HASTINGS Valley Vikings first grade coach Dave Henry admits he’s not one to strip paint off the dressing room walls at half-time.
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But he would have been close after watching the Vikings fumble their way through the first 15 minutes on Saturday at Pirate Park before they registered a 41-22 victory.
Somehow, the Vikings found a way to lead 15-12 at the break before they held onto the ball in the second stanza and kicked clear in the final 10 minutes.
“It’s never any great message at half-time because they all know what works and what doesn’t work,” Henry said.
“Our ball security in the first 15 minutes was not good enough.”
After they had almost 20 players unavailable for last week’s trip to Grafton, the Vikings welcomed back Lyndon Gale from a shoulder injury.
Gale played half a game of reserve grade before he backed up with a 60-minute stint in the top grade.
“That was always the plan because we wanted to get him a fair bit of footy out there,” Henry said.
“He brings a bit more to our side; he’s very good defensively and is a good runner of the ball.”
Henry admitted it had been a tricky period for the Vikings.
With five of their final seven matches before the finals scheduled for Oxley Oval, last year’s runners-up are poised charge into the finals.
“We need to be patient and work through this tricky patch with injuries; no-one wants to be good in May, you want to be good in August,” Henry said.
Hastings Valley had to overcome Coffs Snappers on the road to host last year’s grand final and Henry knows they might have to do something similar this year.
Grafton Redmen currently lead the way.
“The Grafton trip is a mental thing and we need to get over that because we might have to go up there in the finals,” he said.
Pirates coach Nigel Hurlston lamented another local derby that got away.
“It was close until just after half-time and then the score got away from us a little bit,” he said.
“I can’t fault the effort; the lads had a go and that’s why I get frustrated.”
Hurlston conceded that errors cruelled Pirates chances of victory and they needed to clean it up.
“When you make that many errors the Vikings punish you; they haven’t been at the top for the last five years for no reason,” he said.
“We’re six games in and there are about six to go, but there has to come a time when we can say we’re there.
“We’re still making too many rookie errors and when you take your eye off the ball you drop it.”
