Sunday Territorian 7 Mar 2021
Sunday Territorian; NewspaperNT
2021-03-07
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.
News Corp Australia
Darwin
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News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/826267
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/826422
SUNDAY MARCH 7 2021 SPORT 53 V1 - NTNE01Z01MA Dom Carbone starred for Buffettes in their win. Picture: Felicity Elliott/AFLNT Media IN a comeback that will be long remembered, Darwin Buffettes produced a dominant second half to run down PINT in the WPL major semi-final. The double-blues trailed at all three breaks but sailed home on the back of a wonderful team performance to win 8.3 (51) to 7.1 (43) against the previously undefeated minor premiers. Buffettes coach Chris Atkinson said his team was looking at the wrong places early in the game, but in the second half his players simply concentrated on enjoying themselves. We just had to realise that when we connect and play for each other we are the best team in the competition, Atkinson said after the game. We had to rotate a few players and give them a rest weve got a few sore players who will appreciate the rest before the grand final in two weeks. The game opened full of intensity. It was Buffette Dominique Carbone who found space and goaled at the four-minute mark. PINTs Amy Chittick evened the ledger five minutes later when the ball dropped to her and she converted truly. A strong mark and goal to Casey Morris and the minor premier was in front for the first time. And when Jasmyn Hewett gathered in traffic and goaled, the Queenants had some breathing space at the first break. With Hewett dominant in the ruck and midfielder Katie Streader gaining possession seemingly at will, PINT had the better of the second and led by 18 points at the long break. But the third term saw a more desperate Buffettes, whiz kid Ashanti Bush getting a rare possession early and she made the most of it with a goal. Buffs had clearly lifted and when Zoe Anderson and Bush nailed the next two, they hit the front at the 12minute mark. And with Talia Corrie holding firm in defence, the double-blues got back in front and held on. IAN BUTTERWORTH BUFFETTES STUN PREMIERS NINE competitive races will be keenly contested at the Winnellie Park greyhounds tonight, and adding interest is the prizemoney increase across all races commencing this evening. This is great news for the trainers, owners and supporters of Winnellie Park, and it is making greyhound racing a very attractive option for all involved, or those who are looking to get involved. The two open sprint races over 312m and 383m are highlights on the night, with both boasting plenty of quality. Race five is the dash over 312m, and Graeme Ferns would have been pleased when his runners in Prior Warning drew box one and Nats Wish picked up box eight. They will need to be at their best as the Steele Boltontrained Recreational is also running, and with empty boxes either side of him he should get plenty of clear running early. In the open sprint over 383m old marvel Snoop A Loop is still racing well, however in recent starts his kennelmates in Go Brandi and Bionic Girl have been racing well. All runners come from leading trainer Boltons kennel and he would be happy with all of them. Boltons night once again looks to be full of chances and this includes Umpire in race one. Jumping from box eight he could start the night off well for the punters. Great Knock and El Donberto in race seven can fight out the finish of the feature distance race, while Good Charlotte could be an improver in race eight. Other notable hopes include Aint No Time in race two for Richard Carr, and Mini Boss in race eight should enjoy the wide draw. Adam Poulter has her going well. To finish the night the Rob Browntrained Fuse Box continues to improve and may be the way to go to send the punters home on a good note. First race is set down for 6.52pm NT time on a good nights racing. Trainers on mission to cash in GREG ALDAM REIGNING premiers Darwin Dragons kept a possible threepeat alive, surviving the knockout semi-final with a 24-20 win over University Pirates. Having finished fourth the Dragons knew that any misstep against the third place Pirates would see them bundled out of the competition. But in a repeat of the 2020 semi-final it was Darwin that won, with a long defensive effort at the death crucial to its season survival, knocking out Pirates in the process. Pirates pacy winger David Taylor showed his evasiveness to seal the first try for his side, running past two defenders to cross the white paint. But ill-discipline let the University outfit down and allowed Dragons a healthy slew of points as Nigel Maher kicked four penalties. The well-known Darwin pack applied plenty of pressure in Pirates territory to push over for a try of their own and take control of the match. Pirates threw the ball around more in the second half, finding space on the outside to score, but a quick response from the speedy Ankin Lewis kept Dragons in charge. However, wasteful penalties let University down late in proceedings, opting not to kick, and though Joshua Hall scored they didnt have enough time for another. Dragons captain Drew Tobin was proud of his sides passion in defence to see out the game, with Euan McKillop and Daniel Harnett standing out late on. It was a relief to win after a pretty scrappy game where we probably werent as polished as we would have wanted to be, Tobin told the NT News. Honestly, I think it came down to hunger as both teams were fairly evenly matched. Weve been playing without a bench for much of the year and have had to really dig deep so the practice of being in that sort of a state in game helped us close it out. Our defence at the end mainly came down to passion with no one wanting to let their teammates down. The culture is really strong at our club and everyone put in the last-ditch efforts to see that game out. Our goal now is to keep building and polish up ahead of next week. Meanwhile, South Darwin beat Casuarina 27-22 in the major semi-final, with the top two sides of the 2020-21 competition never separated by more than a score throughout the contest. Souths captain and playmaker Vincent Mehn scored the opener for his side, with Souths showing plenty of ability when on the front foot. His opposite number Zach Phillips kept Cougars in the contest with his steady scoring, but the Casuarina captain will rue a missed penalty late in the contest. Dragons breathe fire again in finals NATHANIEL CHAMBERS Young Sea Eagle flies in for hat-trick but Bulldogs have their day BLINK, and youll miss him. Were talking about Tolutau Koula Manlys young track star, who could one day overtake Josh Addo-Carr and Xavier Coates as the NRLs fastest player. Koula, a Sea Eagles NRL Development Player, was injected into the clubs SG Ball side for the first time yesterday and he snatched an exciting hat-trick against the Bulldogs. Canterbury ultimately edged Manly 26-24, but Koulas astounding speed was on full display as he bolted 60m to cross in the second half. His pace is hardly surprising, given the outside back broke the AAGPS Athletics 100m record clocking just 10.58 seconds in 2019. But Koula sure excited fans at Brookvale. The Bulldogs showed real grit in the thrilling clash, clawing back from a 14-point deficit in the second half to steal the win and retain their undefeated status. To comeback and win 26-24, and to defend the last five minutes on their line and win the game, it was unbelievable, Bulldogs coach Mitch Lewis said. Manly are a good team, theyll be there come the end of the season. Canterbury hooker Danny Ghantous was deadly, scooting out of dummy half and punishing Manlys defence on several occasions. Hes told me all year how much he loves running out of dummy half. Weve played teams where that didnt really suit, but today was his day he was absolutely phenomenal, Lewis said. Our No.11 Diego BravoGraham was great too. He wasnt supposed to play, but we had an injury overnight he backed up and played 70 minutes. The Bulldogs now sit third on the ladder, behind the Rabbitohs and Raiders. South Sydney put 62 points on the North Sydney Bears, winger Evan Manning scoring his third 2021 hat trick. The Raiders recorded another big score, downing the Knights 52-32 in Queanbeyan to retain their spot on top of the table. JOCELYN AIRTH