Hot or not: Which Shute Shield teams are in form ahead of the finals
There’s just two rounds remaining in the Shute Shield regular season and while our top six teams are locked in to play knockout rugby in a few weeks time, there is still a lot to play for over the coming fortnight.
We thought we’d take a look at which teams are in form at the pointy end of the season.
Last six results:
1st) Eastern Suburbs: Five wins, one loss
Outside on one disappointing performance against Randwick at Woollahra, Easts haven’t lost since round six in early May and have beaten Norths, Manly and Gordon during that run.
They should win their final two matches and claim the minor premiership, if the club isn’t docked points for a few well publicised off field management issues.
Remaining matches: Sydney Uni (H), West Harbour (H)
2nd) Warringah: Four wins, two losses
Warringah have been flying for most of this season and had lost just one match after 12 rounds. But losses to Manly and Randwick in July created a little doubt at Rat Park.
The Rats should win their final two matches though and take plenty of confidence into a home semi final in a few weeks time.
Remaining matches: West Harbour (A), Southern Districts (H)
3rd) Randwick: Six wins
Somehow the defending premiers are still flying under the radar a little, despite winning eight straight games.
Five of those eight games have been against sides outside of the top six, but the Galloping Greens have built a lot of momentum on the back of some impressive attacking performances.
A win against Eastwood this week could secure a home semi final for Randwick.
Remaining matches: Eastwood (H), Hunter (H)
4th) Manly: Four wins, two losses
It’s still tough to know which Manly team we're going to get each Saturday. Manly were terrible against Gordon, then upset Warringah a week later, then lost to Souths at home a week after that.
The Marlins stopped the bleeding by grinding out wins against the Two Blues and Uni in recent weeks and will want to perform well up in Newcastle this weekend to build confidence ahead of a final round showdown against Norths.
Remaining matches: Hunter (A), Northern Suburbs (H)
5th) Northern Suburbs: Five wins, one loss
Norths were a little like Manly through the middle part of the season, winning just one of six games.
Since then, they’ve won five straight matches but all five wins have come against teams outside of the top six.
Last year’s grand finalists face Gordon and Manly in the final two rounds and we should have a far better idea of Norths’ premiership prospects after that.
Remaining matches: Gordon (A), Manly (H)
6th) Gordon: Four wins, two losses
After being docked two competition points for off field mismanagement, Gordon have hit a bit of a wall and lost two tight matches against Randwick and Easts.
The Stags bounced back to beat Souths and West Harbour in recent weeks and face a good test against Norths on Saturday. Gordon are another team with a few points to prove between now and the playoffs.
Remaining matches: Norths (H), Western Sydney (H)
Remaining sides:
Sydney Uni, Western Sydney, Eastwood, Hunter, Souths and the Pirates all won’t play finals footy this year, but all seem very capable of claiming a top six scalp in the remaining rounds.
An upset or two in the coming weeks could drastically shake up the premiership race.