PORT Macquarie Sharks overcame a spirited Macleay Valley Mustangs to record a comfortable 42-20 win on Sunday.
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They led 36-4 at the break.
In the process they returned to the top of Group 3 despite having front rower Mitch Smith sinbinned.
They also dug deep after playing the entire game with 15 men when Matt and Dennis Jones couldn’t play after a miscommunication with management.
According to the rules, players have until 10 minutes after the commencement of the first grade game to sign the sheet and take their place in the side.
When the clock ticked over to the 11 minute mark both players still hadn’t signed the sheet despite their names appearing on it.
They only became aware of it 15 minutes later when they attempted to join the fray as interchange players and were told they couldn’t take the field.
Cudmore said it was disappointing his side had to play the entire match two players short after an honest mistake.
“You’re running the risk if someone gets injured in reserve grade,” he said.
“We had two players playing there and we didn’t know if they were going to be injured or not. With 10 minutes to go in reserve grade we’re going to wait for them to come off and tell us they’re right. We weren’t aware of the rules, but we’ll be sure to fix it up next time.”
Despite the error on the sidelines, the Sharks raced out to a 36-4 lead at the break in one of their most complete performances all season.
“You won’t meet a tougher football team than us because it’s hard to do anything with 15 men,” Cudmore said.
You won’t meet a tougher football team than us because it’s hard to do anything with 15 men.
- Port Sharks coach Joey Cudmore
“It’s a pretty tough road trip this one, so it’s good to get the two points.”
In a tale of two halves, the Sharks didn’t touch the ball for the first period of the second stanza which allowed the Mustangs to race in three tries and close the gap to 36-20.
The home side could have been even closer, but they dropped the ball over the line three minutes later.
“It’s a warning that they can turn it on when they want to and that second half we didn’t see the ball for the first 12 minutes and they put 20 points on us,” Cudmore said.
“They’re extremely talented boys so we’ve got to be wary next time.”
Cudmore said while the win was impressive it was important for his side to remain grounded and keep their hands on the minor premiership.
“This result isn’t really important like Wingham will tell you; there’s no point being on top of the competition in week seven or eight.
“We’re not going to look at the ladder. This will count for nothing if we don’t have a trophy at the end of the year. We’re building steadily and we’re happy with the way we’re going.”
