By MARK CASHMAN

Northern Suburbs captain Harry Burey has been smack bang in the middle of one of the Shoremen’s golden periods, times that have seen the club break a premiership drought in 2016 and finish consistently in the finals.

All through he’s been there taking the lead from men of the ilk of firstly Will Miller, the ‘King of the North’, and then in more recent times Hugh Sinclair.

A bit of both has rubbed off on Burey and as Norths prepare for the big ‘North Shore Derby’ against Gordon on Saturday at North Sydney Oval his calm and calculated leadership will be needed.

“There’s a little bit of both (Miller and Sinclair) in the way that I approach the captaincy I suppose,” Burey told Rugby News.

“I used to get to training early and listen in to those guys talking about what we firstly needed to do at training and then in the game on the Saturday.

“So I’ve soaked up a few of things that Will and Hugh used to do and from there brought my own laid back ways to the delivery.”

Not that there is going to be anything laid back in the way that one of the great rivalries of the Shute Shield plays out.

Norths were only team to beat Gordon last season – a comprehensive 24-13 win at Chatswood Oval – and some at the Shoremen says that must muddy the premiership that was richly deserved.

Burey reckons that three rounds into a season that goes through to the end of September it’s best to keep things simple.

“I suppose we’ve got to get our own house in order before we worry too much about what they bring to the table,” Burey added.

“It’s only Round Three and we certainly haven’t been perfect in the first couple of hit outs but looking at them from the tapes they’ve had a couple of pretty solid wins but it’s been hard to identify too much.

“There’s a fair bit going this week with the return to North Sydney Oval (after 18 months away on the road) and our Legends Day as well as Richard Tombs presenting the jerseys so our focus has been to make it internal and make it all about us.

“I’m enjoying the captaincy things after getting a bit of taste last year but I’m finding what works for me and I’m really enjoying it.”

Norths coach Zak Beer is wary of the Highlanders big pack and formidable set piece.

“Their scrum and line out has been good over the past couple of seasons and we will have to work hard at that area of our game,” Beer said.

“There has been some natural turnover of their squad but it looks like they have come together pretty well.

“They are the defending premiers and still the favourites to win this year’s title so we will need to show them the respect that they deserve.

“What we will have to do is concentrate on our processes, defend well and make sure that when the opportunities come we are good enough to take them.”

Highlanders coach Brian Melrose, who lived through a number of beaches derbies in his time at Manly, says he can’t wait for Saturday.

“Derbies are the best thing in the game aren’t they,” Melrose said.

“Gordon v Norths last year (at Chatswood Oval) drew the biggest crowd of the season and would have drawn twice as much without the COVID restrictions.

“The passion in that game was pretty obvious to see and to be fair Norths got the better of us on the day.

“That was a bit of dark spot in our year but they deserved the win that day. They played with plenty of passion and you could see that across the crowd and on the field.

“It was a pretty funny day – we ran out in different jerseys, dropped the ball from the kick off and were behind 7-0 after 20 second and from there we were chasing our tails for the rest of the afternoon.”

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Melrose though is pleased with the continued development of his halves combination with Jacob Abel finding his feet and Reece MacDonald pretty close to the Highlanders best against the Western Sydney Two Blues last weekend.

The back three of Alesna Pohla, Mike Pavlakis and Ben Pollack were a handful but you get the feeling that good defence and arm wrestle up front will be critical in this one.

Gordon have brought in Ivan Felupea’i and Robbie Abel into their front row with the injury to Brandon Faava-Eli (broken hand) and their work up front will be critical.

Abel has a wide range of Super Rugby experience and is sure to be a major asset for the Highlanders as they attempt to remain undefeated.

Either way it’s going to be a cracker of an afternoon.

Northern Suburbs v Gordon is live on Stan Sport with the kick-off at the later time of 4.05pm

IMAGE: KAREN WATSON