Ahead of a long weekend of Shute Shield action, we’ve taken a look across all six matches and handpicked a few of the best match ups to keep an eye on throughout round three.

Nick Duffy (Norths No.9) v Cooper Chambers (Souths No.9)

The two smallest players on the field on Friday could potentially have the biggest impact on the result when Norths host Souths on a Good Friday clash at North Sydney Oval. 

Duffy has been brilliant in the opening two weeks and sparks plenty of Norths’ attack with his quick service and nippy runs. 

Chambers will start his first match of the season, after playing from the bench in the opening two rounds for the Rebels and will be keen to make the most of his time in the Souths’ starting No.9 jersey. 

Fraser Conway/Dom Easy and Alesana Pohla (Gordon No.12 & No.13) v Tyson Davis & Seb Wileman (Warringah No.12 & No.13)

Two of Warringah’s favourite sons will partner in the midfield together for the first time in a number of seasons and will take some serious stopping. 

Billy Melrose has named either Fraser Conway or Dom Easy to partner Alesana Pohla in the Gordon midfield  but whoever plays should be expecting plenty of traffic on Saturday. 

Ben Houston (Randwick No.6) v Hunter Ward (Manly No.6) 

Houston and Ward are two of the best young backrowers in the competition and now both have a season or two of first grade under their belts. It’ll be interesting to see how they match up on one another. 

Houston was bested by the big Sydney Uni pack last weekend, while Ward was brilliant in the first half in his side’s big win over West Harbour but fell away after the break. 

Donny Freeman (Hunter No.7) v Tom Murphy (Eastwood No.7)

Former Australian Schoolboys No.7 Donny Freeman has moved north from Easts to Hunter and broken into the Wildfires first grade side. The kid from Orange is as tough as they come over the ball but will have his work cut out for him against Tom Murphy and an Eastwood forward pack that pride themselves on their work at the breakdown. 

For Hunter to cause an upset, they’ll need to slow Eastwood’s ball and protect their own and Freeman will be the man the Wildfires look to for both. 

Ethan Simpson (Eastern Suburbs No.4) v Irie Papuni (Western Sydney No.5)

Former Beastie Irie Papuni returns to the club he played with last season and would love nothing more than to hand Easts’ their third straight loss to start the season. 

He’ll face up against former Canterbury U20s prop Ethan Simpson who has been recruited from across the Tasman by new coach Simon Kneebone. 

Papuni and the Two Blues pack will look to use their size and power against the smaller, mobile Beasties forwards. The battle up front could decide the match.