At Flinders Field, both teams were reduced to 12 men before any points were scored when Rays' Zaan Weatherall and Sharks' Zac Kershaw were sin-binned for a fight.

Minutes later, the hosts the first to trouble the scorers when hooker Hamish McLaurin found a rampaging Jake Kamire with an inside pass before the latter barged his way over,

McLaurin converted and the Rays led 6-nil after 21 minutes.

Minutes later, the Sharks had their first, following a smart grubber kick by half debutant Jake Hay, who replaced the injured Matt Carroll.

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Hay's kick proved too high for winger Josh Adu to handle, who lost control of the ball due to pressure from Ryan James and Jye Brooker - seeing it pop out into the hands of Kane Chapman to score.

With six to play in the half, the visitors hit the lead for the first time back-rower James burst onto a Chris Browne pass, before carrying three defenders over the line.

Five-eighth Browne converted and it was 10-6 - which is how it remained until half-time.

The visitors' lead was extended to six when Browne slotted a penalty goal following a high tackle by McLaurin on Kane Chapman.

Abed Atallah's Sharks had all the run to start the second half, with them scoring their third try in the 47th minute.

Following sharp lead-up play by Browne, his halves partner Hay, who turned 18 on Sunday, kicked through a perfectly weighted grubber to winger Scott Hogan, who scored in the left corner.

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Browne's conversion made it 16-6 with just over 30 minutes to play.

In the 57th minute, the Rays reduced the deficit when a James Andraos kick from close range was deflected into the hands of Jayden Harris to score.

That gave the hosts plenty of confidence, as they drew level in the 68th minute.

Kamire broke through the line, attracted fullback Jacob Seabrook and found Andraos on the inside to score - which he converted himself, to make it 16-all.

In the dying moments, an inside pass from skipper Kieran Rankmore sent Kamire over for what appeared to be the match-winning try.

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Andraos' added extras gave the hosts a six-point lead.

In the final set of the game, the Sharks managed to find a decisive fourth try when Morrissy burrowed his way over from dummy-half.

Browne's conversion after the siren sealed the 22-all draw - marking the first time in eight attempts the Shellharbour Showdown had ended in that fashion.

Following a week off due to Anzac Day, the Sharks travel to Centenary Field to take on the Eagles, while the Rays host the Superoos - with both fixtures taking place on Sunday, May 2.

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