Flegg Sharks bounce back with big Rabbitohs win
The Jersey Flegg Sharks, led by four tries from winger Tom Rodwell, have bounced back from two disappointing defeats with a resounding 40-16 win over Souths in their round 20 match played at PointsBet Stadium.
Sitting just outside the top five the Sharks needed to turn in a strong performance in an effort to climb back into Finals contention, and that’s exactly what they did, Rodwell and wing partner Sam Stonestreet scoring six of their team’s seven tries between them.
The effort from Rodwell capped off a big week for the Sharks winger who has earned a fulltime training contract with the NRL squad for the remainder of the 2022 season.
“Our effort and attention to detail was a lot better than it has been in recent weeks,” Sharks Flegg Coach George Ndaira said. “They came to play and I thought it was a high quality game, especially early. We needed to start well to match them, and we did that.
After Souths opened the scoring in the sixth minute, it was Rodwell, on the end of a Ryan Rivett pass who posted the Sharks first points.
Rivett converted from the eastern touch line and it was 6-all after the opening 12 minutes of the match.
A second Rodwell four-pointer from a floating Rivett pass pushed the score out to 10-6 Sharks, before a long-range effort from Stonestreet and the conversion which followed, sent the Cronulla team to half time up by 16-6.
Souths narrowed the margin to four points with a converted try just five minutes after the break, but from there the Sharks assumed control, first Rodwell, then Rivett backing up a Sam Healey line break, crossing for tires to make it 28-12 to the home team.
The Rabbitohs gave themselves a glimmer of hope with a try 10-minutes from fulltime, but two more Sharks tries, one in each corner to the try-scoring wingers extended the final winning margin.
“We had to do a lot of ‘d’ early in that second half and had to work our way out of that and to do that and put on some points late was pleasing,” Ndaira added.
The win saw the Sharks remain in sixth on 23 points, one point behind a log jam of three teams tied on 24.
The Sharks are next in action against one of those three teams in the Dragons in a match to be played at PointsBet Stadium next Saturday.
SHARKS 40
Tom Rodwell 4, Sam Stonestreet 2, Ryan Rivett tries Rivett 6 goals
beat
SOUTHS 16
