New-look Albany Sharks stun Denmark-Walpole in opening round as star recruit Brett Peake kicks seven goals

Albany Sharks coach Jamie Ramm believes there is further improvement to come from the new-look team that delivered the club only their third win in league history on Saturday afternoon. Former AFL player Brett Peake starred in his Great Southern Football League debut, kicking seven goals to help lift the Sharks to a memorable 19-point win over last year’s grand finalist Denmark-Walpole at Centennial Stadium. The Sharks won only their second league game back in April 2019, which also came against the Magpies, and went through last year’s shortened season winless. However, landing Peake and a host of other new senior faces was instrumental in the Sharks starting their second season under Ramm on a winning note. Peake kicked the first goal of the game, had four majors by half-time and ended up with 7.3 from 12 scoring shots as the Sharks prevailed 12.12 (84) to 9.11 (65). “It’s great for the guys, great for the club and for footy,” Ramm said. “I had faith in the players, they’ve done the work and are a pretty fit group and as you saw with their tackling they are more physical. “It’s a step in the right direction and there will still be a lot of ups and downs but now we’ve won a game we can concentrate on improving.” Playing mainly as a deep forward opposed to David Scriven, Peake’s two first term goals helped the home side take a 12-point lead into quarter time. Goals to Coen Marwick and Tyler Stone put the Magpies in front early in the second term but Peake was feasting on the Sharks swift ball movement and he bagged two more majors to ensure they had control by half-time. The Magpies hit the front early in the third but Peake and key forward Jack Adams gave the Sharks two goals in a minute. Peake kicked three for the term to stretch the margin to 12 points at the last change and then majors to hardworking midfielders Ben Watson and Cameron Jones in the final quarter opened up a game-high 27-point advantage. Jones was outstanding with 17 disposals despite being yellow carded in the third term while Peake finished with 18 touches. Young pair Max Baker and Luke Mowaljarlai were also crucial in the round-one win along with Watson (two goals) and defender Ben Munro. The Magpies constantly turned the ball over and missed a number of simple opportunities in front of goal. In his first appearance in Magpie colours, big recruit and dual Kleemann medallist Zane Marwick collected 27 possessions but his influence was nullified after half-time. Skipper Alec Haskins was outstanding for the Magpies along with Jayden Woods who was class when around the ball to finish with 23 disposals and three goals while Tyler Stone also booted three majors. “Lots of guys were underdone and we had a lot of skill errors,” Magpies coach Alan Smallwood said. “Credit to the Sharks, they were really good especially inside and they tackled well. “I thought our backline did really well, from our turnovers they were exposed.”