Young Sharks at the forefront of 106-0 Bulldogs rout

An injury-hit Rockingham Sharks dug deep at Willagee on Saturday afternoon, asking several reserves and under-18s players to step up in their Smarter Than Smoking clash with the Kalamunda Bulldogs.

And coach Darren Shaw was pleased with what he saw as the Sharks ran home 106-0 winners against the league’s cellar-dwellers.

Missing several first-graders with a variety of long and short-term injuries, Shaw asked young winger Jetsadakorn Ngamkabuan, back-row forward Matt Rangiuia, Ezra Taomia, Caleb Norton, fullback Josh Neal and the returning Connor Hudson to show him what they were capable of — and none disappointed.

“They all did what I asked of them,” Shaw said after the game.

“The first call was to win, the second was to put some points on the board and the last was to keep them scoreless. They achieved all three.”

Young half-back Tyler Hunt, in for the injured Steve Widders, opened the scoring after just three minutes and Rangiuia added a second two minutes later as the Sharks went on a scoring spree.

With Caleb Reedy’s kicking adding the extras, Rockingham were 28-0 to the good after 16 minutes.

Ngamkabuan, another product of the Sharks youth policy, scored the first of his game double in the 17th minute as the Sharks recovered a lost Bulldogs ball on their own 20m line and burst through a tired defence to score.

Wyliss Timlin was next on the scoresheet, after a superb Hunt break, before centre Josh Bransby found the whitewash on a rampaging 60m run for the line.

In the second half, Shaw replaced several seniors and gave the youngsters an extended run.

Timlin started the half with a try, Hunt another and Wilson-Wyllie his second of the day before youngster Caleb Norton celebrated his debut with a four-pointer.

Ngamkabuan scored again in the 68th minute, with Wilson-Wyllie kicking the goal and Hunt was across again two minutes later.

A Josh Bransby try and a kick from Hudson notched up the century before Ty Jager said farewell to the club, before departing for New Zealand, with a try.

Shaw said he was hoping to have some of his seniors back for this weekend’s crunch game with second-placed Fremantle, who lost 14-10 to South Perth, but was confident his back-up players could, if asked, produce the goods.

“Our strength this season has been our depth,” he said.