Warriors Dominate Sharks in the Belconnen Derby

Hatrick hero Wiliam Peace, led the West Belconnen Warriors to a dominating 52-6 victory over the Belconnen United Sharks in round three of the Canberra Raiders Cup at Raiders Belconnen. 

It was a dominating first half performance by the Warriors before things only got worse for the Sharks after a player was sent off right on the stroke of halftime,  giving the Warriors a 13 on 12 man advantage for the second half.

Along with Peace, it was the halves, Graham and Roberts who put on a masterclass against an understrength Sharks side to push the Warriors inside the top three.

It didn't take long for the Warriors to create chances early after the side failed to score from two line breaks in the opening 10 minutes.

The Warriors opened the scoring in the 11th minute after centre William Peace crashed over the line, powering over three defenders in the proces. Robert Roberts failed to convert from the right sideline giving the Warriors a 4-0 lead.

The Sharks were able to earn themselves a goal line dropout after the kick off went dead on the bounce but they couldn't open their scoring for the match.

The Warriors extended their lead after forcing an error from the Sharks on their own line. A great offload from Bayley Graham allowed Harry Brown to dive over for the second try for the match in the 22nd minute, Roberts converted to extend the lead to 10 points.

A great kick from Roberts forced another error from the Sharks which gave them  great field position, however a great pickup on a loose ball relieved some pressure for the Sharks.

The Sharks would earn themselves a repeat set after some great attacking play but it was the Warriors who forced another error with some great line speed while defending their own line. 

A great run from Sharks lock Shaun Fensom allowed him to offload to Darcy Leadbitter to put the Sharks in great field position.

After earning a repeat set and a penalty the Sharks looked close to crossing over for their first try until Graham intercepted the ball and kicked it to Ryley Thomas to score a length of the field try. Roberts converted to push the lead out to 16-0 after 34 minutes.

Halftime ended with some drama after the Sharks number 10 was sent off for striking, Roberts converted a penalty goal from 45 metres out to give the Warriors an 18-0 lead at halftime. 

The Warriors took advantage of their 13 on 12  straight away, a great grubber kick from Roberts allowed William Peace to score his second try of the match in the 43rd minute. Roberts converted and extended the lead to 24 points.

Everything proved to be going the Warriors way as they retrieved their own goal line dropout. 

Roberts continued to put on a kicking masterclass as a banana kick fell into the hands of Ryley Thomas who scored his second try of the match in the 52nd minute. Roberts converted from right in front to extend the lead to 30-0.

The Sharks finally crossed over in the 55th minute after the Warriors made an error inside their own half. Timothy Middleton offloaded the ball back to five-eight Mathew Woolnough who dove over the line, Jack Beagley converted to bring the deficit back to 24 points. 

The Sharks comeback was short lived after William Peace scored his hat trick after managing to stay in the field of play and scoring in the left corner, Roberts sideline conversion was unsuccessful but extended the Warriors lead 34-6. 

The Warriors halves continued to dominate the game as it was Graham this time who produced a great grubber kick which allowed winger Kayne Laundess to score in the right corner, Roberts converted from the right sideline to extend the lead to 38-6 with 15 minutes remaining.

Graham was proving too good for a 12 man defence after running straight through and beating the fullback with a right foot step to score under the post and extend the lead to 46-6.

The Warriors brought up the half century after a great left side play allowed Brandon Withers to score in the 76th minute. Roberts converted once again as the lead extended to 52-6.

The Sharks created a chance on full time after a great run by John Papalii but failed to score as the Warriors won 52-6 on Sunday night.