IF the first half of the season is any indication, Hastings Valley Vikings are on track to appear in yet another grand final.
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The Vikings cruised past Port Macquarie Pirates 50-10 at Stuart Park on Saturday with their second-half performance sure to send shudders through the rest of the competition.
While impressed with their second 40 minutes, Hastings Valley captain Hamish Mccormack said they were keeping their feet firmly on the ground.
"You never start thinking about the grand final," he said.
"Our main goal at the moment is to seal the home major semi.
"We played a really clinical second half and got back to what we wanted to do. The first half was pretty scrappy from our end."
Last year's grand final defeat was a fading memory with several new faces taking their place in the Vikings lineup this season.
"We try to flush that out and start again; we're not trying to dwell on what happened in the past," Mccormack said.
Port Macquarie were gallant in defeat, but they spent too much time defending their own line in the first half and it took its toll.
Their cause also wasn't helped by a lengthy injury list, but assistant coach Chris Strachan admitted they simply weren't good enough.
"We were just outclassed, it's as simple as that," he said.
"They're a very experienced club and team and we've got a lot of young fellas, but we were outmuscled.
"The first half was reasonably tight and then they gave it to us; the injury toll is definitely taking its toll."
While the Vikings were always in control of the match, the performances of Pirates halfback Lachie Morse and centre Kaes Besseling were shining lights for the club.
"Lachie was probably one of the boys on the day who was the smallest kid on the field but he was chopping everyone low which was great and he was consistent," Strachan said.
"Kaes is pretty magic when he's got the ball in his hand so they were probably the two standouts."
When the Vikings went up a gear in the second half and started to run with more intent than they did in the first half, the Pirates couldn't go with them.
Hastings Valley led 13-3 at the break.
"Our intensity has got to pick up," Strachan said.
"We've got to be able to match them in terms of intensity. When they came out in the second half they were so keen and we have to match that."
The Pirates assistant coach admitted his team had work to do, but Hastings Valley were setting the standard.
"They're definitely the premier team and I'd be banking on them making their way into the grand final," he said.
"They just know what they're doing; they run with intent and they've got a well-oiled machine and coaching staff.
"They're going to be hard to beat, but we've got to keep at it."
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