WYNDHAM City will be forced to activate its double chance after going down 20-15 to the Northern Panthers in a bruising Victorian Rugby Union second division A grade second semi-final at CH Sullivan Memorial Park on Saturday.
The Rhinos are adamant they will be better second-up from a spell, having endured a disrupted lead-up to the first final with just 80 minutes of match play in the previous month, following forfeited and cancelled games.
“It was a good effort from our boys considering they’ve only played one game in a month,” Rhinos coaching director Darren Taylor said.
“Full credit to the boys, they stood tall and took everything that Northern threw at us.”
The Rhinos went into half-time staring at a 5-0 deficit.
They erased that quickly after the break when winger Vince Apulu crossed for his team’s first try.
Northern regained its lead only to see it snatched away once more by Apulu’s second try of the game.
“He had a lot of work to do with his tries,” Taylor said. “We threw the ball out wide to him and he had to push off one or two tacklers at a time.
“He’s got great vision and timing and that’s what made him good all year.”
As you would come to expect from the minor premiers, Northern fought back with another try to hold a commanding lead and the Rhinos only answer came in the form of a penalty goal from Tipene Pihere.
The Rhinos’ defeat was not through a lack of trying from star Tevita Talau, the loose forward producing a clinic on how to defend.
“He was absolutely awesome,” Taylor said. “Whatever ran at him, he put it to the ground. No one got through him.”
Ricky Paraha and Conrad Meredith were the other big impact players on defence.
The Rhinos face a tricky encounter with a physically intimidating Eltham in the preliminary final at Mossfiel Reserve on Saturday.
The winner will go on to face Northern in the grand final.
VRU finals
SCORES
A grade: Northern 20 d Wyndham City 15
