BY MARK CASHMAN

RANDWICK V WS TWO BLUES at Coogee Oval

It’s been five weeks in the making but the Randwick victory song finally rang out loud and proud in the sheds on Saturday.

The pressure to get results in a club as storied as Randwick is substantial, almost expected, so the weight that the 33-25 win over the WS Two Blues lifted off head coach Shaun Berne and others was substantial.

It must be said that the Galloping Greens were right in the previous four games but had come up short in the moments that mattered.

In every game they have played in the 2026 Shute Shield season they have come out of the blocks well and there is a smattering of experience and youth that I reckon just needs time together.

As we stand at the end of Round Five they are now on 11 points only one point away from the top six.

That’s been a situation brought about by the accumulation bonus points and they lead the way with seven along with Souths.

But it was far from one way traffic against the Two Blues with the visitors leading 18-7 at the 55 minute mark after Randwick had scored first.

A yellow card to centre Seb Visinia for repeated infringements in the red zone turned the game Randwick’s way.

Tries to Oniti Finau, Isi Naisarani and Angus Houston without reply gave Randwick a 26-18 lead and that breakthrough within touching distance.

But the drama was far from done and yellow cards to Gage Phillips and opensider Wyatt Ballenger opened that result up to debate.

The Two Blues with the overlap were able to tighten it up 26-25 with a try to winger Cody Nordstrom but a dropped ball in the midfield saw Randwick winger Alex Molloy score to give the final score.

One of those classic ones where everyone stops except the bloke with ball in hand and away Molloy went.

The visitors were brave throughout and I really like the move of Rodney Iona to the No.10 jersey.

The more he gets his hands on the ball the better the Two Blues play but the game harked back to games between these two clubs when Paul Dalton was steering things at Parramatta.

Major relief for Randwick in this one but something for the Two Blues to build on as the season matures. Cue the song!

WARRINGAH V NORTHERN SUBURBS at Pittwater Rugby Park

Warringah surged to the top of the Shute Shield competition table with an impressive 29-12 bonus point win over Northern Suburbs on Saturday.

In what was an at times highly entertaining match the home team surged away in the latter stages of the first half and then ground away in the second 40.

Norths gave it a red hot crack but their momentum in attack was often stymied by the work of Rats flanker Zac Barnabas, whop grabbed a double, and the attacking flair of Ben Woollett down the left edge.

The spectacle at Rat Park could certainly have done with the presence of Max Burey who was in Canberra fulfilling his Western Force commitments.

Those commitments I am told involved being on standby “in his suit” to cover if any of the Force pulled up lame during the warm up in the chilly nation’s capital.

The score was 24-12 at the break and not much changed during the second half with the home side playing for field position much of the time and only being rewarded with the single try to Charlie McKill.

It must be said that Tyson Davis rode a roller coaster of emotions of losing his father during the week with two tries including the opener but I really liked the efforts of lock Phil Potgieter throughout.

In the end Rats good while Norths were brave and building.

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS V GORDON at Hurstville Oval

The Gordon points train continued to gather momentum and stopped for a brief visit at Hurstville station as the Highlanders defeated Southern Districts 52-29.

Gordon scored eight tries to four on a wonderful afternoon where the rich history of the home club was celebrated.

The Rebels are the product of the amalgamation of the St George and Port Hacking clubs and each year they celebrate the saintly side of the union with a “Back to St George” day.

Rugby News colleague Jon Geddes explained all the ins and outs of the day in an article on the weekend and so it was fitting that 12 tries were scored through the 80 minutes.

Souths, no doubt were brave and took the game at times to the visitors but every time they needed a score the Highlanders struck.

Winger Ollie Arcus led the way for Gordon with a hat-trick of tries but a yellow card to Rebels centre Cam McKenzie gave the visitors an important break.

While he was off the field the Highlanders ran in two tries after Souths had tightened up the game with a try to Mitileli Tuinakauvadra.

Good contributors to the home team cause included Isaac Kneepkens, Mackenzie, Ky Willoughby and Jake Douglas.

On the Gordon side of things lots of the usual suspects showed out with Connor Hickey, Tom Horan, Pres Tufuga and Cole Spinks putting in solid efforts.

HUNTER WILDFIRES V SYDNEY UNI at Newcastle Sports Ground No.2

There is certainly something brewing in the Hunter and I’m not just talking about the craft beers and odd bottle of ballsy Shiraz or Pinot Grigio.

The many parts that make up a good rugby team seem to be coming together for the Hunter Wildfires and they showed just that in their 46-35 win over Sydney Uni on Saturday.

As we all know overnight success take some time to happen but the manner in which they managed the six tries to five win over Uni showed many good things.

The Wildfires were abrasive up front and well marshalled by scrum half Logan Love and No.10 Taj Annan while there is genuine speed on their flanks in Brendan Palmer and Isaac Ulberg.

The first half was quite frenetic with a scorer from one side being match by a score from the other and at the break the Wildfires led 31-21.

The critical moment of the second half though was the long range intercept of Wildfires centre Sitiveni Vahai who galloped 80 odd metres to give the home side some scoreboard space.

The game though was far from done with Uni hitting back with a charge down that saw Benjy Joseland scored his third of the afternoon.

The game clincher was a bit more pragmatic with Blake Howle crossing from the back of a rolling maul.

Lots to like about the Wildfires as there was on the Uni side of there ledger with Hwi Sharples pacing the game well from scrumhalf while hooker Declan Moore was always abrasive.

EASTWOOD V WEST HARBOUR at TG Millner Field

Eastwood jumped back into the winner’s circle on Saturday with a hard fought 26-15 win over the combative West Harbour side.

And they can thank their speed blessed back three for much of the points scoring with Lachlan Shelley, Dylan Nelson and fullback Isaac Crowe doing most of the lifting.

Each picked up a try, Nelson kicking things off in the first half with an effort that was more about strength than speed and the other two getting on the board after the break.

The score was 5-3 at halftime, a scoreline that pretty much summed up what had happened in there first 40 minutes.

Wests were quite expansive at times and moved the ball to the edges while the Woods were a bit more pragmatic and played for field position and attempting to rumble the ball over the line.

The Pirates did have their time in the sunshine when winger Matt Whelan scored very much against the run of play.

But the game was blown apart by Crowe who put on what Bruce McAveney would describe as something “special”.

From a spilled ball Nelson pounced on possession and off loaded to Crowe who weaved his way through a handful of defenders as only he can to score.

Well worth a look on the Stan Sport highlights package and I’m sure there is much more to come from this trio.

MANLY V EASTERN SUBURBS at Manly Oval

If the Manly Marlins game plan was to take the game to Eastern Suburbs on Saturday and ruffle a few feathers well I must say it worked on many levels.

The Beasties may have won the game 19-15 but it was a very clunky victory with the home side doing their best to turn things into one of those messy Saturday nights in the back bar at The Steyne hotel.

Not many sides have done that to the Beasties in 2026 and you could tell from the interactions between the two packs after Easts had rolled in the first try that the Marlins were not going to submit.

The score was 14-12 at halftime and the second half was pretty much a photocopy of the first with much of the play between the two 22 metre lines.

With the floodlights kicking in the Marlins went to the lead with a penalty from 45m out but Ollie Dawkins once again showed his pace with a superb chip and regather effort to give the final scoreline.

Manly put in a pretty handy shift with Dally Bird, Billy Dickens, Will Kaye and Simon Kennewell all contributing to the overall effort.

Easts though had the where with all to get the job done and Dawkins was there to gather in the opportunity.

But the question that the game asks though is, have Manly discovered a way to bring one of the Shute Shield title contenders back to the pack?

Others may give it a go in coming weeks!