Warilla and Shellharbour only unbeaten teams after round eight triumphs

But it's the Sharks who sit on top of the ladder after recording a sixth-straight win on Saturday when they beat reigning Group Seven rugby league premiers Gerringong Lions 22-4 at Michael Cronin Oval.

The Gorillas jumped to second spot on Sunday when they fought back from 14-0 down to beat Nowra Bomaderry Jets 30-14 at Cec Glenholmes Oval.

The win was Warilla's fifth, with their other game resulting in a hard-fought 16-all draw with the Stingrays of Shellharbour.

Warilla were made to work hard for their latest victory after the visiting Jets controlled the opening half to lead 12-0 at the main break.

Nowra added a further two points early in the second half before Warilla clicked into gear and scored 30 unanswered points in the final 28 minutes of the game.

Warilla coach Gav Walsh was pleased with his team's resilience to hang tough and fight back for the win in the second half.

"We were poor in the first half and didn't match their energy. They were up for it and we weren't quite there, which showed in a lot of areas," he said.

"We hung in though and played much better in the second half and did well to come away with the win."

Nowra's big forwards dominated proceedings in the opening 20 minutes but the Jets first try came against the run of play after Nowra fullback Mathew Parsons intercepted a ball close to his line and ran almost all the way to score before being tackled just a few metres short of the try line.

But on the next play Nowra shifted the ball quickly to winger Beau Luland who had a clear run to the try line.

Clyde Parsons duly converted to extend the visitors lead to 6-0.

Nowra added a second try midway through the half when impressive centre Sean Deaves ran through a massive gap unopposed to score under the posts.

Second half resurgence:

Fortunately for Warilla and their coach Walsh, Nowra's massive pack tired slightly in the second half which allowed the Gorillas quick and creative players such as Blair Grant and Sam Hooper to take over.

Hooper scored his team's first try in the 52^nd minute and set up two other tries while Grant also had a hand in three of Warilla's five tries and finished with 10 points after kicking all five conversions he attempted.

Beau Henry, Duke Grant and Justin Jones also crossed for four-pointers for Warilla.

Walsh was pleased with the performance of his captain Blair Grant and hooker Sam Hooper but reserved special praise for his forwards.

"We know when we play Nowra they can score from anywhere, which they did today," the coach said.

"To their credit they got up 14-0 and almost pulled our pants down.

"Fortunately we hung in there and didn't let them completely run away with the game.

"We knew if we could get back in touch with them, that we could run away with it in the end if things went to hand and fortunately we had a bit of luck and made the most of our opportunities in the second half.

"I was really proud of our pack, they were massive throughout against Nowra's huge pack."

Future looking rosy:

Walsh added Warilla's start to the season was good and showed the club was moving in the right direction.

But he added the rejuvenated power still had to prove itself against heavyweights Gerringong and Shellharbour.

"This just shows we're going in the right direction," the coach said.

"We've got Gerringong and Shellharbour in the next couple of weeks which will show us where we are at but we're not looking past Albion Park, who we play next.

"But the club's in a really good position. The 18s are winning, Reggies are winning, the girls are starting to turn the corner as well, so the club as a whole is going forward and that makes us really proud."

Meantime in other round eight fixtures, Albion Park Oak Flats Eagles beat Jamberoo Superoos 30-8 and Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs beat Kiama Knights 32-18.