Sharks have sent out a warning to the A-grade men's Ovens and Murray Water Polo competition after taking down the top two sides.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Their finals campaign has been strengthened following a nine-point win against reigning premiers Northside on the weekend.
It comes following a round seven victory against the in-form Tigers.
Ben Douglass starred for the Sharks on Sunday to secure five goals, while Will Gould added four more to the tally.
While both sides were undermanned, Sharks coach Shannon Gould said it was a confidence boosting win for his young team.
"Northside and Albury are the benchmark at the moment, so for us to beat the Tigers before Christmas and now the Stingrays this week is a good effort from the boys," Gould said.
"We're a super young side, with most of our players under 18.
"We'll hopefully worry Northside and Albury coming into finals, which is a good sign for us."
Young gun Elih Mutsch scored three goals for the Stingrays.
In the other men's A-grade game on the weekend, the Tigers downed the Pool Pirates 15-6.
Tom Duck led the charge with four goals for the victors, with Jimmy Scannell, Josh Fagan and Ben Land all contributing three each.
Will Murphy was the best in the pool for the Pirates.
An eight goal haul from Leah Dodd helped the Sharks to also overcome Northside/Wodonga in the A-grade women's competition.
Alyssa McKenna and Tysha Bretton both found the net for the Stingrays.
Dodd is now set to attend the NSW Country Club's championships in Byron Bay this weekend alongside teammate Angel Durdin-Paul.
ALSO IN SPORT:
"It will make for a good competition playing some of the best in country NSW and some high quality games moving into finals," Dodd said.
Several Ovens and Murray players will then take to the pool for the Canberra Cup in coming weeks.
After 18 months of minimal representative opportunities due to the pandemic, Dodd is pleased to see players now having more options.
"While people are hesitant with the risk, there has to be a time when things go ahead, and they are now," she said.
However, with Covid in the community, Dodd admitted there's likely to be player shortages.
"People isolating will probably impact the rest of the season," she said.
"It's a shame, but you just have to work with who you have available each week."
The final A-grade women's game for round eight saw the Pirates defeat the Tigers 12-5.
Ryleigh Hogan scored four goals for the victors, while Matilda Smith landed three goals in the final quarter for the Tigers.
Dodd believes the Pirates will once again be a threat this season after claiming the flag last year.
"I think it will be neck-and-neck going into finals," she said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.bordermail.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @bordermail
- Follow us on Instagram @bordermail
- Follow us on Google News.