Hunter scored after the full time siren to steal victory from Eastern Suburbs while Manly held on to beat a luckless Gordon outfit.

Elsewhere, Eastwood, Norths, Randwick and Sydney Uni all impressed on a wet weekend of Shute Shield rugby.

Manly 35-29 Gordon

Manly bounced back from last week’s disappointing loss, holding on to beat Gordon 35-29 to claim their sixth win of the season. 

The Marlins led 28-24 following a high scoring first half in which Gordon outscored the home side four tries to three. 

The visitors took the lead early in the second half when fullback Robbie McIntosh crossed for his second try of the afternoon. 

But Manly responded with a try from a driving maul midway through the second half and let 35-29 into the final minutes. 

The Stags had an attacking lineout deep inside Manly territory after the full time siren, but couldn’t execute again when it mattered, handing Manly victory following a poor lineout throw. 

The Marlins sit level with Eastwood at the top of the Shute Shield ladder on 31 points, while Gordon cling on to eighth spot after losing their fifth match by 10 points or less in six weeks. 

Hunter 29-25 Eastern Suburbs

Hunter fought back from 18-3 down and scored after the full time siren to beat Easts in Newcastle and claim their fourth straight Shute Shield win. 

The Beasties jumped out of the gates quickly and scored two tries to take a 15-3 lead to the break. 

They then pushed further ahead following a penalty goal early in the second half before the Hunter forwards took control of the match. 

The Wildfires crossed for three unanswered tries, including a double to hooker Phil Bradford, who is quickly playing his way into Catchpole Medal contention. 

Easts retook the lead in the 77th minute when Aussie 7s’ gun Darby Lancaster scored but Hunter quickly moved the ball deep into Easts’ territory and showed great patience to eventually cross after several minutes attacking the Easts’ try line. 

Replacement forward Tiueti Asu barged over to seal victory in the 83rd minute. 

Eastwood 29-7 Western Sydney

Eastwood claimed a bonus point victory over Western Sydney at TG Millner but were forced to work for their points on a wet afternoon. 

Both sides scored tries from driving mauls early in the first half in a tight affair. Eastwood winger Sam Delores then pounced on a loose ball towards the end of the half and ran 70 metres untouched to give his side a 12-7 lead at the break. 

Midway through the second stanza, big centre Komiti Tuilagi barged over to give Eastwood a 22-7 lead, but the Two Blues refused to go away. 

Western Sydney parked themselves in Woodies’ territory but were repelled by some desperate defence from the home side. 

A try from a driving maul in the final play then secured a bonus point win for the home side. 

Eastwood are in first spot on 31 competition points after eight rounds, while Western Sydney drop out of the top eight after back to back defeats. 

Northern Suburbs 28-10 West Harbour

Norths’ No.8 Brodie Leber scored his side’s first and last try to help the Shoremen secure a bonus point victory over West Harbour at a soggy North Sydney Oval. 

After conceding a penalty goal early, Leber barged over from close range to give his side the lead in the 8th minute. 

Norths pushed further ahead with a try from a driving maul, then took control of the match with a third try to Nick Duffy just minutes later. 

Duffy started the play and touched the ball three times in the one passage as he continued his strong start to 2022. 

West Harbour hit back early in the second half through centre Chris Ebeling but the result was never really in doubt. 

Leber scored his second in the 72nd minute to secure the bonus point victory and Norths’ spot in the top four. 

Randwick 34-21 Warringah

Randwick produced a masterclass in wet weather rugby to beat Warringah 34-21 at Coogee Oval on Saturday. 

Led by classy No.9 Tim Seppell, the Wicks controlled the match brilliantly and scored three tries from close range to take a 25-7 lead to half time. 

Ben Woollett and Wes Thomas scored in the second half for the Rats and reduced the deficit to 10 points inside the final 10 minutes, but that was as close as the visitors would get. 

Sippell kicked four penalty goals, while replacement flyhalf Coby Miln added a field goal to secure a 34-21 win for Randwick. 

Sydney University 45-12 Southern Districts 

A double to winger Angus Bell and a 15 point haul by fullback Will Goddard helped Sydney Uni claim a comprehensive 45-12 victory over Southern Districts. 

The Rebels opened the scoring with a try to Chritian Kagiassis inside the opening two minutes, but it was all the Students from that point on. 

Led by new flyhalf and former Aussie 7s captain Lewis Holland, Uni were a class above the Rebels and jumped away to a 31-5 half time lead. 

Souths added a second try after the break but the result was never in doubt as Uni claimed their third straight win to jump up into third spot. 

Souths are 11th with just two wins from eight matches.