CAPTION: Hastings Valley winger Tom Sheaves bustles his way through the Pirates’ defence on his way to the try line.
HASTINGS Valley Vikings are looming as the team to beat in the Mid North Coast Rugby Union competition.
The Vikings put the Port Macquarie Pirates away with a 29-8 victory on Saturday.
The match was marred by the sending off of Pirates player Jacob Law midway through the first half for a lifting tackle.
The Vikings were dominant for most of the match, but the Pirates were not outclassed.
The main feature of the match was the confrontation of two strong forward packs who were not going to submit to their opposition.
A lack of ball-handling skills on the day cost the Pirates, as the Vikings were clean with possession.
Hastings Valley coach Andrew Kable was thrilled with his team’s performance and said he was pleased with the way his team held up to the Pirates’ pressure early in both halves.
Pirates coach Marc Minor thought his team could have played a better game, but was not overly concerned.
“The game was closer than the scores reflected and the sending off of Jacob law did not help in a close encounter,” Minor said.
The coach thought a yellow card would have been sufficient in the circumstances.
The Vikings were best served by Jesse Gleeson, Chris Johnson and Adam McCormack.
Tries were scored for the Vikings by Tom Sheaves, David Tunstead and McCormack.
The Pirates stand-out was Chris Geary, who scored the side’s only try, while John Talamaivo and Ryan Owens also played well.
The Vikings also took victory in reserve grade, defeating the Pirates 24-12.
