BY MARK CASHMAN

Get your hands on the ball and you are likely to get the votes!

That’s Around The Traps take on the release of the “players of interest” list earlier this week by the Sydney Rugby Union for the Catchpole Medal.

The count will go behind closed doors for the remainder of the season and while there is a lot of water to head under the bridge I get the feeling that the winner will come from this list.

Lachie Albert (Gordon), Jack Bowen (Easts), Will Goddard (Eastwood), Rodney Iona (Two Blues), Isaac Kneepkens (Souths) and Isaac Crowe (Eastwood) all stand out from the names released as players who guide and manage games well in the Shute Shield.

There are a couple of front rowers on the list in Norths’ James Margan and the experienced West Harbour skipper Cam Orr but the bulk of names come from that cohort.

The coaches are the ones who vote on the medal with each club mentor assessing the 3-2-1 for the side his team played against each weekend.

Wes Thomas, Warringah’s premiership hooker, was last year’s winner and a nod to the emergence of the rolling maul and the importance of the line out.

The line out is the major source of possession in the Shute Shield game and if it’s not working for your team then your team is not going anywhere.

Mahe Vailanu, then the Gordon hooker, won in 2021 and paved the way for Thomas in many ways.

It’s a long haul from here to the finals but being in a contending side does help your chances.

All that said I reckon Crowe and Bowen will be the ones battling it out at the back end of the vote count.

The contenders list in alphabetical order are:
Lachlan Albert (Gordon)
Jack Bowen (Easts)
Isaac Crowe (Eastwood)
Eamon Doyle (Sydney Uni)
Oniti Finau (Randwick)
Will Goddard (Eastwood)
Rodney Iona (Two Blues)
Isaac Kneepkens (Souths)
James Margan (Norths)
Titi Nofoagatotoa (Wildfires)
Cam Orr (Wests)
Jackson Ropata (Warringah)
TJ Talaileva (Wildfires)
Dave Teoteo (Manly)
Miteli Tuinakauvadra (Souths)

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It’s never easy being the son of a famous father but Randwick’s Felix Turinui seems to be negotiating the ups and the downs with some ease.

Turinui was pitch forked from thirds into the Shute Shield side for the home game against West Harbour a fortnight ago and turned on a more than promising display that produced a try and five from five off the tee.

I’m sure playing at Coogee Oval helped but it was certainly a debut of some promise but the signs were there some time ago when he got a run against Japan Under 23s a little over 12 months ago.

He played a critical role in setting up the game winning try with a deft kick and then booted the following conversion.

What position he settles into in senior rugby remains to be seen – fullback or flyhalf I would reckon – but he looks best when the ball is in his hands.

The canny coaching of Shaun Berne will help but those dinner table conversations with “the old man” Morgan has embedded a lot of nouse.

I can just see it now, the salt and pepper shakers as well as the sauce bottle outlining the best way to run a move.

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Around The Traps is hearing one of the game’s better administrators is heading off for what they call in Linkedin world “an exciting new opportunity”.

Shame all that intellectual property can’t be kept in the game.

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The club academy system in France has been copping a lot of stick in these parts over the past couple of years.

They have been cherry picking some of our best talent once they finish school and throwing them into a professional rugby environment.

There is that element of throwing a lot of stuff up against a wall and seeing what sticks.

And by the time they emerge they are residency qualified to play for France.

But there are up sides to the system with many getting a great tertiary education and having a one-of-a-kind life experience as they give the rugby thing a go.

Throw in the fact that they will become fluent in another language and it’s something that’s hard to pass on.

With props Lehopo Leota (Racing 92) and Kingbenjamin Swerling-Finaipepe (Castres) finding a pathway to the Australian Under 20s it’s a road that will be more frequently travelled.

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Norths are taking this weekend’s game against the Hunter Wildfires to Rawson Oval in salubrias Mosman.

North Sydney Oval is not available and they are hoping to make a special event of the day with free entry and numerous activities on the go throughout the afternoon.

The last time Norths played a competitive game at Rawson Oval was back in the 1980s during the club’s time in the old second division.

The old and the bold will be there for the game and some may even drop into the Buena Vista to toast Norm ‘Nobby’ Osborne a regular at said venue.

Should be a good day!

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Okay remain calm out there. The Shute Shield grand final will still be played at Leichhardt Oval despite noise earlier this week to the contrary.

The “noise” came about when it was reported in NRL circles that this weekend will be the last time that the West Tigers will play at the Eighth Wonder of the World for the next couple of years.

That is the case but for the rest of 2026 they will be playing at numerous other venues like Campbelltown.

Plans for a huge day of rugby on premieriship decider day are still in place and in the meantime there will be Super W games there as well.

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Gone but certainly not forgotten – it’s been nine years since Warringah’s Lachie Ward pass away.

As I always say the good ones are always with you.

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It’s always a bit of a marathon but the memories made are well worth the effort.

I’m talking about the NSW Rugby Championships played out over the long weekend at a variety of venues across the state.

The winners are in with Gordon taking out the Under 12 boys and Under 18 girls.

The Two Blues won the Under 13 boys with Manly taking out the Under 14 boys.

Penrith won the Under 14 girls with the Under 16 girls being shared by Manly and Penrith.

The spoils were shared in the Under 18 boys between Gordon and Randwick while Norths went back to back with their title in the Under 15 boys.

Randwick also captured the Under 16 boys title which speaks volumes about their very well run academy.