Great Scott – Hughes leads Sharks to comeback victory

Sean Scott led a second-half revival as the Rockingham Sharks staged a remarkable comeback to beat the Ellenbrook Rabbitohs 36-34 in Round 10 of the Smarter than Smoking Premiership at Rockingham Mazda Arena on Saturday.

Scott grabbed the winning try less than 2 minutes from time as the Sharks pulled back a 32-12 deficit to take the win in a game full of drama.

All pictures courtesy of Nancye Perrin.

“A superb second half and the boys, once we got possession and got one a roll, were unstoppable,” co-coach Dave Tito said.

The Sharks were first on the board after just 90 seconds when forward Damien Worth finished off a quick set that included a 50m break from game MVP Luke Hughes.

But the game plan then disappeared as the Bunnies found plenty of holes in the Sharks defence to score four tries in 17 minutes.

At halftime the shellshocked Sharks trailed by 16 points and another immediately after the break saw Jarek Goebel’s red and green army extend further.

But the Sharks never gave up and Ali Parmenter pulled one back before fullback Nathan Hill waved his way through the defence for another and big Charlie Taniqoki barged over to signal the comeback was on.

Josh Neale kicked 4 from 5 and Scott, who had scored in the first half, began to probe and open up the Rabbitohs defence.

Aided by Benton Leme Pyako and some superb breaks from Ben Bolth and Hughes, the Sharks pressured and squeezed as the clock ran down.

With under 2 minutes, and on the back of previous score, they forced their way to within 10m of the try line – and Scott dummied and dived over for the score that put them level – Neal adding the conversion to seal victory.

It was a perfect day for the Sharks, with our ladies winning 16-10, Val Murphy winners by 34-10 and reserve grade edging home 22-20 in another epic encounter.

Pictures: Nancye Perrin