Can't really believe there are people that genuinely support the pitch invasion.
At 4.40pm I asked the AR (who was standing right in front of me) how long was left. Riverview had just scored to take the lead, so I was hoping the number would be quite low. Sadly he informed me that there was 10 minutes left. At 4.46pm Newington scored their try, and all hell broke loose from there. The conversion wasn't slotted until 4.50pm. Obviously the clock wasn't running throughout that time, but I have no doubt that a significant amount of time was lost. I am not suggesting that Riverview would have won the game, with their tails up Newington were unlikely to concede any points after that try, but that doesn't make it okay for a crowd to just decide that the rules no longer apply.
Let's also not consider the pitch invasion in a vacuum here guys. A large crowd of very drunk Newington old boys slowly crept up to the dead ball line as Newington pounded away at the line. They initiated the run on. Riverview players were quite extensively abused by old boys and Newington students at this point, really for doing nothing.
In saying that, the worst incident was at the start of the game when the Newington 'tunnel' was formed. It was an impressive tunnel, but it was pretty sad to see old boys join the end of it at the half way point where Riverview were lining up. The vitirol that the Riverview guys sustained in the 2 minutes it took the Newington guys to come out was quite something. That it came largely from Old Boys that should know better makes it worse.
But despite all that I must say it was great to see a decent amount of Newington boys turn up - in 8 years of watching GPS games (only missed 3 rounds in that time) I've never seen more than a handful of Newington boys, even in premiership years. For the most part the Newington students/fanbase and players were very good sports and cheered very positively.
The game was a solid affair. Personally, I think too many tries were scored (the defence was bad from both teams). Newington were quite clearly the better team I thought, but failed to capitalise on their opportunities - it was clear that they were feeling the pressure somewhat. Riverview played a scrappy game, exploiting uncharacteristic errors by New. It was a shame that McGregor, Kennewell and other ideal starters were out, but their substitutes all did well.
Newington were a very good team and deserved co-premiers.
This Riverview team wasn't as bad as the history books will show. They lost many games by slim margins, often in the dying stages of the game. I chalk a lot of that up to a lack of depth, lack of fitness, and perhaps a general lack of tactical nous. That said they exceeded my, and many other's, expectations with their determination, attacking shape, scrappy defence, scrum prowess, etc.
P.S. I think think Newington need a better mascot - that dragon looks like a failed campaign by St George Bank to branch into NZ.
