Shellharbour Sharks stun Warilla-Lake South Gorillas in Group 7 opener

The side walked off Ron Costello Oval on Sunday winners, 28-16, with head coach Abed Atallah crediting the win to the team's efforts throughout preseason.

"We may have made it a bit harder on ourselves then it needed to be, but the boys did exceptionally well," he said.

"The team was obviously very happy to grab those two points, and being the first game of the year you want to get off to a good start."

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The Gorillas would attack first 17 minutes in through fullback Justin Jones. The conversion by Blair Grant would give them a 6-0 edge.

Tensions would grow in the match with an all-in brawl erupting between both teams near the halfway line, with Sharks five-eighth Emmanuel Sultana and Warilla hooker Sam Hooper given 10-minutes each for their part in the fight.

Three straight Sharks tries before halftime, would see Shellharbour up 14-6 at the break.

The Sharks would open the second half with another quick try to push the lead to 18-6, before the Gorillas would respond with back to back tries to cut the deficit to 16-18.

Shellharbour kept their composure and would rattle off two late game tries to extend the margin to its final mark of 28-16.

Centre Kayne Brennan and second-rower James Ralphs both bagged two tries on the day, while big unit Josh Starling would secure a try in his first game for the club.

For the Gorillas, Jones, Grant and Jake Brisbane would all go over the line once.

"We've had a really good preseason where the boys worked really hard, so it's great to see them rewarded for their efforts," Atallah said.

"That's the message we gave them, if you work hard then the rewards will come."

In the last ten minutes of the match, Atallah said you could really see the dividends from their preseason with how solid the team's game fitness was.

He still didn't love what he saw on the defensive side of the ball, but said there were positive aspects to it.

"I thought our scramble defense was overall really solid," he said.

"Our success definitely started from the middle of the field with Matty Nicholson and Josh Starling."

"Guys understand that to get those wins on the board everyone has to be working towards a common goal and doing their jobs for the team."

The Sharks will look to keep the momentum going in a clash with the Berry-Shoalhaven Heads Magpies this weekend at Berry Showground.

"Berry are going to be tough, especially down there at Berry Showground," Atallah said.

"They've got a big team across the park and they are led very well by their captain/coach Lloyd Thomas."

That match will kick off at 3pm on Saturday, April 1.