By Mark Cashman

We’re into round three of the Shute Shield and as always 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:

HARD not to feel for young Waratah and one time Wallaby squad member Will Harrison who did his knee again when the Galloping Greens travelled to Newcastle to take on the Hunter Wildfires.

As with all these things it just looked like a outine prop and tackle for young Harrison who was playing fullback for Randwick to get some game time into his legs.

But as these things turn out the old knee had other ideas and he’s looking at another long stint on the sidelines.

Last time through he had to have an operation so he could have the major knee reconstruction and Around The Traps hasn’t heard when that will happen this time around.

He’s got a good support network around with teammates at Waratahs and Randwick as well as a great family.

But sometimes this game just isn’t fair!

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THE RATS first showed it at their season launch last month but Around The Traps has managed to have a look at their documentary on the establishment of the club in the early 1960s.

Titled ‘Mateship, Family, Community – the Story of the Warringah Rats’ the 90min film takes you through the establishment of the club when they broke away from Manly.

It was created by Simpson Cinema for the Friends of Warringah Rugby Foundation and features many of the major players from the early days including Elly Bennett, Jack Sutherland, Harry Rainbow, Warren Poole, Chris Birch and Rod Macqueen.

Naturally there’s some spotlight on the early days of the big beaches derby and if you are wondering who that man is doing the narration – it’s Mike Munro of 60 Minutes fame and a Whale Beach resident.

It’s well worth a look!

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THE Hunter Wildfires head into Round 3 of the Shute Shield with two wins under their belt and many good judges saying that they are finals material in 2023.

There’s not too many secrets in the way that they go about their business, basing a lot of their play around their monster pack.

Around The Traps asked their S&C boss Steve Norman to spill the beans on what their numbers were and he was more than helpful.

The Wildfires pack that ground the Galloping Greens down at home last weekend had a total weight of 819kg and their lock Morgan Inness top of the pops at 130kg.

The front row take care of a fair bit of that total with Andrew Tuala, Phillip Bradford and Nicholas Dobson contributing 316kg of that.

Norman says they have had to be sensible about their running volumes as if they go too hard they will get overuse issues.

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HISTORY is an important part of any Shute Shield club and it’s great to see the Two Blues recognising their past achievements with the unveiling of a hall of fame at ‘The Eric’.

The Two Blues Hall of Fame was opened this week at the club’s first home game of the season against Gordon.

The club was lucky enough to have Two Blues legends Brian ‘Billy’ Melrose and Peter Thompson on hand to autograph their respective pictures. 

The portraits on display recognise all those Two Blues players who have represented their country over the past 145 years and some of their premiership teams. 

If you’re at ‘The Eric’, feel free to come in and have a look.

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THERE’S some pretty handy No.10s running around in the Shute Shield at the moment headed up, in my humble opinion, by Jude Gibbs at Northern Suburbs.

But after two rounds of the competition he’s being chased pretty hard by the likes of Jack Bowen at the Beasties, Wiseguy Faiane from the Two Blues, William Thomas at Southern Districts and West Harbour’s Hunter Hannaford.

They are all pretty handy but if you were picking a Shute Shield rep side Gibbs, the son of the sporting doctor and former NRL star Nathan, would get the first nod.

MANLY MARLINS hooker James Hilterbrand is well renowned as the king of niggle!

I’m sure you will remember him undoing Warringah Rats scrum half Josh Holmes’ boot laces at the height of a northern beaches derby match and varying other incidents.

My ‘Shutecast’ podcast mate Andrew Swain reckons he saw him throwing grass at Eastwood’s Ratu Tuisese at the bottom of a ruck at TG Millner Field last weekend.

Swain had him on Stan Sport’s Clubland show and Hilterbrand revealed that one of his aim before his career finishes is to tie an opponent’s boot laces together, obviously without them knowing. 

Not sure whether the grass tactic was a wise move as Tuisese, really started to dominate what was a throbbing encounter in doubt right to the very end from that point.

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LOTS OF Waratahs squad member getting some footy under their belts this weekend headed by a big in for the Two Blues Nemani Nadolo.

Harrison Goddard, part of the Gordon premiership winning side from a couple of years back, will also get time at Chatswood Oval.

In that game against Warringah Ben Marr, who hasn’t been getting much time with the national Sevens team in recent times, will feature at fullback in what is a big in!

Ben Dowling is another Tahs man on duty pulling on the No.15 jersey at Coogee Oval when Randwick take on table toppers Norths.

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NICKNAMES have been part and parcel of our game since that bloke first picked up the ball and ran with it.

Around The Traps has been the subject of a few but the best that this column has heard over the many decades of involvements is ‘Pools’.

Given to a goal kicking winger in the early 1980s who was having a bit of a rough trot with his accuracy. His teammates found out that his strike rate “six from 36”.