By MARK CASHMAN

THE Two Blues are getting many things right as they search for that elusive spot in the Shute Shield playoffs but Around The Traps reckons honouring Eric Tweedale in round one is a beauty.

Five games from colts through to the first grade game against Gordon will be played on the one field on Saturday, weather permitting, and it’s being marketed as Eric Tweedale Round.

Lots of new faces and lots of talent at the Two Blues this year and they will all be on show. If you’re around, head down to the Eric for a big day on and off the field.

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LITTLE wonder that the Shute Shield is considered to be one of the major proving ground for the professional game.

At the competition launch at the magnificent North Sydney Oval earlier this week SRU chairman Phil Garling reported that over the past three years a whopping 256 players have progressed through to the professional ranks.

“We’re really proud of the fact that our competition helps develop so many professional rugby players,” Garling said.

“But we’d like to see Rugby Australia work closely with the Shute Shield clubs to ensure there is a pathway available so players don’t have to go overseas to play at the next level.”

It’s a good point that Garling makes but Around The Traps was talking to trusted colleagues about who was the best Shute Shielder to emerge further over the past three years.

There were quite a few but we settled on the England Test player Guy Porter and Tane Edmed as the leaders of the pack.

Throw into that mix Mahe Vailanu and Langi Gleeson from the Waratahs while Cormac Daly is making the most of his opportunities at the Queensland Reds.

And that’s just the start of the list!

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MANY have asked Around The Traps about the whereabouts of former Rugby Australia CEO Andy Marinos since he left the national governing body a year or so ago in the wake of the appointment of Eddie Jones as Wallabies coach.

Is he back in South Africa or even taken up a sports administration role in one of the game’s far flung outposts for World Rugby?

Well we can report that he is alive and well in the Sutherland Shire doing some business consultancy work and has joined the board at Southern Districts.

Marinos has lived in the area for a number of years and is a handy acquisition for the Rebels, after all he’s done most things in the game and knows where a lot of the bodies have been buried.

The Rebels have also welcomed former first grade captain Marcus Carbone on to their board and from what we have heard things are moving in the right direction at Forshaw.

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AROUND The Traps can officially announce that the Shute Cast podcast will be back on the air again this season with the first episode dropping next week after Round 1 of the Shute Shield.

Host Anthony Bergelin will again be joined by Stan Sport’s Andrew Swain and yours truly offering opinions about the good, bad and ugly of the Shute Shield and really just about anything else that comes to mind.

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GET there a little bit early at Concord Oval on Saturday when West Harbour takes on Eastern Suburbs as you could get an early look at what could be the next big thing.

Wests coach Cameron Treloar spoke of outside back Will Roberts as one to keep an eye on as the season unfolds and he will start in the Colin Caird Shield game.

Roberts has grown up in athletics and runs the 100m in 10.2sec, the same recorded time of Brumbies flyer Corey Toole.

“Will’s played a lot of touch footy over the years but no rugby and is keen to see if he can make the transition,” Treloar told Rugby News.

“I’m really interested to see how he goes, particularly when you consider the impact a guy like Corey Toole is having down at the Brumbies.

“He could be anything because you just can’t coach that sort of speed.”

One thing is for sure though, don’t show him the sideline!

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WHILE we’re talking about West Harbour it’s great to see that they are likely to field a fifth grade side in 2024.

That’s a huge improvement of where they were at not that long ago – at one stage they were only capable of fielding two grade and one colts team – and it says something about what good coaching and good off-field management can do at a club.

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CAN’T see Warringah captain Ben Marr taking calls from his “old man” Greg in the days leading up to the big Battle of the Beaches derby between Manly and Warringah in Round 4 of the Shute Shield.

After all they are in different camps this time through as one of the great club derbies draws closer.

‘Marrs Bar’ headed back to his roots over the off-season taking on the job as general manager at the Manly Marlins and has been working away diligently to give his old club the best chance of success.

Greg had some success at the Marlins in his playing days but followed son Ben up the peninsula and started coaching up at the Rats.

April 25 is the date to mark down in the diary fore the big one and it should draw a capacity crowd to the Village Green.

At the competition launch earlier this week the Rats skipper said things were coming together under new gaffer Luke Holmes.

“It’s been good. (New coach) Joshy (Holmes) has done a great job over summer. He’s a lot like he was as a player – loud, energetic and a bit of a pest some times,” Marr joked.

“We’ve got a new coaching group and a lot of new players at the club, plus some talented young guys pushing up from last year’s colts premiership side.”

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THERE are “lifters” and there are “leaners” right throughout the Shute and you’d have to put Grahame O’Donnell into the first category.

‘Hound’ stood down as Northern Suburbs president at the end of March – long time board member Brad Leahy has been handed the keys – after 18 unbroken years as either a coach, board member, director of rugby or president.

That’s a pretty good shift and he’s already been snapped up to sit on the board of the SRU.

Don’t be surprised if he works his way up from there!