Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Wellington Rugby League's minor premiership will be decided this Saturday, after Porirua Vikings and Wainuiomata posted convincing wins over Petone and University, respectively, on the weekend.
The Vikings are playing like a team with something to prove, their late-season blip of two losses and a narrow win over Te Aroha all but forgotten.
Their excellent 36-10 win over the fourth-placed Petone at Cannons Creek Park on Saturday was a statement of intent, as they played with passion and commitment.
The heavy track at Cannons Creek was a home game for Petone, who were stripped of playing at McEwan Park because of bad behaviour from their fans recently.
The Vikings scored first and dominated the opening 40, leading 22-4 at the turnaround. The second half was also one-way traffic, Petone scoring with the last play of the game to get them to double figures.
"We blitzed them," said a satisfied Vikings coach David Lomax. "All of our forwards were dominant and it coincides with Tielu [Saolele] and Frank [Rameka] coming back, they provide a lot of direction out there. We won it down the middle with our power game, put them [Petone] under pressure and they didn't handle it well."
Morale is high in the Vikings camp, with good numbers to training as they get to the business end of the competition, Lomax says. As a result, he has a couple of welcome headaches in terms of selection, with a strong squad of 20 all competing for starting spots.
"We're getting to that point in the season now, everyone wants to be a part of it. There's good leadership being shown and we're ready for Wainui."
Wainuiomata had a solid 28-12 victory over University at the new artificial turf in Newtown on Friday night and sit a solitary point ahead of the Vikings.
This weekend's match-up at Wise Park will give the winner precious home-field advantage throughout the upcoming playoffs.
Meanwhile, St George Dragons' hit a new low losing 52-14 to Upper Hutt Tigers at Whakatiki St on Saturday.
KRIS DANDO - Kapi-Mana News