By Mark Cashman

Lots of debate out there on the Chatswood Oval ground announcer who became a player in the tense final moments of the Gordon v Northern Suburbs derby last weekend.

With Norths rattling home with two late tries to James Margan, Jude Gibbs had a sideline conversion to draw the match after the full-time bell had been rung, and said ground announcer underlined the fact that this was a pressure kick.

An obvious reference to the kick that Gibbs had in last year’s grand final against Randwick that went wide of the posts.

Many at Norths didn’t like the intervention but it certainly has fired up future Battles of the North matches and underlined that Chatswood now is an uncomfortable place to play.

Eastern Suburbs had a few complaints of their own a few weeks back, but in some ways it’s a good advantage that the Highlanders have developed there.

With the first week of the finals due to be scheduled at home ground venues it may be an advantage that Gordon can lean on.

On the Shute Cast podcast this week former Manly Marlins president Anthony Bergelin even suggested that the Norths v Gordon battle had overtaken the Rats v Marlins as the one with the most venom.

He reckons that there is now a “true hate” between the two clubs and that this derby was at the top of the podium of Shute Shield derbies.

As long as we are talking about this stuff it helps the relevance and the crowd numbers, which I must say were quite healthy at Chatswood on the weekend.

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Yes it’s that time of the year when the Shute Shield coaching merry go round kicks into gear and with the last round of the regular season being played this weekend, it’s only going to get more hectic.

Randwick, Southern Districts and West Harbour are all on the hunt for new gaffers.

The Two Blues got in early this week when they announced that Sailosi Tagicakibau had re-signed as Director of Rugby at ‘The Eric’ for the next two years.

To be quite honest it’s a huge coup and in this column’s humble opinion sets the club on a certain path to not only finals footy but a period of great growth with the structures that are now in place around Tagicakibau.

“This decision underscores our commitment to building on the strong foundation and exceptional leadership that Sailosi has provided since joining us,” the Two Blues said in a statement.

“Over the past three seasons, Sailosi has played a pivotal role in shaping our team’s success, fostering talent, and enhancing our overall performance.

“His dedication, expertise, and passion for the game and our community have been instrumental in driving our club forward, and we are excited to continue this journey with him at the helm.”

Understandably we won’t be hearing anything from the clubs that are involved in finals footy but I’m hearing a very familiar name mentioned as a contender at a number of the clubs mentioned.

And to top things off one aspirational club is looking at a major re-imagining of it’s coaching structure.

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What is it about watching one of our rugby heroes tear up when he talks about the achievements of his family in Paris.

The man I’m talking about was Phil Kearns when interviewed about his daughter Tilly who has been a vital part of the Australian Stingers squad that has booked a spot in the Gold Medal match at the Paris Olympics.

A clearly emotional Kearns spoke of the dedication and emotional strength of his daughter and the joy that he and his family have got cheering her on in Paris.

As we told you some weeks back there’s a real “rugby feel” to the Stingers squad with the daughters of former Rats lock John Hearn (Sienna) and former North Sydney Bear Daryl Halligan (Bronte) playing along with Kearns.

Bronte Halligan is one of the stars of the team and Kearns plays in the physically taxing centre forward position.

Away from the Olympics there’s another Shute Shield link to elite level sport with former Warringah lock Rob Blyth the dad of new Wallaby Angus.

Yes, there’s good sporting genes in the Shute Shield!

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Not sure how many player points he would be worth but Randwick general manager Mark Harrison joked with Around The Traps when we asked him what Sir John Kirwan was doing in the crowd at Coogee Oval last weekend.

“He is playing next week. Got to beat Easts somehow!!” Harrison said.

Remain calm all those Shute Shield bean counters out there, Sir John was here to catch up with the bosses of the Recoverie chain that has made a huge impact in Coogee and Manly.

Randwick coach Stephen Hoiles has a stake in the chain that helps athletes with their off field recoveries.

And yes Sir John was rocking those black rimmed glasses.

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Sir John Kirwan’s presence in Sydney’s east had the locals talking about the time that the All Blacks played Randwick midweek at Coogee Oval.

The place was absolutely chock-a-block and yes he did play that days and loved the atmosphere and the contest that the Galloping Greens brought to the table.

Not everyone was in the ground on the day with former Gordon lock Hayden Rorke remembering how he watched the game standing on the bonnet of his car.

The only hitch though was that it was a company car and Rorke had to explain to his boss the next morning when he was spotted on the TV coverage with his size 13s on the company property.

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Around The Traps loves a good reunion story and none better than the one that happened last weekend at Chatswood Oval.

The Gordon Under 16 side that won the State Championships in 1974 came together for a bit of a knees up that started at the Gordon v Norths game and continued afterwards into wee hours.

All were in a good mood after the Highlanders had won seven from seven games that day and they had a lovely dinner at a special room at Mama Mulan organised and driven by one of the props in that side Brian Thorburn, the former boss of commercial at the ARU and a key man in the formation of the Fijian Drua.

Norm Tasker was the coach of that side and he would later lead the group on a tour of New Zealand.

A good time was had by all.

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The Woods may not be playing Shute Shield finals this year but they will remember one of their own at a special day at the races to honour Andrew Wisemantel who passed away suddenly at the Rugby World Cup in France.

It will be at Royal Randwick on Saturday, August 24 and Woodies are asked to meet near the Winx Stand for what will be a great day.

I’m sure it will be a great afternoon and I’m sure there will be an omen bet or two amongst the declared starters.

Talking of another Wisemantel and Woodie Scott has just been appointed as an assistant coach at the NRL Parramatta Eels under the new coaching regime of Jason Ryles.

Big job ahead for ‘Wisey’!