Southern Districts v Eastwood – Live on 7TWO

Eastwood beat Southern Districts after the full time siren in one of the most bizarre matches of rugby you’ll ever see back in round 10, adding further spice to Saturday’s 2nd v 3rd clash.

Whilst the Rebels fought back from a 29-point deficit to come within second of winning the match, Eastwood were the better side for the majority of the match.

“It was a match we didn’t deserve to win, so it was probably a fitting result,” Souths coach Matt Barr told Rugby News.

“Both sides have plenty of strike power out wide, so whoever can give their backs the most opportunity, will win the game. That all starts upfront though, so we need to win that battle,” he added.

John Manenti said his side is focused on producing an 80-minute performance against the Rebels and wants to nullify the impact of 7’s stars Paul Asquith, Alex Gibbon and Afa Pakalani (bench).

“You can’t let a team like Souths build that much momentum, they have too much talent,” he said.

Whilst Manenti isn’t looking too far ahead, he said matches against Souths and Manly (next week) gives Eastwood a good indication of how they are travelling.

“We played them (Manly & Souths) back to back a few weeks ago, I don’t know if you’re ever ready, but it will put us in good shape come semifinal,” Manenti said.

Click here: Hear from both coaches ahead of Saturday’s clash

Randwick v Sydney University

Former Wallaby Adam Freier will start at hooker for Randwick against the Students, adding plenty of experience to the young Galloping Greens.

“He’s come of the bench in lower grades over the last few weeks and got some game time under his belt. He’ll be a little short on match fitness but he’ll make up for that in other areas,” coach Shannon Fraser told Rugby News.

Adding that Randwick are wary of facing a Sydney Uni aide coming off a tough loss to Gordon over the long weekend.

“Uni will have a very good set piece and want to play with plenty of width. We’re expecting them to turn up very committed and determined, so we’ll need to be at our best to come away with the points.”

Uni have been far from their best in the last few weeks and are focused on getting the basics right against Randwick.

“They’re a tough opposition and are very similar to us, with a lot of young aspirational players that are getting a chance in first grade at a young age. Throw in a couple old stagers like Adam Freier and you know they’ll be willing,” Chris Malone told Rugby News.

Calum Buckling and Chris Chapman will make their first grade debut for the Students with Jim Stewart also returning in the midfield.

Warringah v Northern Suburbs

Despite falling just short against Manly in the local derby, Warringah proved they could match it with the competitions best sides a fortnight ago and will look to continue their good form against Norths.

The Rats sit sixth on the Intrust Shute Shield ladder, two points ahead of Norths, with both sides desperate to capitalise on their good starts to the season.

Norths challenged Manly last weekend, but made a number of errors at crucial moments of the match.

“We’ve got to start decreasing our poor decisions and error that take the pressure off our opposition, particularly against an experienced side like Warringah,” Simon Cron said.

Gordon v Eastern Suburbs

Gordon held off a late charge from the Students to claim an upset victory over the long weekend and will take plenty of momentum into Saturday’s clash against Easts.

The Highlanders welcome back Jack Dempsey from Waratahs duties and whilst Geoff Townsend thinks he has named his strongest side of 2015 this week, he still thinks his side will need to improve.

“We need to be more ruthless than we were against Uni. Easts will be well rested after a week off and are starting to build momentum so it’ll be interesting,” Townsend said.

After two straight wins, Darren Coleman was probably the only coach that didn’t want a week off last weekend. He’s highlighted physicality at the breakdown as the key for his side.

“Gordon dominated up in that aspect when we played in the wet here earlier in the year. That really choked our attack,” he said.

Rhys Brodie and Ryan Danziel return for the Beasties in a match they must win to keep their finals hopes alive.

Click here: Check out the highlights from Gordon’s upset victory over Sydney Uni

Manly v Parramatta

Manly have been far from their best in the past few weeks; yet still remain undefeated in 2015.

Despite that, the Marlins will not be taking Parramatta lightly and are looking to return to form against the Two Blues.

“We’ve got to get back to paying attention to detail, we’ve really slipped in that area in the past few weeks,” Damien Cummins told Rugby News.

Parramatta played their best match of 2015 in a narrow loss to Sydney Uni a fortnight ago, but may find things a little more difficult against the competition leaders at Manly Oval.

Penrith v West Harbour

Penrith were beaten comfortably by Eastern Suburbs a fortnight ago and are still searching for their first win of the season.

Whilst the Emus can challenge the ninth placed Pirates, they’ll need to improve dramatically on their last performance.

West Harbour are also coming off a loss to Southern Disitrcts before the break, but have been impressive over the past month with a win over Sydney Uni and a narrow loss to Manly.

English recruit Rory Clegg will play at inside centre and look to get more involved against the Emus.

“They are always spirited at home so we will need to play for 80-minutes and have patience with the ball,” Pirates coach Joe Barakat said.