Shellharbour halfback Matt Carroll emulated former NSW Centre Ryan Girdler’s State of Origin scoring explosion with a memorable 32-point outburst in Saturday’s blitz of Port Kembla.
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Carroll scored three tries and kicked 10 of 11 goals in the Sharks’ 64-10 rout of the Blacks at Ron Costello Oval - exactly the same amount Girdler tallied in his record-setting haul in game three of the 2000 Origin series.
‘‘Matty Carroll had a day out,’’ Shellharbour coach Dave Walsh said.
‘‘It’s pretty good when you’ve got a bloke who can put them over from all angles. The only one he missed was from the sideline and that hit the post. He was pretty white hot.’’
The game was always going to be a one-sided affair.
Shellharbour are unbeaten, while the injury-riddled Blacks are at the bottom of the ladder with one win for the season.
The Sharks were in no mood for a shock upset, taking a stranglehold of the match when they led 42-0 at half-time.
‘‘I was really happy with our first half,’’ Walsh said.
‘‘We scored seven tries and looked sharp and clinical. It was good to be able hold onto the ball and be positive in our attack, and that sort of cohesion is something we’ve lacked a bit in the last few weeks.
‘‘We mixed it up a bit at training leading into the game and tried to play a bit more attacking, and the things that we tried paid off. It’s a good confidence-builder going into our next game against Warilla.’’
However, Walsh wasn’t entirely pleased with his side’s performance.
‘‘I’m not sure if it was a touch of complacency but we lost our way a bit in the second half again,’’ he said.
‘‘I wanted us to be ruthless, but we only completed only four of our last 11 sets and gave away five penalties and they scored two tries. It’s becoming a bit of a trait of ours and I’m not real happy about it. We have to fix it before it comes back to bite us.’’
Walsh singled out Kurt Field as his team’s standout.
‘‘Kurt Field came back after playing a rep game in Camden and was a class above everyone else in the 50 minutes he was on the field,’’ he said.
‘‘It was an outstanding effort, considering he’d already played a game.’’
Zac Kershaw and Jason Gillard scored two tries apiece in Nowra-Bomaderry’s 38-18 home win over Berry.
Also crossing for the reigning premiers were Nathan Falzon, James Jaggot, Steve Brandon, Sean Lynch and Mick Blattner.
Berry’s points came via two tries to Jack McPherson and a try and three goals to Josh Coulter.
The loss was the Magpies’ sixth in eight games, while the Jets boast a 4-4 record.
Meanwhile, Gerringong sent Jamberoo crashing back to earth with a 58-4 thrashing on Sunday at Michael Cronin Oval.
The Superoos had won four straight before running into the unbeaten Lions.
Kiama joined Jamberoo in third spot with a 40-16 road win over Milton-Ulladulla, while Warilla beat Albion Park-Oak Flats 25-12.
Ladder: Shellharbour, Gerringong 15, Kiama, Jamberoo 10, Nowra-Bomaderry 8, Warilla 6, Berry, Milton-Ulladulla 4, Port Kembla 2