Struggling Vipers still have bite   1 Oct 2015

Struggling Vipers still have bite

This wasn’t how the 2015 NZRL National Premiership was meant to unfold for the Central Vipers.

Since beating Northern Swords in their season opener, the farflung Mid Central Zone side has struggled for cohesion, conceding an average of 76 points to their next three opponents.

Yet, ironically, their defence could hold the key to the scramble for premiership final spots.

Results in this penultimate week of the regular season will go a long way to deciding the make-up of the title game on October 17, with unbeaten Canterbury Bulls hosting Counties Manukau and the Vipers visiting Wai-Coa-Bay Stallions in Tokoroa.

If the Stingrays can topple the Bulls, a three-way tie at the top of the table is quite on the cards, which brings a countback on points difference into play.

If that occurs, the Stallions will need to have run up a big score against that Vipers defence to promote their chances. They have a bye in the final round.

“We can either make someone’s day or turn it upside down,” muses Central coach Dion Te Ahu. “But from our point of view, we’re not worrying about the other teams.

“We want to finish on a good note and are looking to close off with a couple of wins.”

Despite their struggles, the Vipers find themselves ahead of the winless Swords and, to everyone’s surprise, the four-time Akarana Falcons on the competition ladder.

But Te Ahu has found his first season at this level to be a far greater challenge than expected.

He puts much of that down to pure geography. Like several of his rivals, bringing players together from the four corners of his domain - Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu and Whanganui - has proved problematic.

“We were hoping for a lot better results against the teams we’ve already faced, so we’re now looking for a strong finish.

“We’ve lost a lot of players this week through injury and family issues.

“Because we’re such a big zone, the travel has got to the players and caused some difficulty.”

Te Ahu is sure that culture is not the problem. This was set at a couple of pre-season camps, where his boys seemed to bond well with each, despite territorial rivalries.

But the Vipers have managed only one training session together a week, usually the day before they play.

“While some teams are training three or four times a week, we’re getting together for just one-and-a-half or two hours. That’s been our main struggle.”

Canterbury should end any need for a countback with victory over the Stingrays, but even if they lose, they have the added advantage of a final-round fixture against the Swords, who have given up 46 points a game this season.

The Stingrays are easily the highest-scoring side in the competition, but the Stallions may ultimately regret not taking full toll on the Northlanders last week, trailing 18-8, before emerging 40-18 winners.

ENDS

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