Even though the World Cup is upon us, there is still some other rugby on to keep us entertained. This Saturday marks the end of the John I Dent Cup competition in Canberra with Tuggeranong taking on Wests in the Grand Final.
Tuggeranong booked their place in the Grand Final by taking the short cut after defeating the Gungahlin Eagles 23-12 in the major semi-final two weeks ago, while Wests walked the sudden death tightrope with a come from behind win over Royals in the minor semi final with two tries in the last eight minutes. They then went on to defeat the Owen Finegan coached Gungahlin Eagles 32-13 in the Preliminary Final in a less tense affair.
Both teams have had contrasting seasons with Wests getting the season off to a flyer with eight straight wins that included a tight 32-31 win over Tuggeranong. On the other hand, the Vikings have finished off the season on fire, with victories in their last ten games including a crushing 57-15 win over this weeks opponents in their most recent meeting on their way to finishing as minor premiers.
It will be interesting to see if the Vikings can continue this form despite having the week off and if they are, then it could be their backline that proves the difference between the teams. Winger Jake Knight has chalked up 18 tries this season that included a haul of 4 in the last meeting of these teams and would be looking to add to that tally.
Wests will need to be cautious of the counter attacking abilities of the Vikings but believe the team has done enough work at training this week to combat this threat. However, with rain forecast for match day that threat could be nullified and it could come down to a battle of the forwards where Wests believe they can match their more fancied opponents.
In late news, Wests have been dealt a blow with fullback Jesse Mogg ruled out with a shoulder injury sustained late in the game of the win over Gungahlin in the preliminary final. Simon Uphill will take Mogg’s place in the starting lineup with a decision to be made on who will take over the goal kicking duties to be made on the day.
Kick off is at 3:15pm at Viking Park in Erindale.
Teams:
Tuggeranong: 15. Isikeli Ratulevu, 14. Jake Knight, 13. Lix Lealiifano, 12. Rodney Iona, 11. Darragh Fanning, 10. Shaun McCarthy, 9. Beau Mokotupu (c), 8. Colby Faingaa, 7. Josh Hitchens, 6. James Turner, 5. Tom Murday, 4. Tim Cree, 3. Mike Noble, 2. Hugh Roach, 1. Nathaniel Iona.
Wests: 15. Simon Uphill, 14. Drew Southwell, 13. Pama Fou, 12. Adrian Turner, 11. Tom Ruediger, 10. Gus McKercher, 9. Peter Raines, 8. Aaron McInnes (c), 7, Luke Roughton, 6. Pat Lowe, 5. Dan McGuinness, 4. Scott McLean, 3. Nick Dobson, 2. Matt Pankhurst, 1. Ben Coutts.
Other Grand Finals:
2nd grade: Tuggeranong v Gungahlin
Colts: Queanbeyan v Tuggeranong
1st div: Gungahlin v Tuggeranong
2nd div: Tuggeranong v Wests
Womens: Royals v Uni-Norths
