The Sharks registered their first win of the new year in a comfortable 34-12 victory at Kempsey on Saturday.

They jumped out of the blocks and raced to an early 20-point advantage before they cruised home.

Coach Jake Hawkins said the match was a physical affair and he was encouraged by the performances of a handful of players.

“It’s definitely good to get a win,” he said.

“The benefit for us out of the game is that it’s another game under our belts before the start of the season.

“We’ve now played two matches and everyone else has only played one, but it was a physical match and it was good to see who stood up and didn’t take a backward step.”

Jayden Ehsman impressed in the centres, while the absence of fullback Harley Gore provided an opportunity for Mitch Wilbow.

“He was really good for us at fullback because he’s just got that footwork and speed,” Hawkins said.

“We thought we’d give him a run back there and it worked out.”

Hawkins felt the Sharks fitness levels told in the end.

“We were definitely a lot more fitter and game prepared and are starting to get some good combinations,” he said.

“We were better than we were against the Scorpions.”

Meanwhile, Port City Breakers suffered a surprise 16-14 loss to Wauchope Blues in the other match on the first week of the pre-season competition.

In an encounter that never reached any great heights, the Blues hung on as both sides exchanged tries.

Trae Clark, Adrian Daley and Jeremy Smith crossed for four pointers for Port City.

Breakers coach Dan Kemp admitted his side didn’t help their own cause with a disappointing completion rate.

“We completed at about 30 per cent and you’re not going to win too many games of footy when you do that,” he said.

“Ill discipline, penalties and errors took their toll because we fatigued and tired real quick.”

Kemp said there was still “plenty” to take out of the match.

“There are reasons for errors and penalties, but you can’t blame fatigue on that sort of completion rate,” he said.

“Of course you want to win most games you play in and most importantly there were no injuries although we did lose the penalty count by a fair margin.

“We’ll work on that.”

The Breakers coach admitted it “wasn’t a pretty game” and his side knew what they had to improve on ahead of next weekend.

“It gives us a base point to work with,” he said.

“We’re in a better position than we were after our first trial last year and this year the product we’ll put out will be better as well.”