In one of the highest scoring games in recent history, the 47-47 score-line of today’s Wests v Vikings match doesn’t reflect the tale of two halves in Belconnen.
After a late breakaway for the home side where they led by as many as 28 points, a late comeback by the Vikings tied up the match where it stayed until the finish.
The Vikings burst out of the gate, applying big pressure to Wests early, breaking through for the first try of the match just over two minutes in with Angus Wagner crossing the line to put five points on the board, their lead being extended to seven after Ryan Lonergan’s kick.
Not wanting to disappoint the home crowd, Wests fought back only minutes later, Tom Wright getting their first points while Seb Lorraway helped even up the score less than ten minutes in.
Just after the ten minute mark, a yellow card for Lorraway put Wests a man down and gave the Vikings a chance to capitalise straight away in the opposition’s half.
While both teams played scrappy sets of football, the Wests ultimately got the upper hand with Chance Peni setting up Allan Wratten for a try, followed by Declan Meredith kicking the extra two points for the home side to take the lead.
A quick Vikings response brought both teams level again thanks to a Nic Murray breakthrough after a scrum with Lonergan again adding the extra two points to the Vikings tally.
Extending the high scoring first half, Drew Southwell put Wests ahead again with Meredith extending the lead with his kick off the back of the try.
With under five minutes left in the half, Lonergan went across the line for his first try of the match but failed to tie up the game, missing the kick as it sailed just in front of the posts.
After the first 40 minutes, Wests led into the sheds 21-19 but neither team seemed to be in control of the game which was reflected in the tight scoreline.
Just over a minute after the second half began, Wests put another try on the board thanks to another score from Southwell.
Their lead remained at seven points after Metedith failed to put the ball over in the conversion kick.The Vikings lost a player shortly after when Murray was sent off thanks to a bungled tackle. With Wests gaining momentum, Wratten crossed the line for his second try of the afternoon after a maul, Meredith then helping stretch their lead to 14 points with his conversion attempt.
With 26 minutes remaining, Tom Wright and Chance Peni looked to seal the game for Wests after a breakaway run for Wright set up Peni for his second try of the day. Meredith’s kick pushed the score out to 40-19.
An intercept for Wright after a Vikings scrum led the Brumby to notch up a hat-trick with the score blowing out to 47-19 with over 20 minutes still left on the clock.
From there, the game looked like it was sewn up by the Wests but the home side became complacent, allowing the Vikings so score four unanswered tries to level up the game as it drew to a close.
Though the game ended in a tie, the 47-47 final score reflected Wests offensive dominance but overall defence towards the end of the match while the Vikings were happy not to lose their second match in a row.
