Group 7 round one wrap: Warilla-Lake South Gorillas start title defence with a loss in fiery contest

Group 7 Rugby League kicked off this weekend with a bang, with the match of the round seeing fists fly and champions humbled to kick off the 2023 season. See the full wrap of round one.

Group 7: Round one action between Shellharbour Sharks and Warilla-Lake South Gorillas

THE Shellharbour Sharks have emerged victorious 28-16 over the defending champions the Warilla-Lake South Gorillas in a high-tempered affair at Ron Costello Oval.

It’s an early season statement for the Sharks who finished in sixth place last year and narrowly missed out on finals footy, defeating the Gorillas who enter their first season as defending champions since 2012.

The victory also meant the awarding of the Jarrod Morgan Shield to the Sharks, which is contested in this fixture every season.

Emotions boiled over late in the first half as an all-in brawl erupted in the middle of the park, resulting in Sharks five-eighth Emanuel Sultana and Gorillas hooker Samuel Hooper being sent to the sin bin for punches thrown, with Hooper having to be patched up for a gash under the chin.

Coach of the Shellharbour Sharks, Abed Atallah, said it was always going to be a physical affair in the local rivalry and was just happy his boys stayed focused on the task at hand.

The Shellharbour Sharks took out the Jarrod Morgan Shield for 2023. Photo: Shellharbour Sharks Facebook

“It’s a really good result to get over a local rival and one that will give us lots of confidence going forward,” Atallah said.

“It was very physical, but they boys take care of each other out there, they’re a close knit bunch.”

The reigning premiers opened the scoring early with fullback Justin Jones punching a pocket of space to finish under the posts.

From here the scoring would go all the way of the Sharks, putting on four unanswered tries and finding strength in their left side attack, with captain James Ralphs, prop forward Joshua Starling and centre Kayne Brennan all finding the line of the left flank.

Coach Atallah highlighted Starling, as well as other prop forward Matt Nicholson, as standout performers from the victory for their workrates that really laid a platform for the rest of the team to flourish.

The Shellharbour Sharks celebrate a try from Joshua Starling. Photo: Kevin Merrigan

The Gorillas looked to make a bit of a resurgence in the second half, with back to back tries down the right flank to halves Blair Grant and Jake Brisbane to reduce the margin to two points.

The Sharks would pull away in the final minutes however, thanks to a terrific solo try from halfback Isaac Morris and a second try to Kayne Brennan down the left again.

Warilla-Lake South Gorillas against Shellharbour Sharks. Photo: Kevin Merrigan

Across the grounds, two sides looking to push for finals this year played out an exciting 18-18 draw, with the Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs and Nowra-Bomaderry Jets unable to be separated.

The Jets scored the opening two tries of the game through hooker Kurt Quinlan and halfback Klyde Parsons, taking them into the sheds with a 12-0 lead.

The Bulldogs would come out firing in the second half, with fullback Luke Millard scoring a terrific chip and chase try, before Cody Roach found his way through the line all too simply to level the scores.

Isaac Morris converting for the Shellharbour Sharks. Photo: Kevin Merrigan

While the Bulldogs looked to seal the deal in the final 10 minutes, an intercept from Jets winger Beau Luland would see him race away 90 metres to score under the posts and tip the tie back in the favour of the Nowra-Bomaderry side.

In the dying seconds of the game, big prop forward Callum Franchi bundled his way over the line from short range, allowing Roach to convert to tie the game up and leave the points shared in the exciting opening clash.

The Stingrays of Shellharbour ensured a Shellharbour double to kick off the season, defeating the Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles 22-14 away from home.

The Jamberoo Superoos also won on the road in a tough opening round clash with the Kiama Knights 20-10.

The biggest blowout of the round came through the Gerringong Lions, who disposed of the Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies 26-0, with centre Toby Gumley-Quine crossing for four tries in their season opener to take him right to the top of the try scoring table.

Any Group 7 stories? Get in touch at [e-mail]