BY MARK CASHMAN

There are still three rounds to go before the top six teams for the Shute Shield finals series are locked in.

But with a nine point break (that means two bonus point victories) between sixth and seventh I’m getting the feeling that the status quo will remain in place.

So if finals were played this weekend who would be taking on who?

Well under the six-team playoff model used the side that finished first plays sixth.

That means Easts will take on Eastwood at Woollahra Oval, a venue where they have won 21 straight games.

The next fixture is the 2 v 5 game so that will bring Warringah and Randwick together at Rat Park which is a huge advantage.

From there we move on to the 3 v 4 fixture with Gordon taking on Sydney Uni at Chatswood Oval.

The winners of each of these games will move forward to the semi-finals the following weekend with the highest placed loser remaining alive.

That gives Uni an advantage of remaining alive no matter the result of their game at Chatswood.

The advantage is very much in Easts and Warringah’s court with Gordon and Uni capable of causing some chaos along the way.

It’s should be a cracker of a few weeks.

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We’ve all been on a sideline on a weekend morning and felt distinctly uncomfortable by the tone of that “over invested” supporter.

You know the sort of behaviour – it’s all the match officials fault that the team he or she came to see is not getting the rub of the green.

Around The Traps is hearing that there has been a spike in this sort of behaviour of late with one case having to be dealt with by the judiciary.

This correspondent has seen numerous junior and senior games this season over a number of weekends and have always come away with respect for the care that the match officials show in what is a volunteer role.

Only last weekend I was at Rawson Oval and the referee played a key role in not only the management of the game but in good rugby technique at an important stage.

Little things like correct tackle height and the importance of staying on your feet were all emphasised and the 30 plus kids came away happy and importantly better rugby players.

So to the repeat offenders out there – we can and must do better!

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We always get a variety of reactions when our archivist digs out Bob Wilson’s drinking team of the 1970s.

Wilson picked the side from the collection of buddies he had refreshments with over the years for his Wilso’s Whispers column in Rugby News.

The best one I saw came from Nathan Osborne, the son of scrumhalf Norm ‘Nobby’ Osborne, when he went through the 1-15 again.

“What chance did I have? My father, uncle and godfather are all in the squad,” Osborne observed.

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Heartiest congratulations and love go out to Stan Sport commentator Sean Maloney and his partner Marissa on the birth of Finn.

Young Finn arrived a wee bit early at 35 weeks and all are doing well at Northern Beaches Hospital.

It’s been a five-year long journey to welcome her into the world and it’s fair enough to say that rugby is intricately stitched into her DNA.

Marissa has worked for a number of global sport and entertainment brands including Formula One, World Rugby and Rugby Australia.

Sean’s rugby credentials are well known having experienced both ends of the northern beaches derby and getting accolades for his game commentary at Stan.

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It’s hard enough competing with your brother but Jake Barnabas now has to cope with his girlfriend Holly Raaf.

Jonathan B. Geddes reported in Rats Tales this week that Raaf showed “outstanding form” to take out the Fastest On The Fairway”, the ladies’ 100m race at halftime in first grade.

It’s a traditional part of Ladies Day at Rat Park which was once again well attended.

Raaf told Geddes she honed her speed off the mark with touch footy and that a high stakes showdown with Jake was not on the cards at this time.

“He doesn’t want to race me; he’s scared,” Holly told Rats Tales.

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I had the honour of speaking in the dressing sheds after Norths’ marathon man Ash Hall marked his 300th grade game against Gordon last weekend.

Hall joined the Shoremen’s 300 club with his marathon effort over 22 seasons and it must be said there was plenty of love in the room at Bon Andrews Oval on Saturday.

He joins three others – Gavin John ‘Bon’ Andrews who has left us, Vince Arena and myself – in the club.

I and a number of others spoke of Hall’s commitment to the club and the Herculean effort it takes to get to that milestone.

Family and legacy are an important part of that formula of racking up this sort of milestone.

By chance earlier this week I came across a reel that spoke of Malcolm Reilly, the Great Britain rugby league hard man, and his final words before his Newcastle side went out to play heavily favoured Manly Sea Eagles in the 1997 NRL grand final.

Reilly told his players he had one regret in his decorated career and that was that he wasn’t able to play with the 1997 Knights.

That’s the feeling that you get about ‘Hally’.

For the record Hall came off the bench in Norths’ 24-7 win over the Highlanders sealing a playoff spot, the only red and black victory of the day.