RUGBY LEAGUE

Unheralded teenager Kurt Field will remember his first grade debut for all the right reasons.

A late call-up for injury-hit Shellharbour's clash with Jamberoo on Sunday, Field performed like a seasoned pro, punctuating his display with a sparkling second-half hat-trick of tries in the 36-4 triumph.

Normally a goal-kicking fullback in the under 18 competition, Field showcased his versatility with a seamless shift to the wing.

The Sharks scored eight tries and would've won by a lot more with accurate goalkicking.

"It was a really pleasing win. We've got 10 injuries in our top squad at the moment and we're giving a few blokes a chance," Shellharbour coach Dave Walsh said.

"We're leading the club championship and we knew this week was going to be a test of our depth at the club.

"Kurt Field scored three tries on debut and we had blokes backing up from reserve grade, so I was really pleased."

Jamberoo drew first blood with captain-coach Matt Coelho's early try, though that was quickly trumped by Reed Harris's unconverted try.

Captain Hans Schuster's try gave the Sharks the upper hand but the 8-4 score didn't change again in the first half.

The Superoos couldn't stay with Shellharbour in the second half, as the home team coasted to victory with tries to Ben Stratton, Bronx Goodwin, Harold Snell and Field.

"Our defence was rock solid, especially in the second half," Walsh said.

"We let in an early try but for 75 minutes of the game, they couldn't crack us, so that's the most pleasing thing.

"We gave some blokes an opportunity and they really performed, so we've got a few headaches for next week's game I suppose.

"Defensively all year we've been pretty sound, but our attack has suffered a bit at times. Today we showed glimpses of some really good passages of play."

The Sharks remained in second spot behind title favourites Warilla.

"It's only June, so we'll see what happens when it matters," Walsh said.

Jamberoo dropped a spot to sixth.

"It's disappointing," Coelho said."There was a lot of talk that they had players out, but we had five of our starting team out as well, and we were down to one on the bench the whole second half.

"We've got Nowra next week and that's a massive game for fifth spot. We've got the bye after that and then we're back to full strength if there's no more injuries next week."

Warilla were held to a 30-all draw by Nowra-Bomaderry, while Berry-Shoalhaven Heads upset Gerringong 30-16.