just uh W up acknowledging NATO's efforts yeah nice touch that and of course the uh Frank Johnson and G mags midle night will be next Monday night second September brought down uh Seca piering running hard now through the middle eventually brought down oh he's lost it too here we go 6 minutes remain on the clock let's see what dragons can produce unfortunately there for Pearson he's had another pretty good game pry solid game this is the opportunity though that n have been looking for got uh under 6 minutes to play eight points behind they really want to score pretty soon if they going toh be able to have the opportunity to score again oh big push there from J look out don't see that too often Dragon still managed to come up with possession Seca is brought down by Salah back to the middle now Jesse Norris shorts side butcher go himself eventually met by McCarthy mlop down see what they can do here dragons oh they're going to go the early kick fontos is there fontos gets it de wow what a take absolute brilliant from bronos and butcher The Vision on him it's early in the tackle set and just puts a nice kick in the corner it's a it's a hunt to uh LX in the corner great little kick there and vonos out leaps z z and scores it right in the corner that's a great try again the great take he certainly excelled tonight he's had a great game vonos and Butcher and butcher again pulling the strings not out of this fight just yet the N Cliff dragons the minor premier [Music] not going to go down without a fight just to the right Four Points difference got 3 minutes 40 [Applause] seconds shks will be in no hurry to get back and get us back [Music] underway what uh what price extra time again called two weeks in a row yeah would wouldn't that be something we hear This Crowd this nikli trag trying to get their team [Applause] welded got to do a bit of work here the dragons let's see if they can come up with the [Applause] magic makes it K takes it nicely oh running into sneden and P great shot from spin a bit of a cramp there to Serious Gregory now everything matters Bren mof taking on the [Applause] 30 a dummy half is Manu gained some meters eventually brought down sned gone off the field on the other side that can't be good butcher MIP comes in and takes the tackle there causes a mistake great result there for sharks and that could very well be a saver two minutes to go in the Sharks [Applause] rice and it's against butcher has probably been the dragon's best player tonight if not one of the best players on the [Applause] field Salah McCarthy Lov silly here they want to play through their set and then get a good kick down field Dragon should get one more opportunity here's piering he runs through the middle oh look at that by mop feeling for High tackle but he's just grabbed the back of his jersey so there's nothing wrong there last tackle now here we go what's Sala going to do oh they go left side Swing Out wide down the down the left side of the field here Ry oh well done by the dragons oh goodness oh that's not a good Kick Kicking license revoked the Sharks Crea the stand is up on their feet and cheering Andy dundo just uh got a bit hesitant and probably not realizing how many minutes we're remaining on the clock we were just under 1 minute and can understand what he was trying to do though he was trying to get it down the field and and then Chase it cuz all the sharks players were up in attack unfortunately hasn't worked out for him got a left side hall now they're going to try strip it he manages to hold on to the ball which pling for him to get off and play it it's the Grand Final spot on the line Salah swings out wide McCarthy overlaps oh the ball's beautiful water scores and the sharks have cemented their spot into the 2024 Grand Final on the side Waters scores for the northern sharks and they've done it they've penciled themselves into the history books they'll play the DAR Brothers next weekend on Saturday the 7th of September here at TRL Stadium what a game we've had Valiant Valiant nli Dragon side came back strongly in the second half to really make a game for Game of it but uh sharks have just proven too strong here we go look Salah just getting it wide McCarthy great pass here by laan puts Waters out they had and they had numbers outside in there was two more players outside them so they were always going to score and Salah doesn't quite get the icing on the cake there with the kick but it won't matter with the sharks have defeated the nli dragons 34 points to 26 at TRL Stadium and they've edged themselves into the 2024 Grand Final where they'll face the DAR Brothers what will be an exciting Grand Final special night to n though they've they've had a couple of lean years and to come back and be minor Premier tremendous effort from them unfortunately they've Fallen one game short of the Grand Final uh but yeah not a not a good way to go out in straight sets but congratulations on them to them on a great year and we really look forward to next week brothers and uh sharks sharks beating Brothers the last time they played them a couple of weeks ago it's a really mouthwatering matchup for that and we'll be here again next week and also we'll be doing the women's Grand Final car looking forward to that one Raiders and the sisters what a strong rivalry they have we can't wait folks and yeah very much a uh congratulations to Darren manway and Samuel ear on a fantastic season for the dragons as you said Chrissy they've they've managed to hit back after a tumultuous season in 2023 they just fallen short tonight and the northern shars Nigel doy's boys will head through to the Grand Final to meet Leon K's Darwin Brothers in an epic Grand Final it's the dco Premiership cup don't miss it folks we'll see you next weekend good night [Music] think [Music] spe e [Applause] spe [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it's [Applause] [Applause] w