Having lead 30-12 at the interval, the Sharks eventually ran out 48-12 victors following a scrappy second stanza to remain in second place on the ladder.

The busiest person early on at Ron Costello Oval was the scoreboard attendant.

A Jai Dormer show-and-go from the first set of the game gave the maroon and gold’s a 6-nil buffer.

The Blacks temporarily halted their opponent’s momentum when Mark Simon fed a pass to pivot Josh Maude, who channelled his inner Jarryd Hayne by dancing around a series of defenders to score.

Their joy was short-lived, Justin Rodrigues’s deft short ball enabling Dane Sablowski to touch down.

Prop Craig Stapleton bumped off a handful of defenders to further extend their advantage, before Ben Stratton pounced on a kick in the in-goal area.

Bronx Goodwin’s sideline conversion afforded Shellharbour a 24-6 margin after less than 20 minutes.

After a flurry of early Sharks points the flow of possession eventually shifted the way of the visitors, who eventually capitalised when a Simon pass meant winger Josh Windisch crossed.

Once again their comeback didn’t last long, Dormer putting fill-in fullback Goodwin over for a four-pointer under the black dot.

Much of the second stanza degenerated into a mistake-riddled and dull as dishwater affair, Port further hampered by leader Simon’s absence.

There were a few highlights for Shellharbour during the second 40 minutes though.

Sharks winger Jamie Manukonga scored in the corner after his side were able to keep the ball alive, and a wicked bounce from a kick allowed Stratton to toe the ball ahead for his second try and 38-12.

Late efforts from Manukonga and Matt Docker capped off an emphatic victory for the home team.

Dormer, Sablowski, Harold Snell and Stapleton were the standouts for Shellharbour, while Maude, Jack Garrett and Kaine Edwards never stopped trying for Port Kembla.