Was at Northbridge yesterday- the combination of a close match and old boy’s day made for quite a spectacle, which ended with Shore claiming their first victory since 2014.
Shore dominated possession in the first half- with the forward pack providing the backs with some good go forward ball. This culminated in a try to Sheehan (13) off the back of a slick backline move. Sinclair (12) converted to make it 7-0 in Shore’s favour. However, for the remainder of the half the View defence was strong- for much of the latter part of the first half was played in between the 10 metre lines on either side of halfway.
As was always going to be the case Riverview came out invigorated after oranges, with their large forward pack battering the Shore defence. Eventually, the onslaught ended with a much deserved try to Rorke (6) - who crashed in off the back of a ruck from about 2 metres out. The conversion was missed and it was 7-5 in Shore’s favour. A tense 20 minute passage of play followed, with the both the Riverview and Shore faithful realising that whoever was next to score would probably own the day. With about twenty minutes to go Shore scored a runaway try through Stinson (11) who scooped up a loose ball on the View 10 metre line and sprinted to the corner. The conversion attempt by Sinclair (12) was successful and Shore led 14-5. At this point both the current and old Shore boys sensed a win was on the cards and they fired up. After the try Shore looked good with ball in hand, however, a courageous View defence effort denied them a third try. Sinclair (12) kicked a penalty for Shore with about 10 to go and the score was 17-5. However, View didn’t give in with Shore defending on their line for the last three or four minutes. A knock on over the line from Riverview meant the final whistle was blown and the score was 17-5 to Shore.
