BY MARK CASHMAN

EASTERN SUBURBS V SYDNEY UNI at Woollahra Oval

In the past couple of seasons you could accuse Sydney Uni of sometimes going through the motions as they stumbled around the Shute Shield, off the pace and not playing finals.

But that re-discovered edge was there for all to see on Saturday in front of a heaving Ladies Day crowd.

The scoreline in this one v four encounter ended up being 46-44 in the Students favour in a contest that snapped a 21-game winning streak at Woollahra Oval.

It wasn’t just the jubilation when Henry James kicked the winning penalty goal after the bell, it was the willingness to badger and bully the opposition that stood out from the Students.

If you are going beat the Beasties in 2026 you are going to have to subdue them up front, not walk away from the confrontations.

The Stan Sport coverage picked up a number of instances where that hard nosed attitude was on show.

The best one I thought was the interchange between Easts Sid Harvey and Nick Champion de Crespigny as the teams came off at half-time.

Harvey was seemingly happy and jovial but de Crespigny was having none of it and swatted him away.

Cranky I assume that Easts were well ahead and shitty that he wasn’t in Osaka with the Wallabies.

It’s hard to create a team environment when a lot of Super and international players cones back in but Uni boss John Manenti has done that well.

In the past six weeks they have in my mind game from being a shout at making the finals to a real contender.

Easts mind you are far from finished and they looked pretty good at different times but in big games attitude makes the difference.

Midway through the first half the Beasties looked like they would canter away with this but Uni stuck to their processes and got in.

Other teams would have turned up their heels when Easts hit the front with a penalty goal late.

But not this Uni side and they forced a scrum penalty for James to do his heroics.

I liked the efforts of Teddy Wilson, Ollie Dawkins and prop Reon Lowery while Oli Harvey, Oliver Schmoude and Folau Faingaa were top shelf for Uni.

I tell you what this finals series is looming as the best in almost a decade. Can’t wait

GORDON V WARRINGAH at Chatswood Oval

There was plenty of emotion and purpose in both dressing rooms at Chatswood Oval on Saturday as Gordon and Warringah readied themselves for the 80 minutes ahead.

The Highlanders were honouring one of their real “lifters” on and off the field in Tim ‘Guru’ Wedlock who tragically passed away in a car accident in the US last week.

While Warringah had negotiated the emotional rollercoaster following the central cord syndrome injury to their hooker Wes Thomas against Sydney Uni at Rat Park last weekend.

These things can go one of two ways and it was the home side that got out of the blocks early to lay the foundations for a 35-24 win in the two v three blockbuster.

Leading the way for the home side was a former Warringah man Connor Hickey who headed closer to the train line for more time in first grade.

Hickey scored a couple of tries and was a real jack in the box for the Highlanders as they moved the ball well to the edges from the outset.

They had punched the scoreline out to 35-5 in the Highlanders’ favour before there was any real sign of life from the Rats.

But come back they did and they finished the afternoon with tries to Luke Reimer (a double) and Zac Barnabas.

Some may say that the Rats season is shot in the wake of such a significant injury to a man so vital to their chances.

But the final 10 to 15 minutes showed that they will competitive in the finals.

They may well have to go about things in a different way but they will be more than credible playoff opponents.

The “follow me” guy in their midst without a doubt is Reimer but he will need a hand when times get tough just as they are now.

NORTHERN SUBURBS V MANLY at North Sydney Oval

Northern Suburbs’ 33-26 bonus point win over Manly on Saturday has set in place an intriguing final round of the Shute Shield.

The win keeps the Shoremen still in play for a finals spot with them now only four points adrift of Eastwood in sixth.

Norths take on the winless Southern Districts at Forshaw while the Woods take on the might of Sydney Uni at Camperdown.

But the twist in this tale is the fact that the Uni v Woods game will kick off at 5.30pm.

So if Norths get their ducks in a row – a bonus point win – they will have to watch on while it all plays out on the trip north from the shire.

On Saturday Norths got out of the blocks well and had grabbed tries to skipper Nathan Russell and James Margan before the Marlins got themselves into the game.

Norths were keen to move the Marlins around and capitalise on the work of Marshall La Maitre and Shane Wilcox at the back and early on that worked well.

Robbie McIntosh picked up a loose ball just before the break to push the score out to 21-7 but the flow of possession, field position and penalties went the visitors way in the second stanza.

Billie Dickens would lock things up with a nicely taken try midway through the half but some alert work from Russell got the home side in front.

It would take a rolling maul try to 150 gamer Sam Kitchen to give the final scoreline after Cayderne Neville was sin binned.

It was far from convincing from either side but as Norths coach Zak Beer knows you bank the points and move on to the next.

WEST HARBOUR V HUNTER WILDFIRES at Concord Oval

When “the pros” come back to the Shute Shield at this time of the year it’s fascinating to watch the difference that they make.

I wrote in my Around The Traps column last week that West Harbour resident pro Pete Samu had surged up the leader board for the Ken Catchpole Medal which in many ways wasn’t surprising.

Samu played a steadying hand in West Harbour’s fourth win of the season, a 33-24 effort against the Hunter Wildfires on Saturday.

The replay that I watched of the contest didn’t have match commentary but that did give you the chance to focus on particular players.

That man for me was Samu and you could see his intelligent approach to the game.

A nice cleanout here, an intercept there and all the while counting the numbers and seeing where best to attack.

The home side led 26-24 at the break and contain red to grind away in the second half until the 68th minute when that old move hands down the short side worked.

I am sure it is something that coach Ben Rutherford has practised relentlessly at training and the thrill the try to Jeremiah Raniga gave to Wests was there for all to see.

Jack Debrezceni wasn’t there to run the game for the home side but Hunter Hannaford continued to contribute while up front the scrum was solid and the line out just about flawless.

Jack Bennett was an able assistant to Samu while Drew Sellers managed to keep the tempo of the game where it needed to be for his side.

The Wildfires were right in this one up until the 68th minute but they fell away unfortunately.

They are a vital part of the Shute Shield eco system but now thoughts turn to their final round match against the Two Blues at home and 2027.

WS TWO BLUES V RANDWICK at Eric Tweedale Stadium

Time in the saddle at flyhalf is an essential part of the journey and with finals just around the corner Randwick No.10 James Hendren is showing the benefits.

Randwick coach Shaun Berne nominated him as his main game manager some weeks back and with each wound his skill set is adding to the Galloping Greens premiership push.

Hendren scored three tries on the weekend in the Wicks 54-36 win over the WS Two Blues in a game that waxed and waned for both sides.

The Two Blues season was on the line and nothing short of a win was required to keep in the hunt for a playoff spot.

A bonus point win and some favourable results was the bottom line for them.

They wore a special jersey that honoured their 1986 premiership side and at two different stages of the second half they hit the front.

This Two Blues side certainly doesn’t die wondering and they love pushing the ball to the wider channels with the double to Christian Papa evidence of that and their DNA.

A bit closer to the action Rodney Iona did all his usual stuff and Latrell Ah Kiong was dynamic from the back.

The visitors kept their poise through in there final 13 minutes and they were able to stack on tries to Jonathan Chan, Alex Molloy and Gage Phillips.

A top four spot may be beyond their grasp but they will be a difficult side to nudge aside come the playoffs.

EASTWOOD V SOUTHERN DISTRICTS at TG Millner Field

Eastwood said farewell to TG Millner on Saturday and they also went pretty close to saying goodbye to their Shute Shield finals chances.

The Woods defeated Southern Districts 35-33 to record their first win since the Round 14 encounter with the Two Blues at Eric Tweedale Stadium.

The wins have been hard to find since their bright opening to the season and it must be said they have looked flat in recent weeks.

They now sit in sixth spot on the premiership table, four points adrift of Northern Suburbs with the unsavoury task of taking on a resurgent Sydney Uni in the final round.

Norths travel to Forshaw to play Southern Districts so the formula pretty much has been set.

This was a game that had oodles of entertainment value and we managed to see the Rebels use the ball from deep in their own territory.

That is something that we haven’t see too much of in 2026 but they were well served by No.10 Blaise Barnes and their outside centre Jacob Prlja.

The try that Prlja sparked from deep in the Rebels half was a cracker with good running and an interchange of passes before blindside flanker Kaylam Tytherleigh scored.

Not sure what Woods coach Anthony Griffith would of thought of the defensive display so let’s just say that stopping tries will be mentioned on Tuesday and Thursday this week.

The Woods did jump out early with a couple of tries from close to the line and they did manage to hit back when required.

Whether that will be enough against Uni remains to be seen while Souths will be keen for some revenge against Norths after their after the bell loss when they last met at North Sydney Oval.