Saturday marks four weeks until the start of the 2022 Shute Shield season and after the longest break in history, it couldn’t come quick enough. 

Some coaches believe there has been more intra-club recruiting this summer than any season before, which makes for an in intriguing opening month of the competition. 

The beauty of the Shute Shield is that you can never really know how each team is shaping up until the first team lists for the season are released. 

But based on the Chinese whispers spreading around Sydney at the moment, we’ve picked out a handful of games from the opening month that we think are worth getting excited about. 

Round 1 – Eastern Suburbs vs Northern Suburbs

Two of the top teams from the shortened 2021 season will meet one another on the opening weekend at Woollahra. 

New Beasties coach Simon Kneebone has crossed the ditch from Christchurch to try and help Easts break their premiership drought. He inherits a talented roster filled with plenty of young players eager to make their mark before Kneebone’s Waratahs contingent return later in the season. 

Norths have arguably the most settled group of any side heading into 2022 and have reportedly added further depth to a squad that was capable of winning a premiership last year. 

Round 2 – Western Sydney vs Hunter Wildfires

If you ask any rival Shute Shield coach what they are expecting from the season ahead, they’ll tell you Western Sydney and Hunter are going to improve. 

Both sides have been very active in the player market over summer and have high hopes in 2022. 

On paper, Hunter had the team to challenge most last season but Scott Coleman had just three months to get his side ready for Shute Shield rugby. Heading into this season, he’s had an extended preseason to turn his team of champions into a champion team. 

The Two Blues will also look vastly different to recent years and will play on the brand new Eric Tweedale Stadium. 

We should learn a lot about both sides in the opening few weeks. 

Round 3 – Gordon vs Warringah

The last premiers, not the reigning premiers, according to Billy Melrose, will host a Warringah side at Chatswood in round three that was arguably the surprise package of last year’s shortened season. 

The new generation Rats will add captain Ben Marr, who somehow still hasn’t been picked up by a Super Rugby club, to a side that beat Eastwood and Norths at the backend of last year. 

Gordon were also in the mix and appear to be a lot more settled heading into 2022 compared to 12 months ago. 

Both expect to play finals footy and both will want to start the season well. 

Round 4 – Warringah v Manly

With Sydney currently drenched in rain, the thought of watching the Battle of the Beaches on a sunny Saturday at Rat Park is pretty appealing right now. 

It’s also being played on a long weekend. 

Under new coach Phil Blake, Manly will be a different proposition in 2022 and will be eager to regain some pride after being beaten comfortably by the Rats in last year’s only derby. 

Regardless of how the two sides are faring, this fixture rarely disappoints and we get the first of two derbies early this season. 

Round 4 – Randwick v Easts

The second derby on a bumper long weekend of Shute Shield action, Randwick and Easts will meet at Coogee in round four. 

Randwick’s young group has shown plenty of potential in recent years but coach Ben McCormack seems pretty confident that his side is now ready to match it with the best of the competition. 

They’ll get a chance to prove it early in the season in a match that means more than most others to anyone in the Eastern Suburbs. 

Both sides have tough starts to the season. 

Easts play Norths and Eastwood while Randwick face Eastwood and Uni in the opening weeks, adding further importance to the local derby.