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Courtesy of Sharks.com
Sharks start 2004 strongly with win against The Coast
The Cronulla Sutherland Sharks dusted off the cobwebs, scored some length of the field tries and got exactly the physical workout coach Stuart Raper was hoping for in their first trial match of 2004 in Gosford on Saturday night.
The Sharks beat the four Central Coast Jim Beam Cup teams by a total of 60-12 during an evening of exciting rugby league at the Express Advocate Stadium played before over 5,000 vocal fans.
While the final score line might have showed the class of the NRL Sharks had shone through, the Central Coast outfits showed Raper and his players there was still plenty of work to be done before the kick-off to the 2004 premiership on March 13.
"It was a good physical hit out for us and that's exactly what we were looking for," Raper said. "It's just a matter of the side getting used to the kind of style I want to play after years of playing a flat style."
The Sharks began the night by running up a 16-0 score in 20 minutes against the 2004 Jim Beam Cup Champions The Entrance, with Ryan McGoldrick, back in Rugby League after a stint in Rugby Union, celebrating his return with a try in the opening two minutes of the match.
The second period brought on a fired-up Erina side, with a try and a conversion in the dying moments by centre Adrian Jones bringing the crowd to its feet, giving the local side a 6-0 victory and plenty to brag about. Erina's physical yet controlled style of play combined with some poor options and errors from the Sharks proving to be the deciding
factor.
The Sharks then extracted some revenge by turning on the speed in a 30-0 whitewash of Ourimbah, before a patched up Sharks combination, with most of the stars having enjoyed early showers, getting the better of Woy Woy by 14-6.
Although rusty and prone to some handling errors, Sharks fans would have been excited about the pace and skill displayed by their outside backs, with Matt Rieck and Nathan Merritt showing enough to suggest they will need to be closely watched by their opposites in 2004.
"I was happy with the way the boys backed themselves tonight and I thought some of the tries we scored out wide were impressive," the coach added.
Greg Bird was a standout at five-eighth, while exciting centre Paul Franze made a successful recovery from the knee injury that sidelined him in 2003, defending strongly and throwing the last pass for two of Matt Rieck's three tries, while also scoring the final try of the evening himself.
In the forwards Chris Beattie took everything served up to him and gave back a little more, while Matt Hilder and Sam Isemonger were strong at the back of the scrum. Skipper Brett Kimmorley played the first three of the four quarters and despite making the occasional error, his class
was obvious and his goal-kicking solid.
The Sharks would have also been encouraged by the performance of winger Hassan Saleh, a former St George Dragon who only signed with the Cronulla club the previous week. Saleh crossed for three tries in the Sharks Premier League team's 74-4 total score against the four
clubs, and then backed up to score another during the NRL trial. Also impressive in the Premier league trial was young fullback Bronx Goodwin, son of St George legend Ted Goodwin, along with teenage forwards Keith Galloway and Cameron Ciraldo.
Interesting to note the Sharks Premier League team beat the very same Erina squad by 20-0 in their 20-minute trial, before their more experienced club mates went down later in the evening
in their 20-minute match. That result augers well for the depth Raper has at his disposal in 2004. In another positive for the Sharks, despite a late scare when Matt Bickerstaff was knocked unconscious, they came through the series of trials, except for the usual bumps and bruises, injury free.
NRL Sharks 60
Rieck 3, Merritt 2, McGoldrick, Bird, Bosnich, Bickerstaff, Saleh, Franze tries, Kimmorley 6,
Dallalana 2 goals
[size=18[b]THE Coast 12[/b][/size]
Adrian Jones (Erina) 1 try & 1 goal, Elton Connors (Woy Woy) try,
Troy McLellan (Woy Woy) goal
Sharks start 2004 strongly with win against The Coast
The Cronulla Sutherland Sharks dusted off the cobwebs, scored some length of the field tries and got exactly the physical workout coach Stuart Raper was hoping for in their first trial match of 2004 in Gosford on Saturday night.
The Sharks beat the four Central Coast Jim Beam Cup teams by a total of 60-12 during an evening of exciting rugby league at the Express Advocate Stadium played before over 5,000 vocal fans.
While the final score line might have showed the class of the NRL Sharks had shone through, the Central Coast outfits showed Raper and his players there was still plenty of work to be done before the kick-off to the 2004 premiership on March 13.
"It was a good physical hit out for us and that's exactly what we were looking for," Raper said. "It's just a matter of the side getting used to the kind of style I want to play after years of playing a flat style."
The Sharks began the night by running up a 16-0 score in 20 minutes against the 2004 Jim Beam Cup Champions The Entrance, with Ryan McGoldrick, back in Rugby League after a stint in Rugby Union, celebrating his return with a try in the opening two minutes of the match.
The second period brought on a fired-up Erina side, with a try and a conversion in the dying moments by centre Adrian Jones bringing the crowd to its feet, giving the local side a 6-0 victory and plenty to brag about. Erina's physical yet controlled style of play combined with some poor options and errors from the Sharks proving to be the deciding
factor.
The Sharks then extracted some revenge by turning on the speed in a 30-0 whitewash of Ourimbah, before a patched up Sharks combination, with most of the stars having enjoyed early showers, getting the better of Woy Woy by 14-6.
Although rusty and prone to some handling errors, Sharks fans would have been excited about the pace and skill displayed by their outside backs, with Matt Rieck and Nathan Merritt showing enough to suggest they will need to be closely watched by their opposites in 2004.
"I was happy with the way the boys backed themselves tonight and I thought some of the tries we scored out wide were impressive," the coach added.
Greg Bird was a standout at five-eighth, while exciting centre Paul Franze made a successful recovery from the knee injury that sidelined him in 2003, defending strongly and throwing the last pass for two of Matt Rieck's three tries, while also scoring the final try of the evening himself.
In the forwards Chris Beattie took everything served up to him and gave back a little more, while Matt Hilder and Sam Isemonger were strong at the back of the scrum. Skipper Brett Kimmorley played the first three of the four quarters and despite making the occasional error, his class
was obvious and his goal-kicking solid.
The Sharks would have also been encouraged by the performance of winger Hassan Saleh, a former St George Dragon who only signed with the Cronulla club the previous week. Saleh crossed for three tries in the Sharks Premier League team's 74-4 total score against the four
clubs, and then backed up to score another during the NRL trial. Also impressive in the Premier league trial was young fullback Bronx Goodwin, son of St George legend Ted Goodwin, along with teenage forwards Keith Galloway and Cameron Ciraldo.
Interesting to note the Sharks Premier League team beat the very same Erina squad by 20-0 in their 20-minute trial, before their more experienced club mates went down later in the evening
in their 20-minute match. That result augers well for the depth Raper has at his disposal in 2004. In another positive for the Sharks, despite a late scare when Matt Bickerstaff was knocked unconscious, they came through the series of trials, except for the usual bumps and bruises, injury free.
NRL Sharks 60
Rieck 3, Merritt 2, McGoldrick, Bird, Bosnich, Bickerstaff, Saleh, Franze tries, Kimmorley 6,
Dallalana 2 goals
[size=18[b]THE Coast 12[/b][/size]
Adrian Jones (Erina) 1 try & 1 goal, Elton Connors (Woy Woy) try,
Troy McLellan (Woy Woy) goal
