BY MARK CASHMAN

It’s a left field selection that has thrown even more “kerosine” on the race for the 2026 Shute Shield playoffs.

In a week where Southern Districts moved on coach Scott Fava from his head coaching role at Forshaw Rugby Park, former Wallaby Kane Douglas has been pitch forked into the Rebels side to take on Norths on Saturday.

The 37-year-old Kane will pull on the No.4 jersey alongside his younger brother Jake who is considering calling time on his club career.

Kane has just returned from France where he carved out a distinguished career in the Top 14 with Bordeaux Begles and La Rochelle, Wallaby Will Skelton’s club.

Kane and coach Fava were “car pool buddies” when they were both at the Waratahs and have always kept in touch.

Wallaby No.863 played 37 Tests after debuting against Argentina in 2012 and played in the 2015 Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand at Twickenham.

His name wasn’t included in the teams submitted earlier this week and it is sure to add some intrigue to a fascinating afternoon of Shute Shield rugby.

As we head into Round 18 the only spot still in play is position six with Eastwood (51 points) and Northern Suburbs (47 points).

Norths need to win at Forshaw with a bonus point and then wait on the result to come in from the Sydney Uni v Eastwood game which kicks off at 5.30pm.

The clean way of this playing out for Norths is that they win with a bonus point and the Woods lose without getting their hands on any “extras”.

Woods winning at Uni will mean that it will be “all over red rover” for Norths.

Now here’s where the detail and the devil come together.

If the Woodies grab a single bonus point (with Norths winning with a bonus point) the two will finish level on 52 points.

The competition rules then kick in with the number of wins being the high ground.

With a win Norths will finish on 10 wins and an Eastwood loss means they will stay on nine and the Shoremen will be flagged through.

Bonus points and for and against tallies won’t even be needed.

The reward for all this will be a trip to Woollahra Oval to take on an Eastern Suburbs side with its nostrils flared after the loss to Uni last weekend.

Now I know that a lot of this is lapsing into hypothetical world but it does give you a guide to stress over in the early hours of Saturday night.

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Southern Districts joined the Manly Marlins as one of the Shute Shield clubs on the hunt for a new head coach this week.

Souths and Scott Fava agreed to part ways after a winless season where they have struggled to be competitive.

In a statement the club praised Fava as a “diligent and progressive coach” over the past two years.

“Following a restructure, Scott and the Board have agreed to a mutual conclusion of his position,” the statement read.

“We acknowledge his tireless effort with gratitude and wish him well for the future.

“We move forward with high ambitions for the 2027 season. Further announcements will follow in the coming weeks.”

The Marlins are further down the track with their search following the decision of Sam Lane to step away from the role.

Names connected with the job include Brian ‘Billy’ Melrose and Harry Fehily as well as a few others.

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Great to see Wes Thomas up and about and talking bullishly about his future, even talking about a comeback some time down the track.

Thomas suffered a central cord syndrome in the Rats game against Sydney Uni a fortnight back and has been in the spinal unit at Royal North Shore Hospital.

The GoFundMe page set up by his brother Quin to support his family through the rehabilitation process has been chugging along nicely and should reach its $200,000 target very soon.

As we reported last week Thomas will head from hospital to a rehab centre once he ticks a few more boxes.

Life will be different for Thomas and his family but he is surrounded by good people and will find his path.

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The big games are ahead but a bit of silverware will be handed at the end of Round 18 of the Shute Shield.

The Gregor George Shield for the club championship will be finalised with Easts and Warringah leading the pack.

The Beasties lead the way on 2928 points with the Rats on 2785. Uni have accrued 2623 points while Randwick have 2576.

It’s a prize that club “nuffies” obsess about and is an indicator of the health of the clubs.

Away from that the trip try scorer will be crowned with Benjy Joseland (Sydney Uni) streaking away on 20 with Ollie Dawkins (Easts) and Oliver Arcus (Gordon) accumulating 16.

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The names that Around The Traps keeps hearing around the vacant NSW Waratahs head coaching job continue to be Stephen Hoiles and Michael Cheika.

I’m not sure of the pecking order in that relationship or how things would work but it’s something that needs to be nailed down and soon.

There is also talk that Cheika may well take up an offer in the English Super League, that of course is of the “rugba league” variety.

That is a step to landing a NRL head coaching role stepping up from his assistant role he is currently doing at the Roosters.

Quality players are leaking to overseas club just about by the day with the latest being Norths tighthead Siosifa Amone who picked up a “medical joker” contract with French Pro D2 club US Montauban.

Amone has a young family and it is far from surprising that he agreed to the deal. Their season kicks off on August 27.

I spoke to one of the people mentioned as a contender early in the process and he said the reporting process with the job – the Tahs are now owned and controlled by Rugby Australia – would be a nightmare.

There is also some disquiet in the Shute Shield ranks with a number of wider squad members at the Tahs picking up niggles that keep them from playing for their clubs on a Saturday.

There’s quite a bit to play out in this one!

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One of the Shute Shield’s most travelled and colourful coaches is about to take up a major job in Europe.

He will divide his time between France and the Netherlands. The announcement is coming soon.

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Our item last week about one of the locals pinging a ham and salad sandwich towards the opposition coaching box at a recent Shute Shield game sparked a flurry of enquiry.

We cannot name names at this stage but we can add that there was beetroot in the salad mix and the matter also involved a mini quiche.

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Either way the Shute Shield grand final was going to be in good hands with Angus Gardner and Matt Kellahan getting a feel for things in recent weeks.

But Kellahan looks like he is going to be the one that we all hope we don’t notice on September 5 at Leichhardt Oval after Gardner picked a couple of choice Test gigs.

Gardner will handle Lions v New Zealand Greatest Rivalry Series game and also the third Test of that series in Johannesburg.

That is a huge honour for Gardner who recently refereed his 100th Shute Shield match.

Happy travels Gus but I am sure your old mate will do a super job as he always does.

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Away from the drama and moving on from their head coach of the past couple of seasons Scott Fava, Southern Districts will honour all the players who played for the Waratahs on Saturday.

There’s some pretty handy names on the list that they have been putting out on their socials this week including the 2003 Rugby World Cup Wallaby Mat Rogers and it is sure to give the Shute Shield side a bit of a lift.

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Many of us have seen familiar faces bob up on TV advertising campaigns with Paul ‘Rocket’ Jones one of the more visible ones in recent times.

Well ‘Rocket’ has some competition with another 1980s lower north shore icon and budding actor featuring in a health campaign in a singlet and flannelette shirt.