Eastern Suburbs v Randwick – Live on 7TWO

Easts coach Darren Coleman handed 4 players their first grade debut last weekend and they didn’t disappoint. Despite going down to competition leaders Manly, the Baby Beasties looked dangerous with ball in hand and found holes in the Marlins defence – something very few others have done this year.

With Easts are out of finals contention, they’re treating Saturday’s clash at Woollahra as their grand final.

“It would mean a lot, particularly to some of our supporters. It’s been a long season for them and we haven’t delivered as we’d hoped. It won’t rectify the poor results of the year, but it’d definitely go away to it,” Coleman told Rugby News.

For Randwick, Saturday’s clash is a must win. Despite sitting in fifth, the Galloping Greens face Souths, Eastwood and Manly in the final three rounds and will be desperate to take maximum points this weekend.

Shannon Fraser said he was impressed by some of Easts young debutants and knows not to take them lightly.

“We’ll need to match their enthusiasm and take them on physically if we are to have the ability to play our attacking brand of rugby,” Fraser said.

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

Gordon v Parramatta

Whilst Gordon remain a mathematical chance of playing finals footy this year, the task became a whole lot harder after a 31-12 loss to Norths last week. The Highlanders must win their remaining four matches to keep their season alive, however it won’t be easy this weekend against a Two Blues side on the improve.

Highlanders coach Geoff Townsend said it’s an 80-minute performance he is looking for this weekend.

“We led with 12 minutes to go last week and had them (Norths) hemmed in their own half but a number of penalties and our execution hurt us,” Townsend said.

Whilst Parramatta went down again to Randwick last week, they continue to ask questions of some of the competitions better sides.

A win isn’t far off.

Manly v Northern Suburbs

Despite claiming a bonus point win over Easts last weekend, Manly were far from their best. This week, it’ll be a lot harder against a Norths outfit desperate to keep their season alive.

The Marlins welcome back Sam Lane and Ryan Melrose for the clash, with coach Damien Cummins looking for a more complete performance.

“I’d like to see our guys play out the 80 minutes this week, that will really help. I’d also like them to be a little more reactive and identify when things aren’t going right,” Cummins told Rugby News.

Whilst it’s not a must win for Norths this weekend, a victory over the Marlins would boost their finals hopes dramatically.

Norths were impressive in a bonus point win over Gordon last weekend, but Simon Cron knows his side will need to improve this weekend against the competition leaders.

“The focus this week is on the execution of our basic skills. We’ve also been working on our patterns in the backs and our game management,” Cron said.

Penrith v Warringah

 It’s been a tough week for Penrith after suffering a series of heavy defeats in all grades against Eastwood in round 14.

Whilst the challenge doesn’t get much easier this weekend, it’s hard to question the Emus spirit, with 43-year-old coach Teki Tuipulotu even throwing on the boots to help out last week.

Warringah coach Greg Marr says his side is treating this weekend’s match as a rehearsal for their clash against Manly next week.

The Rats took their chances in a scrappy 26-12 victory over Souths last weekend, beating a top three side for the first time this season.

Centres Michael Adams and Josh Gillard have both been ruled out of the clash, giving Marr an opportunity to test the clubs depth ahead of the finals.

“Field position, building pressure through retaining possession and multiple phases and dominant defence are the keys this week,” Marr said.

Sydney University v Southern Districts

Sydney University continued to build momentum towards the finals with a strong win over West Harbour last weekend. Bolstered by the return of Tom Kingston, the Students are looking more and more a premiership threat each week.

Back in round five, the Uni forwards outmuscled Souths at Forshaw and Chris Malone will be looking for a similar performance at University Oval on Saturday.

Souths produced their worst performance of the season last weekend against Warringah and will be desperate to return to form.

The Rebels welcome back Jed Holloway and Cam Betham for the clash and have also been bolstered by the news Australian 7’s stars Paul Asquith and Alex Gibbon will play out the remainder of the Shute Shield season with the Rebels.

“Uni are a side that always have high energy, high enthusiasm, line speed, they are strong at the collision so we need to match it in those areas,” Matt Barr told Rugby News.

“Otherwise they’ll just blow you off the park and it becomes really hard to keep up with them.”

West Harbour v Eastwood

West Harbour looked en route to the finals after a big win against Randwick in round 13, but were disappointing in a bonus point loss to Sydney Uni last weekend. Whilst the Pirates season isn’t over, they’ll need to cause an upset or two in the final rounds to earn a spot in the Intrust Shute Shield top six.

Unfortunately, facing the defending premiers a week after they scored 124 points will make things tough in round 15.

Eastwood sit second on the Intrust Shute Shield ladder, just one point below Manly. Although the Woodies boast a superior points differential to the Marlins, they need a number of bonus point wins in the coming weeks to claim the minor premiership.

Assistant coach Stu Woodhouse told Rugby News the side had an open discussion about their approach to the remaining rounds earlier in the week.

“The players felt that nothing structurally needs to change, but are more focussed on the polish of our existing structures.”

“Eastwood play an expansive style, so our catch pass and work at the breakdown are always going to be key.

The Woodies welcome back Hugh Roach and Marty Plokstys from injury for Saturday’s clash.