By Mark Cashman

You’ve gotta love this time of the year, autumn is just kicking in and your Shute Shield hasn’t lost a game yet, had to deal with a season changing injury or got on the wrong side of the new points system.

As is their want Rugby News spoke to each of the first grade coaches to see who they thought would be about at the back end of the season.

Well their votes are in and almost to a man they have all plumped for the Warringah Rats to go back to back.

Now there is a long way to go and few buts and howevers, but the general vibe that came from the Shute Shield coaching class was that the Rats combination of stability from 2025 and some canny recruiting will have them playing for trophies.

A lot will depend on how their new No.10 Byron Smith settles into the Warringah way of doing things.

There were some good and bad signs in the Australian Championship match against Bond University but either way it’s a big task to fill the boots of Coby Miln.

A bit lower down the 2025 pecking order there will be clubs that missed out on finals last season pushing up the ladder.

Leading this mob will be Sydney Uni while Gordon, the Two Blues and
Manly will be hard to contain.

Even Souths and West Harbour will make sure that there games are far from “points bankers”.

The best Shute Shield season in living memory!

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Loved the early offerings of the Shute Shield social media team with their posts about the ground that most players dislike playing at falling fair and square at Chatswood Oval.

Grumbles about the quality of the surface when it rains – almost septic one said – and the quality of the visiting dressing sheds would have made a few people uncomfortable at the Highlanders and Willoughby Council.

Not sure what Willoughby Council has in mind – maybe it’s green space and somewhere to let your King Charles spaniel express his or herself – but we need keep in mind the history that has been made at the ground.

Chatswood doesn’t make the cut in Peter Fenton’s poem about Sydney’s Hallowed Rugby Grounds but it must be said the memories abound.

The great Norm Tasker told Around The Traps about Victor Trumper batting at the ground and Don Bradman hitting a massive six that landed well over the other side of the railway line.

Trevor Allan of course made his initial steps in his decorated career at Chatswood.

I suppose in some way the good thing about a home ground should be that the visiting team feels uncomfortable, and that certainly is the case at the moment.

Woollahra Oval got a few mentions as an unenjoyable place to play with a few of the Two Blues boys saying they picked up “turf toe” on the artificial surface.

Norths’ Josh Barr fell into the Woollahra Oval column rather than having a crack at Chatswood. He’s currently being re-educated.

As for me give me a winter Saturday afternoon at North Sydney Oval listening to my former playing mates beef about ‘Albo’ and the quality of the sausage sandwiches!

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It was one of those sliding doors moments that happen oh so regularly in our game.

Sydney selectors had to choose between the very special talents of two bullocking backrowers in ‘John’ Fetaiaki Langi who passed away last month and Willie Ofahengaue in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Both were Tongan powerhouses with that had made their mark in the Shute Shield, Willie O with Manly and Langi with Wests.

Ofahengaue got the nod in a Sydney President’s XV and made the most of his opportunity with four tries, each from the back of the scrum.

Langi, a widely respected Tongan international, was genuinely feared taking out the Herald Cup in 1988, 1989 and 1991 and we just don’t know which way his footy would have gone had he got the call from the Wallabies selectors.

West Harbour, including former teammate Brian ‘Billy’ Melrose, described him as one of the greatest ever players to pull on the jersey.

“More than that, he was not only an outstanding player, but an even greater human being,” Wests said in a statement.

The Rats have also lost one of their family with the passing of Mandy Morton.

Morton was a shining example of all the Rats stand for with her selfless contribution to the club for 37 years.

Her involvement of the club starting when her son David began playing with the Narrabeen Tigers aged 6

She managed that age group rep teams from U/10s to U/17s.

That team which included Luke Holmes and coached by his dad Mark won every state championship in that period.

She then became president of the Colts for three years, sat on the Warringah board, was treasurer and filling any number of volunteer roles over the decades.

She was rightfully recognised for her service being rewarded life membership and will be missed.

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There are proud dad moments every week in the Shute Shield but these two stood out to Around The Traps.

First one is former Wallabies and Randwick lock Warwick Waugh who posted a picture of his won Will taming some of the big swells on Sydney’s eastern suburbs beaches a few weeks back.

The other was Sydney Uni head coach John Manenti who ducked down to Melbourne to see his son Ben help take out the Sheffield Shield for South Australia against Victoria.

Manenti also flew to the sub-continent to see Ben and his other son Harry play for Italy in T20 World Cup in India.

Memories that will last forever!

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Souths new relationship with the Taren Point Bowling club sounds like it going to be great for game in the Shire.

There are big plans ahead including a major overhaul of Forshaw in coming years but for now the Rebels are offering free entry to every home game and some new food and beverage offering courtesy of the bowling club.

I’m hearing that the food offerings are even better than the much loved Rebel Burger!