Driven Vikings claim crown
THE Gold Coast Vikings have reclaimed the Chairman’s Challenge trophy after a resilient effort in Acacia Ridge.
The triumph is made all the more special by the difficulties coach Scott Cooke had in bringing a team together as injuries and suspensions struck.
The Vikings, who last won the annual tournament in 2017, defeated Brisbane Blue 24-22 on Saturday thanks to late tries to Dan Palavi and Jenan Parrish.
They backed that up yesterday by coming from 12-0 down to beat Brisbane Red 28-18.
“We had our backs against the wall,” Cooke said.
“We had (Jack Conlan) in the bin in the first half, so we were down to 12, and then there was a bit of fisticuffs before halftime and they had one of their fellas sent for 10 for throwing a punch.
“The second half we just went back to the drawing board and we ended up going down the park and scored three tries in a row. It was a really good win.
“It was a gutsy effort from maybe a lesser experienced Gold Coast football team.
“It was tough this year getting a team going but in saying that, the players that were selected were all of good character for a start and they are all handy footballers.
“It was a super team effort, they just played so well together.”
Brisbane Blue’s 48-20 win over Ipswich yesterday afternoon sealed the deal for the Vikings, who were represented by players from each of the seven Rugby League Gold Coast A-grade clubs.
Several Gold Coast players should be in the mix for the soon to be announced South East Queensland squad.
Among them are Currumbin and Tweed front-rower Stuart Mason.
The former St George Illawarra under-20 captain was one of the first players Cooke picked for the Vikings and he showed exactly why across the weekend.
“He really played tough in the middle with some good carries. He worked tirelessly,” Cooke said.
“He’s probably not one who is going to go 100m but gee he just keeps going.”
RLGC action returns next weekend.