Kempsey's finals chances have taken another hit as the Hastings Valley Vikings bounced back into form with a convincing 43-24 win in their latest Mid North Coast Rugby Union northern division clash.
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In the current ladder, the Cannonballs' finals hopes are looking slim. They sit at the bottom with just 14 points from 12 games, having won only two matches and lost ten.
Leading the ladder, the Vikings had faced a challenging period, having lost two of their last three games prior to the match.
Vikings coach Mark Howard said the clash was played in "really good spirits".
"Kempsey's a team that always fights, and if they get a sniff, they will just keep coming, so a lot of credit goes to them for always fighting back.
"I think a bit of fatigue set in for us in the second half which led to a couple of tries. We also had a couple of injuries early in that second half which forced a few positional changes."
Howard said that their recent success stemmed from a change in attitude towards training.
"I think we just had a bit more commitment to training the last couple of weeks and the guys are getting on the same page," he said.
"We're still quite a new team and learning our strengths and weaknesses, so we're trying to build our strengths and lessen our weaknesses each week, and I think we're doing that."
Looking ahead, Howard acknowledged the challenges posed by Grafton Redmen in their next match.
"Grafton are sort of the great unknown of the comp.
"Every time you face them, you come up against a different attack or a different style of play, so we will just have to be on our toes and adapt defensively to what they throw at us.
"We always take it game by game, but coming into the pointy end of the season, we're trying to get fitness levels right and getting guys back from injury.
"Managing that stuff can be tricky, but we're just trying to get everyone healthy and back working together."
The Cannonballs face the
