The winter touch competitions are into their final weeks of competition and with all Vipers team this winter making finals in their respective competitions.
The Vipers two mixed teams on Wednesday night finished 3rd and 4th and found themselves ousted after the first week of finals to the Touch Um. Harcourt Vipers which for much of the year displayed glimpses of brillance where undermanned literally with inspirational attacking player Rob Mair in the US trialling with US college Notre Dame for touch scholarship, as well as Soly having been sidelined due to a freak accident where he tried to run through an opponent the week before unable to play due to a very large gash in the middle of his forehead and the 11 stitches required to close the gap. The team never really recovered and lost out 6-1 even with Brooke, Doigy and Sharyn the team just could not gain any momentum in attack and with limited subs struggled on the fast track just could not crack the line.
The Bayside Vipers team which decided to watch State of Origin games as opposed to playing touch where also unlucky during their semi going down 10 – 6. The turning point in the game was when the lights went out on the game and forced a 10min delay just as Vipers looked to have the Touch Um Opens team on the ropes. Once the lights resumed and the potholes where filled the team again begun to make their charge but time beat them and the final siren sounded on a up and down season.
The Bitemark VipersMixed team on Thursday night have also played some outstanding touch with TFA board member Gilbo frequently lending a hand in any capacity not only to his team but ref’s and the ground controller as he demonstrated his electrical skills in trying to turning the lights back on during a game. The team have passed their first test against the Mohikans 1 in week 1 of the semi’s and will now face the flying Ballarat United in a Grand Final tonight. The team will head into tonight’s clash full of confidence having post some very high scores on some teams this year but also pleased with their defensive efforts as well. Vipers by 1
Fawkner Park has been a happy place this year for the first Vipers Men’s team, having started the season with a full compliment of players the team has been reduced to just 8 players due to injury and qualification criteria. The team have been the benchmark all season and have not lost a game and will be out their on Tuesday night trying to keep that record. The team have played some exceptional touch during the year with limited numbers each week but have continued to improve and demonstrate that playing as a team is what has made them successful. The grand final next week will be a tight fought battle against old foes Monash Uni but one which will provide plenty of attacking and defensive flair. This one could go either way but we tip Vipers by 2.
