Eastern Suburbs cemented their premiership credentials with an impressive victory over Norths at Woollahra Oval. 

Elsewhere, Souths upset Sydney Uni, Gordon snuck home against Eastwood and Warringah, Randwick and Manly all claimed comfortable victories to secure their spots in the top six. 

Eastern Suburbs 37-24 Northern Suburbs

Eastern Suburbs scored three unanswered tries in the final 25 minutes to claim a statement win over last year’s grand finalists and hand Norths their second successive loss. 

The two sides traded tries in the opening 30 minutes, with Easts leading Norths 15-14 after outscoring the visitors three tries to two. 

Both sides added penalty goals late in the first half, giving Easts an 18-17 lead at the break. 

Norths took the lead early in the second half when Gary Bautz found the line on the back of a dominant five metre scrum but it was all one way traffic in the final half an hour. 

Against the run of play, Easts winger Cooper Whiteside kicked a 50-22 to win his side a lineout deep in Norths’ territory. Whiteside then crossed off a clever inside ball a few phases later to put the home side in front. 

Easts extended their lead with a try from a driving maul in the 65th minute, then sealed the win when replacement prop Vuni Fifita barged over to score right in front of some excited home fans on the Murray Tate Hill. 

After three straight losses by five points or less, Easts leapfrog Norths in to third spot on the Shute Shield ladder. Norths are now fifth and host an in-form Warringah side on Saturday afternoon. 

Warringah 36-5 Hunter

Warringah No.8 Chayton Frans scored two late tries against his former side to seal a fairly comfortable 36-5 victory over Hunter on a fairly miserable evening in Newcastle. 

The home side opened the scoring through lock George Noa but couldn’t match the in-form Rats up front. 

Charlie McKill threw a lovely pop pass to Rory Suttor to set up Warringah’s first try as heavy rain set in. 

The Rats pushed further ahead when Wes Thomas peeled off the back of a 30 metre driving maul, then kicked a penalty goal to lead 15-5 at the break. 

Sportsground No.2 turned in to a swimming pool in the second half and Warringah took full advantage by dominating territory. Winger Esera Chee Kam slid over from a few metres out off the back of a five metre line out to give the visitors a 22-5 lead. 

Before Frans scored twice off Hunter mistakes to seal a bonus point win for the outright competition leaders. 

Gordon 19-18 Eastwood

Gordon flyhalf Ben Pollack kicked a match winning conversion after the full time siren just minutes after returning from the sin bin to help Gordon claim an unlikely 19-18 victory over Eastwood at TG Millner. 

Eastwood looked the better side for most of the match and led 8-0 early following a penalty goal and a lovely cut out ball, both by Matt Minogue, that set up a try for Ben Dalton. 

Gordon responded with a scrappy try to Tom Horan who muscled his way over from close to the line, but Eastwood were winning the battle up front and jumped away to an 18-7 lead following a try to Jimmy Hokafonu and a penalty goal to Minogue early in the second half. 

Gordon reduced the deficit with a try from a driving maul in the 52nd minute but played most of the final 10 minutes with just fourteen men after Pollack knocked down an Eastwood pass in an attacking opportunity. 

But the Woodies turned down a kick for goal and turned the ball over soon after, opening the door for the visitors. 

Gordon moved possession deep into Eastwood territory in the final minutes and scored from a maul in the 82nd minute. 

Pollack, fresh from a stint on the sideline, calmly slotted the match winner from nine metres in from touch to seal Gordon’s fifth straight win and second spot on the Shute Shield ladder. 

Southern Districts 22-17 Sydney Uni – Photo by AJF Photography

Southern Districts claimed a 22-17 upset win over Sydney Uni at Forshaw in a game that featured a hat trick to cult hero Lumafale Lualua and a brilliant performance by the Rebels’ forward pack. 

Uni opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a try from a driving maul. 

Souths looked to respond in a similar way 10 minutes later but peeled off the back of a five metre lineout and passed to big No.12 Lumafale Lualua who barged over from close range. 

Skipper Phil Potgeiter then found the line to give the Rebels a 12-7 lead. 

Uni responded with a try to Tom Morrison, set up by some nice footwork from flyhalf Henry James on debut. The visitors then took the lead when George Clark chased down a grubber from Eddie Poolman to hand Uni a 17-12 lead in the 50th minute. 

But the Rebels were up for the fight and ran the same lineout play for Lualua soon after. This time, the centre who is as wide as he is tall, bumped off several defenders and ran forty meters to score. 

Five minutes later, Lualua barged over again, this time on the back of a dominant five metre scrum, to give Souths a 22-17 lead in the 65th minute. 

The Rebels then defended their line brilliantly in the closing stages and repelled several Uni raids in the final minutes to claim a morale boosting 22-17 win against their closest rivals. 

Manly 42-26 Western Sydney

Manly blew Western Sydney away and led 39-5 after 65 minutes at Manly Oval on Saturday before conceding a few late tries in what was still a comfortable 42-26 victory. 

The Marlins opened the scoring in style with Wilson Dulieu scoring a try sparked from a clever chip from new flyhalf Brendan Owen. 

The Two Blues responded with a try to Reece Suesue but the flyhalf threw an intercept minutes later, handing the home side another five pointer. 

Attacking with confidence, Ollie Horne finished off another long range Marlins try late in the first half helping Manly to a 22-5 half time lead. 

Fraser Toohey then caught the Two Blues napping and scored just minutes into the second half, then crossed again 10 minutes later following some classy footwork from Byron Sharwood. 

The home side led 39-5 after 65 minutes and ran out of reserves in the closing stages, allowing the Two Blues to cross for several consolation tries. 

But the result was never in doubt with Manly jumping to fourth spot on the back of consecutive wins.  

Randwick 47-17 West Harbour

Randwick ran in seven tries in a fairly comfortable 47-17 victory over West Harbour at Coogee Oval. 

The defending premiers raced away to a 21-0 lead in the first half following tries to Christian Yassmin, Tom Nowlan and Ben Houston. 

But West Harbour stayed in the hunt and scored on either side of the half time break to give their travelling fans hope of an upset. 

But that hope was short-lived, with the Wicks taking control in the second half. Christian Yassmin scored his second soon after before replacement No.9 Kai Willoughby snatched an intercept try. 

West Harbour scored a third try from a maul in the 71st minute, but Randwick sealed the bonus point win with long range five pointers to Houston and centre Jayden Blake. 

After two losses, the bonus point win sees Randwick return to the top six with clashes against Manly and Western Sydney in the coming weeks.