Vikings coach Sean Barrett has praised his team for their efforts on Saturday, despite the side falling short of booking an Illawarra Rugby Union finals berth.
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A bonus point victory would have secured Vikings fourth on the ladder and they looked set to achieve that goal until Bowral scored a penalty try in the dying minutes to snatch the victory.
The 26-24 loss saw Vikings fall to fifth on the ladder and while disappointed with the outcome, Barrett was proud of the way his side pushed the defending premiers.
"We knew what we had to do," Barrett said. "We didn't start well, but got the four tries and with 20 minutes to go we probably tried to hang on instead of still attacking.
"I'm very proud of the boys, we had a few injuries and had to make a heap of changes on the run in the first 20 minutes.
"It's a bad way to go out, we are better than fifth, it doesn't sit well with us. We challenged the top teams, but let ourselves down in some other games."
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
