Josh Holmes clears his lines for the Rats – Photo: AJF Photography

Manly v Warringah – Live on 7TWO

The Shute Shield’s fiercest local derby returns to Manly Oval on Saturday with both sides desperate to claim bragging rights over their rivals.

Manly heads into the clash undefeated, but was far from its best in a tight win over West Harbour last week.

The Marlins will be without hooker Dave Porecki, who joins the Waratahs tour of South Africa.

“I think it will come down to the forward packs, it always does,” Manly fullback BJ Hartmann told Rugby News.

“You need to go forward to have any sort of attack and that all starts up front. Whoever wins that battle up from will probably determine the match,” he added.

Fourth placed Warringah fell just short against Sydney Uni last week, but coach Greg Marr, a former Manly player, is confident heading into the clash.

“If we can play with the same intensity and focus for as long as we did against Uni – who had a majority of the possession and better field position for most of the match – we should be able to give Manly a run for their money,” Marr said.

Catch all the action live on 7TWO from 3pm this Saturday. 

Video: Hear from both the Manly and Warringah camps ahead of the Battle of the Beaches

Northern Suburbs v Eastwood

Northern Suburbs could move as high as third if it can upset last year’s premiers at North Sydney Oval.

The Shoreman held off a late charge from Randwick last week to claim a 16-15 victory, but know it’ll need an 80-minute performance against Eastwood.

“I’d like to see greater role clarity in defence and an improvement in our support lines in attack,” Simon Cron told Rugby News.

Eastwood will be without halfback Mick Snowden for Saturday’s clash, but will still likely be riding the high from last weekend’s thrilling victory over Southern Districts.

Click here: Check out highlights from Eastwood’s thrilling victory over Southern Districts

Eastern Suburbs v Penrith

Easts claimed just its second win of the season against Parramatta last weekend and are eager to continue to build momentum against Penrith on Saturday.

Darren Coleman’s side ran in six tries against the Two Blues last week, however Coleman would still like to see better execution against the Emus.

18 year-old James Perlowski makes his debut at inside centre, partnered by Japanese centre Kotaro Matsushima who returns from injury.

Penrith was disappointing against Gordon last week, forcing coach Teki Tuipulotu to make a number of changes.

“We really need to put an 80-minute performance together this week, rather than playing for 40,” Tuipulotu said.

Southern Districts v West Harbour

Despite playing poorly for 60 minutes, Souths almost claimed the comeback victory of the year last week against Eastwood.

The Rebels welcome back Alex Gibbon from Australian 7’s duties, who joins teammate Paul Asquith in an exciting backline.

West Harbour fell just short against Manly, but continue to show signs of improvement.

Former England U20’s and Newcastle Falcons utilty Rory Clegg will start at fullback, adding further spark to the Pirates backline.

Despite that, Joe Barakat expects the match to be won upfront.

“We need to get our set piece right from the start against Souths. It took us until halfway through the Manly match,” Barakat told Rugby News. 

Sydney University v Parramatta

Sydney Uni bounced back with a tight win over Warringah last week but have made a number of changes ahead of Saturday’s clash against Parramatta.

Australian 7’s star Greg Jeloudev returns for the Students, however Liam Winton, Dave Hickey and Stu Dunbar will all miss the clash.

“Our concentration this week is to continue to improve as a 1^st Grade side. We know that defensively we will need to be at our best as Parramatta have some very dangerous ball runners,” Chris Malone told Rugby News.

Parramatta will have its work cut out against the Students and will need to improve greatly on its performance against Easts last week.

Click here: Find out how Sydney Uni reacted to its tight win over Warringah

Randwick v Gordon

Randwick missed an opportunity to claim a last minute victory over Norths last week and welcome Dave Horwitz back for the clash against the Highlanders.

“This weekend we are focussing on consistency in our ball movement. We played well last week in patches, but let ourselves down with our inability to keep pressure on Norths,” Shannon Fraser said.

Gordon is flying high and can claim its fourth straight victory with a strong performance against the Galloping Greens on Saturday.