S3,R3: Vikings vs. Sharks (vBookie) (Completed)

When would people prefer? To be honest, I fit them in when I have the time to do so, which tends to be between 6-8pm NZT on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

 

Good to hear. Thursdays it is then. :ninja:

 

The rain has been pouring all day here at the Vikings' home ground. The pitch is sodden and it's going to make it a tough day at the office for the backs.

 

0-10 Minutes

The Vikings make a very solid start despite being up against heavily favoured opposition. A couple of incisive runs are ruined by knock-ons in the pass. First Choco Man spills a decent pass from Aaron Hunt on the cusp of the Sharks' 22, followed shortly thereafter by a mistake from Adam Vago in a similar position from a long cut-out pass by Perry.

The Sharks under heavy pressure early on. Missing a lot of tackles.

 

That's irrelevant. Hunt has superb tactical kicking (in theory, hasn't shown it too much yet). It's only place kicking you have a weakness.

 

10:00

The next phase to be played from 34 metres on the Sharks side of the halfway line.

Ben Herd with the ball on the run here. He's already gained 7 metres. It looks like he's going to be tackled by Sam Verigotta but he manages to offload to Will Robinson in time.

The next phase to be played from 41 metres on the Sharks side of the halfway line.

Will Robinson with the ball on the run here. He's moving sideways at the moment in the face of a good defensive line. He lets off an awful pass in the tackle. That's been knocked on and we'll have a scrum here.

The next phase to be played from 41 metres on the Sharks side of the halfway line.

Another Vikings move breaks down from a good position. They really should be up in this game by now. Can the Sharks make them pay?

 

13:15

Line Out to Vikings. That's not straight. We'll have a scrum here

The next phase to be played from 26 metres on the Vikings side of the halfway line.

Scrum to Sharks. Great work by the Sharks. They've secured their own ball and win that scrum gaining 2 metres.

The next phase to be played from 28 metres on the Vikings side of the halfway line.

Regan Hutchinson with the ball on the run here. He's already gained 7 metres. It looks like he's going to be tackled by Andrew James but he manages to offload to Sam Bakkum in time.

The next phase to be played from 35 metres on the Vikings side of the halfway line.

Sam Bakkum with the ball on the run here. He's already gained 10 metres. It looks like he's going to be tackled by Aaron Hunt but he manages to offload to Sam Graham in time.

The next phase to be played from 45 metres on the Vikings side of the halfway line.

Sam Graham with the ball on the run here. He's already gained 5 metres. It looks like he's going to be tackled by Steve Cambridge but he manages to offload to James McDougal in time.

The next phase to be played from 50 metres on the Vikings side of the halfway line.

James McDougal with the ball on the run here. He's already gained 6 metres. It looks like he's going to be tackled by Ben Herd but the big man facepalms him off and dives over the line!!

TRY TO Sharks

Conversion attempt for the Sharks. Kick to be taken by Matthew Scoble. Great kick. He's nailed that one and they earn the extra 2 points.

Vikings 0 - 7 Sharks

 

True, true. Also Hunt's missed touch with a couple of penalties so far. His kicking in open play has been good so far...

 

17:30

Eddie Morris is tackled by Aaron O'Neill for the Vikings and a ruck forms. The ruck is contested but Eddie Morris has been penalised by the referee for not releasing the ball. That'll be a penalty to the Vikings.

The ref calls over the Sharks' captain. That's not a surprise, that's the fourth time they've been pinged for slowing down the play. I suspect we'll see a Yellow Card here if they do it again. Frankly, I'm surprised that Morris is still out there.