Warringah v Eastwood

Warringah held on for a hard-fought 42-35 victory over West Harbour in round 10 and now sit just outside of the top six.

“I thought we were pretty good against West Harbour. They were well coached and unpredictable and they punished us when we lost concentration. Hopefully we can learn from that,” Rats coach Greg Marr said.

Warringah welcome back Josh Holmes from Australian Sevens duties and gun No.8 Sam Ward, who returns from a successful season in Italy. Mike Adams also replaces Jamie Forbes on the wing.

“We can beat Eastwood if we play our to our potential for 80 minutes but we need to eliminate the now customary glitches in our game,” Marr added.

Eastwood returned to form with a big win over Gordon last week with outside backs Jerome McKenzie, Jonathan Malo and Michael McDougall scoring seven tries between them.

“Our support play improved last week, we worked really hard off the ball and our patience in defence was pleasing,” Stu Woodhouse told Rugby News.

“Josh Holmes will be a major contributor to Warringah’s attack with his runs, taps and kicking game. They have a few exciting backs that when given space will be real threats. They also have some big carriers in the forwards that bend the line well,” the coach added.

Woodhouse has made two changes to his side with Ed Craig and Sam Needs back in the Woodies front row.

Ladbrokes: Warringah – $2.20; Eastwood – $1.62 

Manly v Northern Suburbs

Manly were left fuming last week after two contentious calls led to late Eastern Suburbs tries and a 24-22 loss. The Marlins led 22-5 midway through the second half but were unable to close out the match.

“Last week’s performance was really disappointing for the group. We probably played the better rugby for most of the match but we really let the last quarter of the game slip,” Damien Cummins said.

The loss pushes Manly to sixth position, just three competition points ahead of Northern Suburbs in eighth spot.

“If we play how we have been and close out the match, that should be enough to win,” Cummins added.

Norths caused the upset of the round, beating Randwick 12-10 in a morale boosting win at North Sydney Oval.

“Last week’s win was essential for our players development and showed we can produce an 80-minute performance,” Norths coach Simon Cron said.

The Shoreman have a favourable run towards the finals, facing five bottom six sides in their final eight matches and can set themselves up nicely if they can beat Manly this weekend.

“We’ll need to produce the same mentality and physicality from last week. Manly are a well drilled side with some strong individual players.”

Ladbrokes: Manly – $1.52; Northern Suburbs – $2.45

Penrith v Parramatta

Penrith were beaten by Southern Districts at home last weekend but continue to show signs of improvement, despite being hit hard with injuries in recent weeks.

“Our work ethic continues to improve each week but it’s still not where we want it to be and the boys are working hard to achieve that goal,” Emus coach Jeremy Paul told Rugby News.

After a tough start to the year, Penrith will be desperate for a good showing against the Two Blues.

Parramatta continued their good form against Sydney Uni at Merrylands last weekend, but were unable to break the Students defence in a 14-9 loss.

“The performance was pleasing but we were obviously disappointed to lose. I thought our set piece was good and we troubled Uni but their online defence was fantastic.”

Despite their recent form, Hardwick said the Two Blues won’t be taking the Emus lightly.

“Penrith have a big forward pack and they offload really well. Their fullback is extremely dangerous.”

“We’re expecting a tough, physical and challenging encounter. I’m sure Penrith will come out firing and really test our structures. It’s always a tough match.”

Ladbrokes: Penrith – $12; Parramatta – $1.02

Randwick v Southern Districts

Randwick made a number of uncharacteristic mistakes in a 12-10 loss to Northern Suburbs last weekend, handing top stop on the Intrust Shute Shield ladder to Sydney Uni.

“Our execution was poor last week and we failed to capitalise on our opportunities and against a side as defensively accurate as Norths, you don’t get many,” Shannon Fraser told Rugby News.

The Galloping Greens welcome back Waratahs lock Ned Hanigan for Saturday’s clash with fullback Lachlan Anderson and winger Seamus Frost also added to the first XV.

“We’ve worked hard this week to re-establish our standards and our core skill accuracy,” Fraser said.

Southern Districts claimed a bonus point victory over Penrith last week but face a far tougher challenge at Coogee on Saturday.

The Rebels have struggled to put an 80-minute performance together so far this year and will be desperate to turn that around as both sides look to secure their spot in the Intrust Shute Shield top three.

With clashes against Eastwood and Manly in the coming weeks, Saturday’s result is crucial for Souths.

Ladbrokes: Randwick – $1.44; Southern Districts – $2.70

Sydney University v Gordon

Sydney Uni claimed a tight 14-9 victory over Parramatta under lights at Merrylands last week and now lead the competition outright, three points ahead of Randwick and Eastwood.

“I thought last week’s game was an excellent contest and our defensive effort was positive. We are building towards where it needs to be on a consistent basis at this time of year,” Uni coach Tim Davidson said.

Rohan O’Regan, Harrison Williams and Hugh Frazer have been added to the Students forward pack while the backline remains unchanged.

“We need to focus on reducing our errors this week and we need to be more patient in attack. I think we are pushing too many passes at the moment,” Davidson said.

Gordon were beaten by Eastwood at TG Millner last weekend but coach Geoff Townsend said his understrength side could take plenty out of the performance.

“For 30 minutes I thought we were definitely the better side. It was the best period of rugby that we’ve played all year but unfortunately we just couldn’t sustain it.”

“We gave then too many opportunities and you can’t do that against a side like Eastwood, Townsend added.

The injury riddled Highlanders have been forced to promote a number of their younger players up the grades, but Townsend was confident it would benefit the club in the long run.

“Things are pretty tough at the moment, but we’re certainly not giving up. These young guys will come back bigger and better from the experience,” he said.

Ladbrokes: Sydney Uni – $1.01; Gordon – $13

West Harbour v Eastern Suburbs 

West Harbour missed an ideal opportunity to close the gap on the top six last weekend, losing to Warringah 42-35 at Rat Park.

“Discipline really let us down against the Rats. It’s difficult to win any game when you are playing with 14 men for 50 minutes,” Pirate coach Neil Tunnah told Rugby News.

West Harbour are 10 points outside of the top six and can’t afford to drop too many more games if they want to plays finals footy this season.

“We’re looking for a really strong defensive performance at home this week,” Tunnah said.

“If we are happy with our attacking game and can play out the 80 minutes, then I think we’ll be in good shape.”

Easts continued their ride up the ladder with a come from behind victory over Manly at Woollahra last weekend.

The Beasties trailed 22-5 after sixty minutes before scoring three unanswered tries to steal a two point win.

“I was really pleased to see us finish off the game strong and get the result. We knew they had a bigger pack than us and that we would tire so it was great to see our guys take their opportunities when they came,” Easts coach Darren Coleman said.

After winning just four games in 2015, Easts appear to be genuine playoff contenders this year but Coleman said that Easts weren’t getting too far ahead of themselves.

“Consistency is really important. This weeks five points are just as valuable as last weeks and next weeks.”

“It’s such a tight competition, if you drop two games you might be down in eighth or ninth.”

Ladbrokes: West Harbour – $2.35; Eastern Suburbs – $1.57