A dominant 12-try display saw Eastwood jump to the top of the ladder, while Eastern Suburbs sit fourth after a tight win at home.

Sydney Uni and Gordon hold their place within the top four, and Warringah climb the highest to move into fifth after cracking 50 on the road.

Eastern Suburbs 15-12 Hunter

Easts managed to keep their winning run alive with a penalty after the buzzer, leaving Hunter fans heartbroken in their first away fixture of the year.

Scores were locked at nil-all for most of the first half until a mistake from the Beasties saw Wildfires centre Sitiveni Vahai pounce on the ball inside his own 22 to race 80 metres to score.

But it took Easts less than two minutes to strike back in the second half, turning a messy driving maul into seven points.

Hunter continued to pile the pressure on the home side, eventually producing the goods when a pinpoint cross-field kick from Connor Winchester was plucked from the air by a leaping Frankie Nowell to give the lead back to the visitors.

Easts’ maul again proved too strong for the Wildfires with 10 minutes to go as Moli Sooaemalelagi crossed for his second. But the conversion was missed, leaving scores locked at 12 points apiece.

Luck was shining on the boys from Bondi as the game looked to end in a draw. With time all but run out, Cooper Whiteside was hit high, giving Easts a penalty just inside the Hunter half.

And the winger stepped up, slotting it over the black dot from almost 50 metres out to secure the win.

Warringah 52-0 West Harbour

West Harbour were sent back to Concord licking their wounds after failing to get a point on the board against a dominant Warringah side at Pittwater Rugby Park.

It was a better start for the Pirates compared to their season opener the week prior, keeping the Rats scoreless for the first 20 minutes of the match.

Archie Saunders eventually opened the scoring for the home side, crossing the paint in the first phase off set piece with a perfectly timed kicking landing on the winger’s chest.

West Harbour were unlucky not to return the favour almost immediately when flyer Matthew Whelan chipped for himself to create a try-scoring opportunity, but a knock-on in the grounding left him without reward.

And that was really the last time the Pirates looked dangerous, as points began to flow for the home side.

Warringah ran in another three tries to pick up the bonus point before half time and head to oranges with a 24-0 lead.

The second half was one Wests won’t look back on fondly, as the Rats added another four unanswered tries to run away with the game.

Sydney Uni 43-42 Randwick

The Students pulled off the comeback of the season so far, managing to claw their way back from a 28-0 deficit to edge out Randwick by a point in Camperdown.

Sydney Uni copped a taste of the medicine they dished out to West Harbour in round one, shell-shocked by Wicks tries to James Hendren, Ethan Cusick, Hamish Comonte and Gage Phillips after just 13 minutes of play.

The home side fought back and opened their scoring through prop Tom Lambert after some heavy grunt from their forwards, which briefly shifted momentum in the Student’s favour.

But more expansive running from the Wicks backline saw Hendren cross for his second before half time.

Final score in the first half went to Uni winger Tom Morrison who snatched an intercept as Randwick decided to play within their own 22.

Sydney Uni came out firing in the second half, with two quick tries briefly closing the gap. But another score from Phillips gave Randwick a nine-point buffer.

There was still plenty of rugby to be played, as winger Benjy Joseland crossed to bring his side within striking distance.

The comeback was complete a few minutes later when lock Nathaniel Panozzo peeled off a maul and crashed over to secure an unlikely win for Uni.

Gordon 49-36 Northern Suburbs

Gordon secured the Baxter-Mortlock Cup for 2025, coming out on top in a high-scoring affair against their North Shore rivals.

The home side opened the scoring at Chatswood Oval, with flanker Tom Horan burrowing over in the first five minutes.

Both sides traded blows in the first half as the lead changed hands multiple times, but little separated the two as the break saw a gap of just four points in favour of the Highlanders.

Tevita Ahokovi extended Gordon’s lead early in the first half, but again Norths responded a short time later with a clever inside ball from flyhalf Matt Minogue on the 22 to see Carrick McDonough get on the score sheet.

Unfortunately for the visitors, their defensive efforts weren’t enough to hold out a rampaging Gordon attack as they ran in another two tries with the clock all but run out.

A final surge from The Shoremen saw Aussie 7’s squad member Baden Godfrey grab a five-pointer, but it all came too late as the final whistle blew and Gordon secured a 13-point victory in the battle of the North.

Eastwood 80-17 Southern Districts

Waratah Tane Edmed put on a kicking masterclass in his return to the Shute Shield, recording a near perfect day with the boot as the Woods ran in 12 tries at TG Millner Field.

The flyhalf didn’t have much time to warm up before he was called on for kicking duties as Eastwood crossed for two quick tries within the first few minutes of play.

But Souths showed promise, responding through a break from Canadian international Mark Balaski to put Isaac Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens in on the right wing.

Two more tries from the home side saw the gap extended before Southern Districts scrum half Josh Noonan stole five points right under the posts with a clever pick and drive.

Souths were reduced to 14 men when Damien Faiane was sent to the sin bin for a tip tackle just before half time, and the Woods made them pay almost immediately with Isaac Crowe finishing down the left wing to give his side a 28-point lead at drinks.

A second yellow for Souths early in the second half all but sealed their fate, as Eastwood capitalised on the overlap.

It was one-way traffic at TG Millner for most of the final 40 as Eastwood continued to dominate the visitors.

Rebels fans had a bit to cheer for as Faiane made amends for his sin bin with a huge fend to set up Caleb Beams to score.

But a further two tries by Eastwood before the final whistle left Southern Districts with plenty to reflect on during next week’s video session.

Western Sydney 27-19 Manly

Back-to-back home games helped the Two Blues to their first win of the season, never surrendering the lead in a hard-fought battle with Manly.

Felix Kalapu took first points for the home side as Western Sydney piled on the pressure early, with no.8 Tovo Faleafa extending their lead to 14-nil shortly after.

Manly hit back when a scrappy maul ended in a try in the far corner, before winger Kai Vincent crashed over for his first of the day not long after.

Little split the two sides at the break, but it was the Two Blues who took first blood when play resumed via a cracking run from winger Hosea Saumaki. The former Tongan international shrugged off five would-be tackles in his 60-metre charge to the try line in what is surely an early competitor for try of the season.

Two penalty goals to Reece Suesue gave Western Sydney some breathing space with a 15-point lead.

And it eventually proved enough for the win despite a late surge from the Marlins which saw Vincent touch down in the corner for his second.