Sydney University v Randwick

Two of the competition’s form sides meet at the brand new University Oval on Saturday afternoon in the feature match of round three, broadcast live on 7TWO from 3pm.

The Students lead the competition after beating Eastwood and Penrith in the opening two rounds, however new coach Tim Davidson still thinks his side has plenty of improve on.

“We had a very physical game last weekend and full credit goes to Penrith, they really troubled us at times and pressured us into making mistakes. I was happy with how we finished the game, but we still have plenty to improve on,” he told Rugby News.

Will Skelton will miss the clash after being recalled to the Waratahs side, however Jim Stewart is expected to play in the centres.

Randwick’s preparations have also been disrupted with Dave Horwitz and Andrew Kellaway also named in the Waratahs side. Kellaway was initially named to play at fullback for the Galloping Greens but is now expected to miss the clash.

Randwick are also undefeated going into Saturday’s clash, having beaten Parramatta and Gordon in the opening weeks, however Shannon Fraser told Rugby News that this weekend’s match would give a good indication of how his side is travelling.

He also invited Wallabies assistant coach Mario Ledesma to training during the week to help tighten their set piece ahead of Saturday’s clash.

“You don’t have to motivate anyone when you play against the big and traditionally strong sides, so motivation is quite high and we’re really looking forward to it,” Fraser said.

Eastern Suburbs v Northern Suburbs

It’s Ladies Day at Woollahra on Saturday and the Beasties will be desperate to claim their first win of 2016 after falling just short against Warringah and Eastwood in the opening weeks.

Despite holding their own against the reigning premiers last weekend, Easts coach Darren Coleman was disappointed with his side and wants an improved effort against the Shoreman.

“They were just more physical and clinical when it really mattered and the good sides always are. We’ll need to be more physical this week and our scrum will need to improve,” Coleman said.

Outside back Charlie Clifton has been ruled out with a grade three hamstring tear and is expected to miss up to 12 weeks. He’s been replaced by highly touted 19-year old Jack Maddocks.

Norths head into Saturday’s clash full of confidence after a tight win over Warringah last weekend, however the Shoreman still think their best football is ahead of them.

“The boys did some really good things defensively against the Rats, but our attack needs to improve, we put too much pressure on ourselves through unforced errors,” Simon Cron said.

A win on Saturday could push the Shoreman to the top of the Intrust Shute Shield ladder.

Eastwood v Penrith

Eastwood held off a fast finishing Eastern Suburbs outfit last weekend to claim their first victory of the year but have now leaked 72 points in their opening two matches.

“We need to keep working on our attitude and patience in defence. We are leaking far too many points if we want to challenge at the back end of the season,” coach Stu Woodhouse told Rugby News.

The reigning premiers will be without Jared Barry for Saturday’s clash and will have a good opportunity to work on their defence against a Penrith side that picked up a four try bonus point against Sydney Uni last weekend.

Last time the Emus travelled to TG Millner, they were beaten 454-0 across all four grades. New Penrith coach Jeremy Paul understands his side will be up against it this weekend and told Rugby News that defence was the key.

“I don’t care about scoring points because we have the ability to do that but until we can stop opposition teams scoring, we won’t be winning games,” he said.

“We loved playing against Uni last week because it gave us a goal to get to. We want to get to the top teams level and compete with them for 80 minutes, so we need to take a few hard lessons from these teams and use that experience and apply it to our own game,” Paul added.

Gordon v Manly

Gordon clearly weren’t happy with their performance last weekend in a 50-14 loss to Randwick, with one player reportedly walking out on the side and the club immediately after the match.

“It was a really poor performance and only six players from the starting side received a pass mark on performance and effort,” Highlanders coach Geoff Townsend told Rugby News.

The task doesn’t get any easier this week against last year’s grand finalists.

“Manly have been one of the standout sides in recent years and it’s hard to see any change this year. They will be physical but they also have speed and weapons out wide so it’s going to be a massive challenge for us.”

After a disappointing first round loss to Southern Districts, Manly bounced back to beat Parramatta at home on Good Friday, but leaked 36 points in a high scoring affair against the Two Blues.

Hooker James Hilterbrand will miss the match after receiving a call-up to the Waratahs bench for Sunday’s clash against the Rebels. BJ Hartmann has been named at fullback for the first time this year, pushing Josh Turner to the wing.

Parramatta v West Harbour

After trailing Manly 40-8 on Good Friday, Parramatta fought back and won the second half against last year’s grand finalists but that wasn’t enough to please new Two Blues coach Paul Hardwick.

“Our performance was well below par. We failed to carry out our game plan until the second half, however the damage had already been done. You can’t give leads to good sides like that and expect to come away with the points,” Hardwick told Rugby News.

While the Two Blues head into the clash as favourites on paper, Hardwick is well aware of how damaging West Harbour can be when they are playing with confidence.

“They’ll be physical and will take their opportunities when they are presented. They have strike power out wide and some big game players in the forwards so we cant afford to let them build momentum.”

The Pirates were beaten comfortably for the second straight week against Southern Districts and will need to improve their discipline if they are to challenge Parramatta.

“We gave away too many penalties and yellow cards against Souths. Both our scrum and line out struggled and we didn’t win enough first phase ball,” West Harbour coach Neil Tunnah said.

“We have a 20 minute spell in the second half where we saw glimpses of the decent footy we are capable of playing though,” he added.

Faiva Sailosi and Kalepi Leao have both been named in first grade, with Tom Patterson shifted to No.6 and Brad Kapa named at lock.

Warringah v Southern Districts

Warringah were disappointing under lights against Norths last week, going down 20-16 in a match Greg Marr thought his side could have won.

“We were inconsistent, sometimes brilliant but other times ordinary. It was a fairly even game but Norths just took their chances better than we did,” Marr said.

The Rats have lost Dave Feltscheer for the season and Josh Holmes for at least a month and are looking to some of the club’s younger stars to fill the void. However that won’t be easy against a high flying Souths side on Saturday night.

“Souths are always a tough opponent. They have a strong pack with talented and unpredictable backs. We need to start well and keep the pressure on them for 80 minutes,” Marr added.

Southern Districts continued their unbeaten start to 2016 with a 52-21 bonus point victory over West Harbour last weekend but will need to be at their best against Warringah, a side they’ve struggled to beat in recent years.