FRESH SHARKS PUT ON SHOW
MEMBERS of Southport’s 2008 QAFL-winning premiership team have watched the Sharks take an important step towards another flag a decade later.
Hours before the 2008 team celebrated the 10-year reunion of their success at Fankhauser Reserve, Southport’s current crop of players put together one of the most dominant displays of the 2018 NEAFL season.
Southport conceded the first three goals of the Round 18 game but went on to thump the Canberra Demons 26.14 (170) to 10.7 (67) to take back top spot on the ladder from the ACTbased team on percentage.
The Sharks came into the game under pressure after two straight losses, while Canberra travelled north on the back of eight consecutive wins.
Southport coach Stephen Daniel conceded his side was weary heading into the bye weekend but praised the group for rediscovering the form they needed.
“The pressure is on when you come in with a chance of losing three in a row,” Daniel said.
“We spoke about it. We felt we needed a break as a group, we were really tired, and it showed today after the break.
“To come out and beat the top team by 100 points is pretty exciting.
“We are really happy about it and it’s good to be back winning.
“At the end of the day you just want to finish as high on the ladder as you can and at the moment we are equal top and that’s where you want to be come the end. Making the top four is really important.”
Southport lost Jordan Taylor with a hip flexor injury before halftime before Dylan Mutu hurt his hamstring.
“We were down to three rotations but it’s quite funny because we seem to play better with limited numbers,” Daniel said.
Southport led by 21 points at halftime but blew the game open after the main break to finish with 40 scoring shots.
The Sharks will play Aspley in Brisbane this weekend before finishing the regular season with games against the Northern Territory Thunder and Redland.