Sharks make light work of travelling Rovers

Dampier Sharks thrashed the Port Hedland Rovers by more than 160 points on Saturday in a one-sided round seven match of league football.

Playing at Dampier’s Windy Ridge Oval, the home team fired against a depleted Rovers side largely made up of reserves players to record a percentage-boosting win.

Sharks were straight out of the gates from the start and absolutely dominated the first term, peppering the goals and scoring 8.5 while holding the Rovers scoreless in a performance that set the scene for the rest of the game.

They kept the scoring momentum going for the rest of the match and averaging six to seven goals per quarter quickly leave Rovers in the dust.

Port Hedland’s players worked hard and at times were a good contest on the ground, but they struggled to break through the Sharks’ defences and get a result on the scoreboard.

Their first goal of the game came in the second term when Ashley Pitt slotted a shot home, and Isaiah Coppin followed that up with another midway through the third quarter.

The game’s final score was 27.16 (178) to 2.2 (14).

Shane McIntosh was the top scoreboard contributor for the Sharks, scoring nine goals for the game, while Ryan Hawke kicked five and Guy Langdon and Jake Stewart scored three each.

Rovers still had some reason to celebrate though with the match marking a 100th game milestone for league player Brendan Meagher.

The result means the Sharks remain in fourth spot on the ladder as of round seven, having redeemed themselves after being on the receiving end of a similarly large loss against Wickham in round six, while Rovers remain winless and on the bottom of the ladder.

In the reserves game, the Sharks defeated the away side by 10 points, 14.4 (88) to 13.0 (78).

The Rovers were scoreless in the first quarter, compared to the Sharks’ 5.2, but they came back from behind over the next three terms to almost close the margin by the final siren.