The Tuggeranong VIkings have defended the Bob Hitchcock Territory Shield and have gained a 2-1 match advantage over the Wests Lions this year after a 44-28 point win at Viking Park this afternoon.
The Vikings wasted no time in getting on the board at home in their Bob Hitchcock defence, crossing the white stripe through winger Samson Tuqiri in the 3rd minute after a dominant scrum from the home side lead into a beautiful backline shift. Adding on the extras from the right sideline was Ryan Lonergan in his first start for the Vikings in 2024.
After absorbing plenty of pressure from Wests in their red-zone for the next few minutes, Tuggeranong were able to head back up into Lions Territory where they certainly made the most of the opportunity. In the 11th minute a strong Tuggeranong rolling maul presented another chance to go from sideline to sideline, despite not getting through a desperate Wests defence, the next phase would open up for flanker Bayden Godfrey. Able to bust through two defenders in the line, the Vikings seven would then stroll the remaining 10 metres to the try-line.
A relentless Tuggeranong would then continue the offensive putting more points on the board in the 22nd minute as a quick-thinking Koki Takeyama would receive the ball with plenty of momentum and put boot to ball, toeing it ahead to the left corner where seven's sensation Henry Palmer collected the kick for a the home sides third try.
Keeping the match from getting out of reach, the visitors would strike next through a desperate Moeaki Toma proving too much to handle close to the line and crossing for an impressive individual effort try. Converted by Declan Meredith, Wests looked to stay in the chase with a 21-7 score after 27 minutes.
Striking back quickly, in the 35th minute Vikings constant scrum dominance would prove costly for Wests as a consecutive scrum collapse left referee Brodie Ingram no choice but to award the home side a penalty try taking their lead to 26-9.
Vikings would go into halftime with even more wind in their sails however as fullback Takeyama would score the final try in the half, busting through a one-on-one effort from Wests. Converted by Lonergan the score at the break would favour Vikings 33-7.
Coming out from half-time needing to get on the board quickly, Wests would do exactly that in rapid-fire succession. In the 43rd minute a bustling run from Timoci Sauvoli created plenty of space for the prop to offload the ball to Mr. everywhere Declan Meredith to score the try just left of the sticks. Six minutes later the same combination would strike again with Sauvoli hitting the line at speed and getting away another offload for a second Meredith try inside 10 minutes. Converting both of the efforts, Wests were back in the chase at 36-21 with just over half an hour remaining.
After a steady 20 minutes with both teams grinding it out, Vikings would finally crack the Wests defence for the first time in the second half as a long range kick was miraculously chased down by Tuqiri and put down, taking the home side to a 41-21 lead with about 10 minutes remaining in the match.
As per usual however, Wests would finish fast as a Meredith grubber would translate into a Tomasi Bikaca try in the 77th minute, taking the final score to 44-28 after Tuggeranong got the last laugh with a penalty goal in the 80th minute.
Tuggeranong VIkings 44 (Tries: Samson Tuqiri 2, Koki Takeyama, Baden Godfrey, Henry Palmer, Penalty Try; Conversions: Ryan Lonergan 3; Penalty Goals: Ryan Lonergan 3) def. Wests 28 (Tries: Declan Meredith 2, Moeaki Toma, Tomasi Bikaca; Conversions: Declan Meredith 4)
