Round six saw Brothers take over top spot on the ladder, while Bond University pushed their way back into finals contention.

GPS secured a much-needed win at home, and Souths had plenty to celebrate on Ladies Day as they climbed towards mid-table.

Bond University 26-22 Easts

A close win at The Canal saw the Bull Sharks climb into the top four, holding Easts up over the line in the final minute to secure five points.

The Tigers maul made an impact early, with Nuku Swerling the recipient of the first five-pointer of the day in as many minutes.

Bond hit back quickly through Tyler Campbell, before a yellow card to Liam Daniela for a dangerous mid-air tackle from the kick-off left the home side one short.

Easts capitalised on the overlap, adding another two scores through their rolling maul in very similar fashion to their first.

Then it was the Bull Sharks’ turn to show their own power up front, scoring twice off the back of lineout set ups to prove they could match Easts at their own game.

Heading into the sheds with three tries apiece in the half, kicking left the visitors trailing by six as Will Nason struggled to find his radar off the tee.

Bond struck again early in the second half through Ethan Morgan, who found space on the left wing after further pressure from the home side’s maul.

Both sides struggled to make inroads for most of the second half, until the visitors finally cracked through on the left wing to bring them within striking distance.

And they came within centimetres of an upset despite being down to 14-men, mounting an end-to-end attacking phase in the final minute, only to be held up over the line as the buzzer sounded.

The win sees Bond move into a finals spot once again, while Easts maintain their position in third.

GPS 31-19 Sunnybank

Despite conceding two early tries, GPS dominated the majority of the match at Yoku Road to secure a much-needed victory as they battle to climb the ladder.

It was a solid start for the home side, as hooker Troy Simkin broke off the back of a maul from five metres out and beat three defenders to cross the paint.

But the visitors responded well when Kiyan Gunewardene created his own space on the right wing to secure their first points. Then a breakout kick return from the Gallopers’ Bailey Trew saw Liam McNamara snatch an intercept and go coast-to-coast for the Dragons’ second.

GPS scored twice more before the break, rounding out the half with training park stuff from fullback Garlen Peace, who cut an impressive line from out wide the go through the middle in the first phase at scrum time and race 30 metres to the try line untouched.

Half back James Martens collected a double as the home side proved dominant in the second half, before Gunewardene secured his own brace in the 80th minute off the back of a barnstorming run from flanker Joseph Faulalo.

The five-point win for GPS sees them sit level with Sunnybank on 12 competition points. But as the top of the ladder starts to pull away, both sides will need a win next week to keep the top four in their sights.

Souths 40-33 Wests

The Souths’ backrow led their side to a hard-fought victory at home, each showing their attacking prowess to cross the paint in round six.

It took just 40 seconds for the home side to touch down at Chipsy Wood Oval, turning Wests’ first attacking set into their own try-scoring opportunity.

Quick hands found lock Jake Kurbatoff in space on the right wing, who shipped it off to Xavier Rubens to score before majority of the crowd had even taken their seats.

Wests hit back with a try to flanker Joe Fabish from close range, but it was the Magpies’ backrow who stole the show in the second half, with all three adding to their season highlight reels with impressive scores.

Openside flanker John Bryant kicked things off, busting through the defensive line from a lineout just past half way and beating five would-be tackles on his way to the line.

Then no.8 Reece Meise showed his raw power, picking up the ball from the base of the scrum and shrugging off two defenders to touch down for his own five points.

The home side picked up their bonus point try through Harry Holt at the back of the maul before blindside flanker Samuel Hanna joined the party.

Cutting a textbook out-to-in line on the Wests’ 22, Hanna created a gaping hole in the Bulldogs defence and raced away untouched to give his side a 32-8 lead as they headed into the sheds.

Another try early in the second half pushed Souths’ lead out to just shy of 30 points, before an injection of energy from the Wests bench saw them run in three tries back-to-back to keep them in the hunt.

Souths managed another three points off the tee to keep Wests at arm’s length, but a push over scrum in the dying minutes put the visitors back within striking distance.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, their comeback was a little too late, but they walked away with two bonus points to keep them in fifth place. The second win of the year for Souths sees them climb into sixth, just two points shy of their round six rivals.

Brothers 48-30 Norths

In this fight for top spot on the ladder, Brothers came back from a ten-point deficit at half time, with six tries in the second half seeing them stamp their authority on the competition standings.

Norths drew first blood at Hugh Courtney Oval, with backrower Alex Watkins breaking the line from 40 metres out and losing his boot in the process, running on the thread of one sock to beat everyone to the line.

A return serve from The Brethern saw openside Jack Harley cross, before another classic Dom Fraser score at the back of the maul put the visitors briefly in the lead.

Tries to Leo Langbridge and Mackenzie Fox made it 22-12 to Norths as they rounded out the half and gathered strong momentum heading into the second 40.

But whatever was said to Brothers in the sheds clearly flicked the switch, as they looked a completely renewed side when they returned to the field.

Harley picked up his second within a few minutes, then Graham Urquhart touched down to make it a one-point game with half an hour left on the clock.

Two more quick tries shocked the Eagles, who struggled to match their own attacking energy from the first half.

Fox got a double with his side’s only try of the half, before a yellow card to Langbridge in the final 10 minutes made way for Brothers to cross the paint twice more and put the game beyond reach.

The result sees the two sides switch places on the ladder, with Brothers now three points clear at the top of the table. They now sit comfortably in the lead, with a seven-point buffer between them and Bond University who currently hold the last finals spot in fourth place.