By MARK CASHMAN

This is a special weekend with Anzac Day being celebrated throughout the Shute Shield at all six games in Sydney.

At every ground there will be some sort of ceremony as we remember those that went before us and made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Manly Marlins have always embraced the day and have one of the better commemoration ceremonies going around always touchingly MC’d by Mike Westdorp.

And there could be no better game to celebrate before than the battle of the northern beaches against Warringah.

The Marlins historian Sean Rout, a Vietnam veteran and Manly life member, has dug deep into the stories and found that the people of the peninsula were quick to put their hand up.

“When World War I broke out, the beaches, had a population of just over 10,000, (but) over 1,600 men and women from the area volunteered to serve in a war thousands of kilometres away from home,” Rout wrote for the club’s on-point newsletter Marlins Fillets.

“In WW1 the Australian Army was an all-volunteer force, rugby players from clubs all over Australia were encouraged to sign up by newspapers and politicians.

“NSW Rugby, suspended the main Sydney competition and encouraged an unholy rivalry among Rugby clubs.

“Sydney newspapers encouraged this competition by printing a weekly list of new enlisted players names and clubs they played for.

“Manly Rugby Club led the charge on this misguided rivalry and was closely followed by Eastern Suburbs.

“In contrast rugby league decided to continue with their competition, which gained much exposure among the sports starved Sydney Public.”

A total of 140 registered players served overseas in WW1; 20 players killed. Many were wounded.

One of the first fatalities was the all-round sportsman, Manly surf club champion swimmer, and outstanding rugby player Norman Roberts who was killed at Gallipoli on Anzac Day April 25, 1915.

Manly’s Rugby first ever ‘captain’ Arthur Rosenthal, a commissioned officer died in Egypt from an infection and the four Kirke brothers all joined the fight; one was killed and two badly wounded.

When World War II broke out the club records showed that 625 registered players served overseas, 33 were killed and over 160 were wounded.

Stories of great courage and selfless service that were repeated right throughout the Shute Shield. Lest We Forget.

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Me old journo mate and Rugby News colleague Jonathan B. Geddes threw out the old chestnut of golden point in his coverage of the 24-all draw between Manly and Northern Suburbs last weekend.

The two coaches Sam Lane and Zak Beer thought it would add to the spectacle of the Shute Shield and forcefully argued that way.

But there is an alternate line of thought out there that the draw should be part of winter Saturday afternoons in Sydney.

It’s okay for fully professional players to slot in for an extra shift but more time on the field at this level may well lead to injury.

Call me an old ‘fuddy duddy’ but I like the draw – the crowd at Manly Oval on Saturday weren’t disappointed with the result, they were impressed with the way the two teams went at each for 80 plus minutes and could not be separated.

Let the debate begin!

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The debate about where the Shute Shield grand final is played has reared its head once again with the need for an alternate venue with the redevelopment of Leichhardt Oval nearing.

The “eighth wonder of the world” as some refer to it, is still the destination for this season’s premiership decider but after that all options are on the table.

I’ve always liked North Sydney Oval as a grand final venue but availability at that time of the year can be problematic.

It will be interesting to see where it lands in a home Rugby World Cup year.

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Around The Traps spoke to Anthony Griffin in the pre-season about the state of the nation at Eastwood and he was open about his journey of learning about what is a significantly different game from his previous experience in the NRL.

‘Hook’ identified the continuous nature of rugby as the thing that is different to what he had experience in rugby league.

That and the brutally transactional nature of the NRL when you aren’t winning.

So I’m sure he would have felt for St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan when he was dramatically shown the door earlier this week.

Griffin’s Woods are two from two and playing some pretty good rugby, staying in the fight and taking their chances when they are there.

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Concord wasn’t built in a day and West Harbour are taking their revival one step at a time.

Their win in Round One against Southern Districts and the Shute Shield side’s effort in the first half against the Two Blues were significant.

The Culture Round staging last weekend was first rate and on May 2 they are having a “Tins and Tries” promotion when they take on the Beasties at Concord.

The hard bit for Ben Rutherford and his team is to stay strong as they endeavour to leave the place in a better place.

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If you look around the grounds when you are taking in the Shute Shield this weekend you will see a vast array of sponsors big and small.

Sports sponsorship at this level is a radically different beast with the importance of personal relationships and investment in community the priority, not eyeballs and return on investment.

That’s indelibly underlined by the journey of Chris Hall and Blue Crane Capital and their linking as the major sponsor of the Shute Shield.

‘Hally’ as I know him since his days in Norths colts, has been a player, coach, board member, sponsor and all things in between.

He even approached SRU Chairman Grahame O’Donnell to take over as the naming rights sponsorship of the best club competition going around.

It’s a good fit and the early feedback has been good.

It’s a good company doing good things and like every one of the sponsors that you see each weekend they deserve your wholehearted support.