Only those a part of the inner circle may have believed it possible, however the Tarsha Gale Sharks have shown great spirit to beat the Illawarra Steelers in their final game.
Following a heavy defeat at the hands of the competition leading Bulldogs the previous week, coming up against an opponent heading for the competition Finals and playing in abysmal conditions with a strong southerly and heavy rain sweeping across the Cronulla High School field, the Sharks were outstanding in recording a 10-4 win to close out their 2023 season.
Sharks coach Neil Stanley while pleased with the last round victory, expressed his pride in the effort from his team throughout the entire Tarsha Gale season.
“We played a brand of footy today that suited the conditions and that’s why we got the win,” Stanley said. “I’m extremely proud of them.
“When you are out of contention for Finals you can go one of two ways, lose interest and go through the motions but we really wanted to put a final stamp on the season.
“We spoke about it in the pre-season, Sharks DNA, that grit and determination, attitude and effort, and I think we showed that even in our losses. It was always 60-minute effort, we never gave up in any game.
“I’ve coached a lot of teams and this one holds a special place for me,” Stanley added.
The Sharks were on the board early, Tia-Jordyn Vasilovski scoring in just the fifth minute of the match and in the heavy rain, defence dominated the remainder of the first half with the Cronulla girls going to the break up by 4-0.
The Illawarra team levelled in the opening minutes of the second period, before the game developed into an arm wrestle, with neither team able to assert any sort of dominance.
Then with time running down, it was the Sharks fullback crossing for her second, a try that proved to be the game winner, Vasilovski touching down with just two minutes remaining and with the conversion from wide out from Brooke Elliott it would be the Sharks to claim a memorable win.
The Tarsha Sharks completed their season with three wins and a draw to finish just one two points outside the top six.
TARSHA GALE SHARKS 10 Tia-Jordyn Vasilovski 2 tries, Brooke Elliott goal beat STEELERS 4
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Pictures: Adam Wrightson
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