Photo: Valleys coach Patrick O'Doherty addresses his players at half-time.
The old fighting spirit of Valleys appears to live on in the next generation, with the Diehards snatching a thrilling28-20 win over Normanby on Friday night.
Valleys crossed twice in the final ten minutes at Purtell Park to thwart a second half Normanby comeback.
The Diehards held a 16-6 advantage at halftime but found themselves trailing 20-16 midway through the second.
It took a strong effort from hardworking lock forward Jake Cannon to regain the lead in the 70th minute before speedster Jake Picker closed out the match with his third.
They remain undefeated after the opening fortnight of the Studdys Sports pre-season competition.
Coach Pat O’Doherty said he was pleased with how his side had closed out their past two games.
“It was 28-all against West Panthers last week and we ended up on top,” he said, pointing that consistency was still a work-in-progress.
“We started well but only hit our groove at the twenty minute mark until just after halftime.”
Trailing by ten points at the break, Normanby mounted an inspired revival upon resumption.
They posted three straight tries, with Jack Walters nabbing a double which featured a perfect dummy at hooker close to the line.
“Normanby always come back, that’s the kind of side they are,” O’Doherty said.
“But we weathered the storm.
“I thought Jack (Cannon) was outstanding, as was (centre) Shane Picker and Reece Baker who had great impact off the bench with his scoots from dummy half.”
The big challenge for Valleys comes in future weeks against established sides Wynnum Manly Redland City and Easts Tigers, whose core playing group have been together for FOGS Cup campaigns in recent seasons.
“Most of the boys in this team are pretty young and in their early twenties, with their highest footy being Second Division or Premier League,” O’Doherty said.
“We’re still a bit lackadaisical in defence sometimes.
“The main thing for us is how we defend and then we can attack off the back of that.
“But I think we’ve done really well at the back-end of games so far, our fitness has brought us home.”
