Northern Suburbs sent a warning to the rest of the competition with a dominant 46-point victory over a disappointing Easts outfit, while Manly were forced to play from behind against Parramatta in a match that could have derailed the Marlins finals’ plans.

Catch up on all the action from another brilliant weekend of Sydney club rugby.

Southern Districts 71-33 Gordon

Southern Districts’ season was ended by Sydney Uni last weekend but it looks as though the Rebels will try and finish the year with a bang after scoring 11 tries in a 71-33 victory over Gordon.

Winger Christian Kagiassis scored three tries and kicked eight conversions to finish the day with 31 points, while eight other Rebels also crossed for five pointers.

Gordon opened the scoring through Luke Gardner and scored three back to back tries in the second half to add some respectability to the scoreline, but it was mostly one way traffic at Chatswood Oval.

It won’t get any easier for the Highlanders next week when they travel to Camperdown to play Sydney Uni, while Southern Districts are at home against Warringah.

Sydney Uni 45-7 Randwick

Sydney Uni have nine and a half fingers on the minor premiership after beating Randwick 45-7 at Coogee Oval on Saturday.

The Students will finish the regular season on top unless they lose to last placed Gordon and don’t pick up a bonus point in round 18 and Norths beat Randwick by more than 90 odd points.

Waratahs forward Brad Wilkin returned from Super Rugby duties and opened the scoring for Uni as the visitors raced away to a 21-0 lead before the half time break.

The Students added three more tries before Randwick troubled the scorekeeper and added another in the closing stages to seal a six try victory.

With top spot all but wrapped up, coach Rob Taylor may take the opportunity to rest a number of his players in round 18 ahead of what will be a brutal finals campaign, a luxury most other coaches would be extremely envious of at this point of the season.

Northern Suburbs 51-5 Eastern Suburbs

Norths produced one of their most dominant performances of the season to beat Eastern Suburbs comfortably at Woollahra Oval.

A week after booking a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2013 with a big win over rivals Randwick at home, Easts looked like a different side and had few answers for Norths on either side of the ball.

Playing behind a dominant forward pack, the Norths backs were at their attacking best and scored seven of their side’s eight tries including a hat trick to winger Richie Woolf.

With Waratahs forwards Will Miller and Michael Wells still expected to return, Norths’ fans may need to pencil in a return to North Sydney Oval on September 1, to watch their side play in a third straight grand final.

Easts have the bye in round 18 and will need to improve dramatically if they are to test Sydney Uni in the opening weekend of the playoffs.

Norths play Randwick in the final round and can secure a top two finish and home ground advantage in the finals with a win over the Galloping Greens.

Warringah 38-16 West Harbour

Warringah scored 19 unanswered second half points to claim a bonus point victory over West Harbour and keep their hopes of a top three finish and a home semi final alive.

West Harbour looked to be handling life without star flanker Kelly Meafua fairly well early on and led 13-7 midway through the first half following a try to centre Enoka Muliufi and two Sam Malcolm penalty goals.

Josh Holmes and Seb Wileman crossed to give the home side a slim three point lead at the half time break before the defending premiers took control in the second half.

Hooker Luke Holmes claimed a double, while impressive young forward Manny Meafou also scored and showed why he’s got Waratahs’ coaches excited with another classy performance.

The Rats travel to play Southern Districts in round 18 and will most likely need to claim a bonus point win to have a shot at finishing third and returning to Rat Park in the opening week of the playoffs.

Manly 31-30 Parramatta

Manly survived a big scare and were forced to play from behind in a one-point victory over a gritty Parramatta outfit at Lidcombe Oval.

Led by former Tongan U20s playmaker Netane Masima, the Two Blues led 16-7 in the first half after a try to fullback Jonathan Malo.

Manly hit back with tries to Sam Lane and Harry Emery to lead 21-16 at the break and pushed further ahead following a try to Josh Turner early in the second half.

Parramatta scored again to give their fans hope of an unlikely upset and attacked late in the match against a 14-man Marlins defensive line. Down by eight, lock Sevaro Domoni scored to reduce the deficit to just one point, but it was too little, too late as Manly held on for the tightest of victories.

The Marlins return home to play Eastwood in round 18 in a match with huge finals implications. A bonus point win will see Manly secure a top three finish but if they lose, the Marlins may have to travel to play Norths or Warringah in the opening week of the playoffs.

Photo: Paul Cross/SPORTSPICS