Win eases pressure on Sharks’ season

THE pressure has eased on the Southport Sharks after a shock NEAFL win against the Northern Territory Thunder in Alice Springs.

However, coach Nathan Bock acknowledges the Sharks face a challenge to be able back up against fellow strugglers Redland this weekend.

Southport scored their second win from three starts against the Thunder at Traeger Park in the Red Centre when they scored an all-theway victory by 19.9 (123) to 10.10 (70).

It was only the third win of the season for the Sharks who are surprisingly just two wins outside the top six.

And Bock said criticism of the team’s performances this year – which have included three record losses – set the platform.

“Taking everything into consideration events from the past few weeks I think this was our best effort for the year,” Bock said.

“We had a challenge because of a lot of negative publicity but a lot of that criticism has not been warranted because we haven’t had our best side out at all.”

Asked if he felt like some pressure has eased on himself and the team, Bock replied: “To get this win was a really encouraging sign but the challenge is now to back it up with another good performance against Redland.”

Meanwhile Gold Coast NEAFL captain Keegan Brooksby bagged five goals to lead the Suns to an important 19.8 (122) to 5.10 (40) win over the Canberra Demons.