By MARK CASHMAN

We’re into the 12th round of the Shute Shield competition and the phone has been ringing hot with all the news and views from the greatest club competition in Australia. Here’s what we are hearing: 

I’m sure that Darren Coleman is still very much in possession of the keys but the appointment of BRIAN MELROSE as Gordon boss for 2021 makes a lot of sense.

Coleman is off to coach the LA side in Major League Rugby in the United States and will leave the Highlanders in very good shape as their club championship position atests.

Melrose will be Club Director of Rugby and First Grade Head Coach adding to his experience around the world in some of rugby’s elite competitions, including the Waratahs, Connacht (Pro12) and London Irish.

He has worked as a Skills Consultant with the St George Illawarra Dragons (NRL) and as Head Coach of the Greater Sydney Rams and the Australian Under 20s.

‘Billy’ has also enjoyed plenty of coaching success in the Shute Shield with stints at Manly, Eastwood and West Harbour.

“This season has allowed ‘Billy’ to get an understanding of the Gordon playing group, the Colts coming through our system and importantly, the Gordon Highlanders culture,” Gordon said in a statement.

“He is looking forward to continuing to build on the success of 2020 to ensure the Highlanders remain a force in the Shute Shield competition.”

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Warringah are calling it a farewell tour and in different times Rat Park would be absolutely packed to say thanks to four of their greats in SAM WARD, JOSH HOLMES, DAVE FELTSCHEER and ROBERT KELLY.

The Rats are playing Northern Suburbs in the final game of the minor premiership on October 10 and all things being equal that will be the last time that they run on to the hallowed turf that was once a tip – they’re now called recycling spaces!

Between the four of them they have played more than 780 games for the club and will leave a big hole in the ranks once 2021 rolls around.

They were all part of the 2017 premiership side with Ward the skipper.

At the conclusion of the match, a celebration of their careers and a presentation to each of them will be made.

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Lots of feedback about our piece last week about the points system under which the Shute Shield operates and TODD LOUDEN’s call for us to move to a marque player system that operates in the the Top League in Japan.

A lot of the clubs that I spoke to reckon that the system needs to evolve and that there were a number of major anomalies that weren’t intended when it was all put together.

In a nutshell you need to score under 100 points with your Shute Shield side at any stage of a game and each player is given a nominated number of points depending on his background and standing.

So for the record here are the points table from last weekend’s Round 11 action: Southern Districts 87, Eastern Suburbs 85, Sydney Uni 73, West Harbour 66, Gordon 65, Randwick 55, Hunter Wildfires 52, Penrith 47, Northern Suburbs 44, Two Blues 42, Manly 29, Warringah 29.

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You will have to get their early and have a ticket but the CLASSIC WALLABIES are playing a game of touch footy against Fiji Classics at a tick after 10am on Saturday at Uni No.2 Oval.

The game is part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Fiji’s independence on October 10 and will be watched by Federal Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and some Fijian dignitaries.

The old and the bold on the Classic Wallabies front will include MORGAN TURINUI, RUPA boss JUSTIN HARRISON, CHRIS WHITAKER, MATT COCKBAIN and ADAM FREIER.

The Fijian side of the equation will feature SEMISI SEREVI, INOKE TURUVA and LEPANI NABULIWAQA.

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I’ve been to Rat Park a number of times in the past couple of months so in many ways this is a bit of a public service announcement.

If you park in the grounds to the south of oval take a sizeable detour away from the gum trees as there is a magpie that swoops in that area near the outside footy grounds.

It seems that its shift starts pretty early in the morning and continues through until dark and he won’t be happy with the one fly through. Be warned!

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We lost another good one this week with the passing of that great man of NSW Country rugby PETER VEENSTRA.

Veenstra was the patron of the Central West Rugby Union and had been a major contributor to the game on a number of levels for too many years to count.

In a statement the CWRU said: “Never has a man done more for the game and asked for so little.

“P.V. was instrumental in creating the strong culture we have in the zone, and built the foundations of what we now take for granted.

“P.V was, and always will be, Central West Rugby.”

A truly great man!

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While we’re in the bush, I love an item that talks about the Forbes Platipi so it’s a natural that we can report that JARROD HALL was named the Central West player of the year.

Hall coached the Platypi in 2019 and was also a part of the Forbes side that won the premiership in 2017, but this year he rose to dizzy heights with his on-field efforts.

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It says a lot about the team first approach that RODNEY IONA has taken to his season at Gordon this year.

He sits on top of the points scores list for the Shute Shield on 109 points closely followed by Angus Sinclair of Norths on 103 and Christian Kagiassis on 98.

But he has agreed to rotate himself out of the Highlanders starting side so coach DARREN COLEMAN can see what life is like without Iona in the front line.

HARRISON GODDARD will play No.10 against Penrith, a position that he has had some time at in the past.

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It seems that the HENDERSON CUP will be surplus to needs when the 2021 season kicks off.

The Henderson Cup is the trophy that is played for the fourth grade premiership and the news of only three grades and two colts teams next year is not being well received in many areas.

One Wallaby with strong Shute Shield links told me that the move will take a lot of the colour away from a Saturday at the footy.

I’ve seen many players start their year in fours and end up being regular first graders by season’s end.

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GORDON got their hands on some Shute Shield silverware with their big win over Penrith on Saturday at Nepean Rugby Park with the minor premiership now heading their way.

The Highlanders won 97-0 in what many say is an awkward result for the perception of the Shute Shield but it just says something about the work ahead for all out there in the greater west.

The other results from Saturday were Sydney Uni 34 Norths 15, Eastwood 47 Warringah 21, Easts 52 Two Blues 35, Manly 43 Souths 39, West Harbour 41 Hunter Wildfires 26.

IMAGE: SERGE GONZALEZ / EASTWOOD RUGBY