Beach too strong for injury-hit Sharks

North Beach Sea Eagles 48 Rockingham Sharks 12

North Beach Sea Eagles took advantage of a weakened Rockingham Sharks to record a 48-12 victory to stay top of the NRLWA Fuel to Go and Play Premiership on Saturday as winger Riley Bradley scored four tries and kicked two conversions in all-round solid display.
The Sharks, who were missing several players, including skipper Ben Bolth, did themselves no favours in the first half, with errors giving the home side three tries.
And the second stanza saw three players, two Sharks and one Sea Eagle, taken from the field after an ugly clash of heads that halted the game for five minutes.
Mackenzie Martin left the field first, but Rockingham centre George Hough and backrower Marcelle Loader remained motionless for some time before being assisted to the sheds, and then to hospital, where Loader was treated for a broken nose and Hough for concussion.
“It was a bad one,”  coach Phil Douche said. “Luckily Mackenzie probably came off the best and passed his HIA but we decided to rest him. I hope the two Rockingham boys are OK.”
Earlier the home side dominated possession and controlled the ruck as they raced to a 20-0 halftime lead.
Fullback Bailey Millar opened the scoring after seven minutes, centre Kitione Nairobi added second and Millar caught the Rockingham defence asleep to race 80 metres for a third on the half hour.
Douche and Millar had done some video work during the week to identify how teams try to stop him.
“We made a feel technical changes,” Douche said.

Bradley, a North Beach junior with tremendous talent, opened his account for the day, intercepting a Keiron Lawton pass to run 80 metres as the Sea Eagles showed that will again be the benchmark this season.Forward Kallum Gulliver Brown was next to cross, minutes after the collision that saw Loader, Hough and Martin leave the field as Bradley then put on a show that had coach Phil Douche purring.
At 32-0 there seemed no way back for the visitors, who had no bench and looked tired, but Joash Touringi ensured heads were still  high with a typical barge-over forward try on 51 minutes.
“It was a big learning curve,”  Sharks coach Pete Worth conceded.  “I learnt more this week than last, and I know we have a lot of work to do.”
Riley though, had other ideas, as he took a clever inside pass to wrong foot Lawton and then scored his fourth on the same right edge before the speedy Te Ra Hare Ahuri raced 50m down the left edge to add another five minutes from time.
TJ Morunga, who had backed up from reserves, added a little respectability to the scoreline with a try late in the game, but the day belonged to North Beach, who after two rounds, sit in top spot after two impressive wins.
“A good start, injury free and it was probably our best overall performance so far,” Douche said.
“Execution wasn’t perfect but we know we can improve and will use the three-week break to work on some key points.”
Injured Rockingham pair Loader and Hough were released from hospital late on Saturday, both feeling sore, but both OK.
For Loader it was his final game, he moves to Queensland in a few weeks.  “We wish him well, “ Worth said.
“It was a big learning curve. I learnt more this week than last, and I know we have a lot of work to do.”
“We have some good pieces to work with and I have always said it’s a longterm plan rather than a short term fix. We have so many new faces it will take us time to develop as a team.”

* Photos: Libby McMillan