Pirates got away to a great start and had piled on three goals before the undermanned Sharks had a chance to settle.

Left-hander Matt O’Connell did the bulk of the early damage for Pirates.

He scored three of his four goals in the first half to help Pirates to a 5-4 half-time lead.

Sharks’ Matt Hogan said it took his side’s makeshift line-up longer than usual to get into the match.

“Both teams were missing a few regulars and it was a while before we started to click,” he said.

“It was a good physical game.”

Without regular centre forward Shannon Gould, Ben Douglass stepped up for Sharks, scoring five goals to be Sharks’ most damaging player.

The performance continues a fantastic season for Douglass in his first year in the Ovens and Murray competition.

His contribution was vital in Sharks’ second-half revival.

After the Sharks drew level early in the third quarter the game went goal for goal until the end.

Hogan, goal sneak Taylor Miller and Chris Hutton scored vital goals in the closing stages of the game to help Sharks over the line.

Hogan said the win was a big boost for his team going into the month-long mid-season break.

“Our last few games have been good ... it gives us a bit of confidence for sure,” he said.

Pirates, meanwhile, will be hoping the return of Melbourne brothers Anthony and Lachlan Edwards can put their season back on track.

After nine rounds, Albury is on top of the ladder with eight wins from 11 games.

Pirates are second and Sharks third but both have games in hand.

Northside is fourth with three wins and Wagga who is yet to win a game is last.

A 7-2 win against Pool Pirates yesterday has Sharks women comfortably on top of the ladder at the break.

Leah Dodd scored three goals in the victory while Nicola Pitman and Kristy Hogan scored once each for Pirates.