Warm Sydney weather saw plenty of running rugby for the opening round of the 2025 Shute Shield season. 

Norths, Eastwood, Hunter and Gordon claimed wins in high scoring affairs, while Easts and Uni produced dominant displays to take the top two spots on the ladder. 

Eastwood 39-36 Randwick

Eastwood opened their 2025 campaign at home with early tries to Lachie Albert and Michael Stringer to take a 14-0 lead after just seven minutes of play. 

But it didn’t take long for the Wicks to hit back as Joe Browning crossed in the far corner, before a crafty quick tap from Tim Sippel brought the men in green back into contention. 

Both sides took turns holding the lead late in the first half thanks to a well worked try from Hamish Comonte, followed by a penalty to Cole Spinks which gave the Woods a one-point buffer with as many minutes left in the half.  

Randwick ultimately won the half with a try in the corner to second row Mick Melia to head into the sheds with a four-point lead. 

Jonny Chan was lucky to be awarded the first try of the second half after dropping the ball cold over the line, but that didn’t dampen Eastwood’s spirits as they ran in at the other end with a try to Lachlan Shelley. 

The points continued to flow in the final quarter with tries to James Hendren for Randwick and Spinks for the home side. 

But the Woods clinched their first home victory of the season with a second try to Shelley in the dying minutes, converted by Spinks to take the final score to 39-36. 

Sydney Uni 59-26 West Harbour

It was a far from an ideal start for West Harbour at Concord as they went down by three tries to trail the Students 21-0 with only a quarter of the game gone. 

Uni had all the momentum, grabbing a bonus point before the break with a push over try to Leafi Talatiana, shortly followed by another five-pointer to Shaun Anderson after a dazzling break from youngster Tom Watts. 

Heading into the sheds with a 35-0 lead, Sydney Uni had showed pure dominance in the first half. 

But the Pirates showed they’re not a side to be written off in 2025, taking first points in the second half with tries from Drew Sellers and Jiale Dawai.

It was a festival of points in the final 30 minutes, as Uni hit back with Watts, Benjy Joseland and Will Gibson crossing the paint to bring up 50 for the visitors. 

Sydney Uni’s final points of the day came from a converted try to Jackson Stiel, before a pin-point cross field kick from Wests replacement James Faiva put Santana Marshall in for his first try of the season. 

The home side had the final say, stealing Uni’s scrum feed to see Jack Sheridan cross in the corner and give the Pirates a bonus point for their efforts. 

Hunter 36-27 Warringah

Points came early for the home side, with Hunter skipper Donny Freeman crossing under the black dot within the first five minutes. 

Then it was the Wildfires’ Ueta Tufuga who kicked through for his centre partner Veni Vahai to grab their second in the first phase off the set piece. 

But it was former Exeter Chiefs and Cornish Pirates winger Frankie Nowell who really shone for the Hunter side, creating some magic out wide to sneak over in the corner, before plucking an intercept out of the midfield and racing 50 metres to bag his second just five minutes later. 

Warringah didn’t see much ball early in the first half, but when they did they showed plenty of attacking flair. A lineout just inside their own half saw the Rats backline carve down the field for Charlie Tupu to record their first points. 

The home side again made it look too easy when Vahai cruised through the Rats’ defence to draw first blood early in the second half. 

But those would be the final points the Wildfires would score for the day. 

Warringah hit back with 19 unanswered points to win the second half, but it was too little too late as they were unable to reverse the damage done in the first 40 minutes. 

Eastern Suburbs 45-10 Southern Districts

Easts showed they won’t be letting go of the Shute Shield title without a fight, stamping their authority as last year’s champions with a dominant win over Souths. 

Tries to Otto Serfontein, Harvey McGregor and Joel Cobb gave the Beasties an early lead as the home crowd at Forshaw Rugby Park had little to cheer about in the first half. 

A 60-metre break from Caleb Beams put Souths within striking distance of the try line for the first time in the match, culminating in Efan Edwards dotting over on the opposite side of the field to get his team on the board. 

But Easts’ fast and expansive style of play proved too much for the Southern Districts’ defence, with Cooper Whiteside, Rob Cobb and George Gibson crossing in quick succession. 

Souths had the final say, but that try was a mere consolation in what was a heavily dominant performance by Easts who sit top of the table after round one. 

Gordon 39-30 Western Sydney

Eric Tweedale Stadium saw plenty of action in round one, as Gordon and Two Blues traded attacking blows in the first quarter. 

A brilliant individual try from Oliver Arcus gave the Highlanders a nine-point lead, shortly before prop Ezekiel Seia was sent to the sin bin at scrum time, giving Gordon a further advantage. 

Two Blues managed only penalty goals in the first half, while Gordon flyhalf Manus Bailey got his side’s third just before they headed to the sheds leading 17-6. 

Barrie Karea locked in the bonus point for the visitors shortly after play resumed, then Will Kaye added further punishment, touching down right in front of the uprights. 

But the boys from Western Sydney were far from done, showing their true grit with a try to halfback Rilloy Suesue off a quick tap, before a clever trick play at the lineout saw Ryan Connolly close the gap to just eleven points. 

Another five-pointer brought the home side within four with 10 minutes to play, before Gordon centre James Armstrong created something out of nothing, kicking through for Arcus to grab his second for the day. 

But the Two Blues were getting the bounce of the ball late in the game, as a mistake from the Gordon backline saw winger Tailiki Nadredre cross immediately after the kick off. 

Had their surge come earlier in the first half, the result may have swayed in favour of the home side, but time ran out forcing them to settle for the bonus point loss. 

Northern Suburbs 41-38 Manly 

The Marlins took first treats at home in the battle of the North, with a rolling maul try to former Newcastle Falcons backrower Marcus Tiffen in his first Shute Shield appearance. 

Matt Ryan slotted a penalty to get Norths on the scoreboard, before another rolling maul try to Harry Fry saw Manly extend their lead. 

Defence seemed optional as both sides traded blows, but it was Manly who continued their attacking dominance to secure a bonus point after 25 minutes. 

Tom Bacon crossed for Norths shortly after, followed by former West Harbour flyer Callum Sirker to bring the Shoremen back within striking distance of the home side. 

A try down the left side to Ruan Du Plooy gave Manly a bit of breathing space at the half time break, but they may have relaxed a bit too much, allowing Norths through for another three unanswered tries to dominate the second half. 

Manly hit back with Wilson Dulieu parting the Norths defence, but they couldn’t do enough to regain the lead. 

Unlike a number of sides in round one who trailed at the half time break, Norths’ resurgence in the second half proved just enough to get their first win of the year.