Playing in her first match since round one, Cudmore was a standout in the Sharks 22-14 victory over fourth-placed Forster Tuncurry on Sunday.

While the Hawks are headed for the finals, the Sharks performance showed what they had been capable of all season.

For whatever reason, it just hadn’t happened.

Coach Scott Grant said it was a reward for their hard work and positive attitude following a challenging season.

“It’s hats off to them for not throwing the towel in,” he said.

“It’s the second-last game and they probably played their best game of the whole year.

“The penny was going to drop sooner or later, it’s just unfortunate it dropped so late.”

A slightly different change to Grant’s game day routine had the desired result.

“It was the first time I got cranky with them before they ran out, so maybe I should have done that more during the year,” he said.

“For some reason they just seemed a lot more confident.

“Nothing really changed game plan wise, everyone just seemed to be that little bit more switched on.”

Cudmore was judged players’ player, but she had plenty of support.

Captain Alex Avery was strong, while Sharni Pollard and Claire Thurlow had arguably their best matches all year as did Layla Ashburn.

Ashburn opened the scoring.

“Laura was good coming back and helping us out but other than that there weren’t too many that stood out,” Grant said.

“Everyone probably had their best games of the year; I wouldn’t put it down to one person; it was more everyone pulled their fingers out.”

The coach was hopeful he would have most of the playing squad back for next season.

They would be better for the challenges they had overcome this season with some of the girls being league tag novices.

“It’s disappointing it’s a little bit too little, too late, but I’m still glad they did it,” Grant said.

“At the start of the year a few of them had never played before and we’re 12 games in now.

“They can take the last four weeks into next year and build on it over summer and hopefully all stick around.

“They’re a pretty tight bunch; I think that’s what has kept them together the most.

“That was my main goal at the start of the year.”