In the Shute Shield eco-system it’s been proven time and again that your players are your best recruiters.

Anyone thinking of switching clubs always listens to what is on offer at a rival organisation and then the common procedure is to check in with someone who plays at the club.

I’m hearing the big off-season move of Charlie Gamble and Miles Amatosero from the Beasties to the Highlanders was helped by the presence of Joey Walton.

Walton was obviously a handy sounding board for the pair in the Tahs lunch room as they considered the move from Woollahra post 2025 grand final.

It’s worked well and the pair are taking in more and more Highlanders games when their commitments at the Waratahs allow.

Not sure if they will get to play at any stage this season with looming contracts with US Montauban for Walton and gigs in Japan for Gamble and Amatosero

While we’re talking about big moves I’d be shocked if Angus Crichton aligns himself anywhere but Easts.

Crichton remains close friends with the Maddocks boys and it hasn’t been unusual to see him watching Beasties finals game in past years.

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Rugby News colleague Jonathan B. Geddes has a side hustle putting together Warringah’s home game newsletter the widely respected Rats Tales.

It tells the many behind the scenes stories at a rugby club and I’m sure this one is mirrored right throughout the Shute Shield.

Rats “Bomb Squad” backrower Charlie McKill helped out the Dee Why Lions Under 11s after a tough start to their season, losing their first six games.

“We’ve had a few rough weeks results-wise, and the coach is hoping a special appearance from the Rats may help,” the message from the club said.

McKill stepped up to the mark and despite pouring rain put the team through its paces.

“Hopefully I gave them a bit of a boost,” McKill told Rats Tales. “A new face, some new ideas and a bit of energy. And I taught them a couple of lineout trick plays.

“It’s always good to help out where I can. I like helping out the young fellas, especially when they are struggling, it’s not nice to hear.”

The Lions lost their previous game 57-0. Three days after McKill’s help, they went out and scored their first win of the  season 40-7.

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It’s not always front of shop but the Gregor George silverware for the club championships is a keenly-contested thing.

Heading into Round 7 this weekend Easts and Warringah have broken away from the field with Gordon and Randwick chasing hard.

The Beasties are on 1116 with the Rats not that far behind on 1066. The Highlanders are on 845 while the Galloping Greens close on 842.

It would take an almighty effort for Gordon or Randwick to overhaul the top two but as we know anything can happen as we head into the second half of the season.

While we’re talking about silverware the Sydney Rugby Union are going about the process of renaming a number of trophies that are played for.

The Shell Trophy which second grade colts teams play for will get a new name while either the Heffernan Shield (third grade) or Heffernan Cup (fourth grade) is likely to be renamed.

The Shell Trophy is a hangover from a sponsor way back in the day and it was felt that honouring a rugby type would be a better idea.

The first grade colts trophy did at one stage have a different name after Manly won.

During what were described as robust celebrations the name plate fell off and was replaced.

The Manly club, they weren’t the Marlins just the Blues back then, sent their licensed club roustabout Bill McMahon to replace the nameplate.

He returned with the silverware with W. McMahon Memorial Shield on the name plate and so history was rewritten.

It was an open secret at the Village Green but the SRU apparently were not the wiser thinking maybe that it was named after former PM Billy McMahon.

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Norths always send a willing band of supporters to Cowra for their yearly expedition to the country tom play Eastwood but this time around there was a nice surprise waiting for them at the Harley St ground.

Former first grade captain Nick McDonald organised a fully catered marque for his old club mates and as you could imagine they all thoroughly enjoyed their couple of days in the bush.

Unfortunately for the group the Woodies got to sing their victory song but I am reliably informed that McDonald’s group pushed things to the limit.

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The Tamworth hospitality economy would have been stimulated to within a centimetre of its life as the NSW Country Championships were played out in the north west last weekend.

Hunter Rugby took out the Caldwell Cup defeating Central West 39–17 to win the final in what Wass an impressive performance on the day.

The women’s silverware, the Thomson Cup, went to Central West claiming the title with a 17–0 victory over Hunter Rugby.

The Richardson Shield playoff for 5v6 went to Far North Coast who defeated Central North 41–29.

The bronze medal game in the Caldwell Cup was won by the Central Coast who defeated Mid North Coast 40–17. 

The heartbeat of the game in the bush is strong that’s for sure.

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Damien Fitzpatrick has been a familiar face around the Shute Shield, a good communicator, handy Woods first grade hooker (and sometimes late game opensider) and leader.

This columnist worked with him when he was captain of the Sydney Rays in the now defunct National Rugby Championship and he was just one of those guys who knew how it worked.

So it wasn’t surprising that he was part of a push of start up entrepreneurs who made their voice heard this week about the changes to the Capital Gains Tax in the Federal Budget.

Fitzpatrick started up sports supplement company Pillar Performance after he retired from professional rugby.

He’s ridden the roller coaster that is small business these past few years and is considered an well-researched authority in this area.

David Pocock has made the jump into this world and I must say that if politics became his “main game” ‘Fitzy’ would do a pretty handy job of it.

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Milestones in our game need to be acknowledged so there’s a “biggie” on the weekend when John ‘JD’ Daniels runs out for his 600th game for Blue Mountains.

They refer to ‘JD’ as the GOAT around Lapstone Oval and he will run out for his milestone match against Hills at 9.50am on Saturday.

They normally schedule fifth grade games at home on a Friday night under lights but the magnitude of this one pushed it to Saturday and will kick off the club’s family day.

As you could imagine ‘JD’ has done most things around the club on and off the field and currently serves as President.

Blue Mountains plays in the Kentwell Cup and will take on Lindfield with the first grade kicking off at 3.15pm.

I’d imagine ‘JD’ would do a shift on the barbecue at some stage and is available for selfies at any time during the day.

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We spoke some weeks ago about the emergence of some quality refereeing talent in the Shute Shield.

That’s one of those things that happen “overnight” over quite a few seasons and a lot of work in the background.

The continued presence of international referees in the Shute Shield makes the pathway to the top end of the game touchable.

Last weekend Angus Gardner handled the West Harbour v Warringah game while Matt Kellahan blew the whistle in the Gordon v Manly match in Mudgee.

Their communication was first rate in each of those games and I’m sure those that ran the line would have picked up a few hints of making the game flow.

Quality refereeing is an essential part of the overall package.

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You’ve probably picked up along the way that Anthony ‘Bergo’ Bergelin is a keen fan of the Manly Marlins, flogging quality real estate and the Arsenal football club.

So unless you have been under a rock this week the Gunners made sure of the English Premier League when closest rival Manchester City drew with Bournemouth.

It’s been a couple of decades in the making and knowing the host of Shute Cast as I do I am sure the victory was celebrated with considerable gusto.

‘Bergo’ would have loved to have been in north London for the chaos but the next best thing might be to see his Marlins topple Eastwood at Manly Oval on the weekend.

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While we’re on the northern beaches, the Marlins are having their juniors day at Manly Oval on Saturday and the first 100 kids in the village club jumpers will get a free cap.

Now that’s a deal.

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Gordon showed some good signs about their premiership hopes when they travelled to Mudgee on the weekend and took on Manly at the magnificent Glenn Willow Sports Stadium.

The game showcased some great rugby from both sides and underlined the fact that this group of Highlanders are doing a lot of things right.

Around The Traps reckons they will need to tighten up their defence a bit, but they sure have a bucket load of points in them.

So it was great to see the Highlanders back up the morning after for a junior development session.

The Mudgee Wombats also stood out from the crowd with their teams watching on in their “Number Ones” – embroided club shirts, club tie, blue jeans, RMs and club cap.

The little things make a difference.