THE Queanbeyan Whites walked into Saturday's showdown as competition leaders and an apparent premiership threat. After 80 minutes, they were left to regroup.
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Whites coach Adam Fahey said the weekend's 38-12 rout at the hands of four-time defending champion Tuggeranong sends a clear message: the Vikings are undisputed John I Dent Cup heavyweights.
Tuggeranong, smarting at an unexpected loss the week prior, took their anger out on competition leaders and old-sparring partner Queanbeyan.
They scored 19 unanswered first half points and piled on more misery in the second en route to a comprehensive 26-point, six tries to two win.
The Vikings were aided by the return of Brumbies backrower Jarrad Butler and played before a home crowd featuring rugby royalty in the form of Matt Giteau - a former Whites First XV player.
Despite the hefty loss, Fahey maintains his side can regather and pilfer the silverware come finals next month.
"We came up against the best team in the competition," a frank Fahey said.
"If we're going to call ourselves the best team in the comp, we need to reach a certain standard. We didn't reach that standard on the weekend."
Their opponents, unfortunately, did.
The Whites' hopes of an away victory nosedived with the sin-binning of two players - either side of half-time. During that 20 minutes of 15 on 14 rugby, the Vikings cashed-in, pocketing four tries and 24 points with a one-man overlap.
Trailing 38-0, the Whites rallied, scoring the final two tries of the match.
Fahey was full of praise for scrumhalf Mitch Douch and backrower Soakai Tai and upbeat despite the result.
"There's no point crying about it, We've got to get back on the horse and turn things around," Fahey said.
"It's not a defeatist or give-up attitude. We like playing Tuggeranong, we like the challenge they offer and we're looking forward to playing them again."
While outsiders expect Queanbeyan to challenge Tuggeranong for the final, there's no guarantee the two sides will meet again.
The Whites must overcome an in-form Wests tomorrow before they can be assured of a top two spot.
"That's the beauty of this comp, each week is a new challenge. Our mental attitude needs to be better [this week]," Fahey continued.
"We've got to get ourselves ready and get back to playing a brand of rugby that works for us."
A win, or loss by seven points or less, will book the Whites a double-chance and an appointment with the premiers in the first week of finals.
Tomorrow's match, at Jamison Enclosed Oval, kicks-off at 3.05pm.
