Manly v Warringah

The Intrust Shute Shield’s biggest rivalry will be on show at a packed Manly Oval on Saturday as Manly host Warringah in the Battle of the Beaches, live on 7TWO from 3pm.

After eight rounds, just one competition point separates Manly in fifth position and Warringah in seventh spot adding further spice to Saturday’s clash.

“On a personal level, this is the biggest rivalry game of the year for me and I love this week of rugby,” Marlins coach Damien Cummins told Rugby News.

“But on a team level, it is also really important to win. Six of the top seven sides play each other this weekend, so a win will give us a slight gap on points from the others.”

Manly welcome back Sam Lane at flyhalf, with Cummins singling out decision making as the key this weekend.

Warringah head into the local derby full of confidence after upsetting competition leaders Randwick in round eight.

Flyhalf Hamish Angus has been ruled out through concussion, with former Wallaby Mark Gerrard also set to miss the match after impressing from the bench in last week’s win.

“It’s really important for us to start winning consistently for our team confidence, our position on the ladder and obviously to get bragging rights in the local derby,” Warringah coach Greg Marr said.

“We took a lot of confidence and self belief out of last weeks win but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. This week is another massive challenge and the boys are looking forward to it.”

Marr was full of praise for Cummins, who he coached in the 1997 premiership winning Manly side, labelling the former prop “a larrikin and a hard working and abrasive player.”

Cummins however, took a different approach when asked about his counterpart and former coach.

“I said it earlier this week. He’s a mercenary and will go anywhere for a buck.”

Ladbrokes: Manly – $1.50; Warringah – $2.50

Northern Suburbs v Penrith

Norths were unable to match Sydney Uni for the full 80 minutes in round eight, eventually going down 40-17.

“We were poor in patches last week and a side like Uni is always going to take advantage of that,” Simon Cron said.

Norths are 4-4 after eight weeks and remain within striking range of the top six, with Cron happy with how some of the squads newer players are progressing at this point of the season.

“Irae Simone, Michael Smith and Exra Luxton are three new additions to the side and they are all doing great things.”

The Shoreman will be without Richard Woolf again this week and will need to claim a bonus point win to keep in touch with the top six.

Penrith continue to show signs of improvement, despite failing to register a win so far this year. Emus coach Jeremy Paul has introduced a host of new players to his first grade side in the opening two months of the season and will be looking to begin to build some solid combinations in the back end of the season.

Ladbrokes: Northern Suburbs – $1.01; Penrith – $13

Gordon v Parramatta

Gordon held their own against Southern Districts for most of last week’s clash and were impressive, despite losing 39-21 at Forshaw.

The Highlanders depleted front row were unable to match the big Souths pack, but Geoff Townsend thought their were plenty of positives to come out of the match.

“Apart from the first 10 minutes, I thought it was a courageous effort against one of the top sides in the competition,” Townsend said.

“A number of our players are coming to terms with first grade for the first time and they will be much better for the experience in the near future.”

While Nick Fraser has returned from overseas to boost Gordon’s forward pack, the Highlanders injury curse continues with Luke Papworth, Roni Scarano and Lucas Simkin all ruled out through injury.

The Two Blues caused the upset of the season against Eastwood last week on Back to Parra day and will be looking to take that momentum into Saturday’s clash against Gordon.

“In the past, Parramatta have been known to go away from our structure when pressure is applied and that’s something we are trying to change. We want to play structured rugby, smart rugby and that is starting to show,” Two Blues coach Paul Hardwick told Rugby News.

A win on Saturday is crucial for both clubs after slow starts to the season.

Ladbrokes: Gordon – $2.50; Parramatta – $1.50

Eastwood v West Harbour

Eastwood were stunned by the Parramatta at Merrylands in the upset of the season so far and will be eager to bounce back against West Harbour on Saturday.

The reigning premiers missed an opportunity to steal a come from behind victory in the dying stages of the match, before handing Parramatta a kickable penalty well inside their half, gifting the Two Blues a well deserved victory.

“We definitely haven’t hit our straps this year, but we are working extremely hard and their is still plenty of self belief in the group,” assistant coach Jarred Hodges told Rugby News.

The Woodies welcome flyhalf Jai Ayoub, hooker Ed Craig and No.8 George Kent for Saturday’s clash.

West Harbour fell short against Manly last weekend and had plenty to address at training this week.

“We’ve been focussing on sticking to our game and making sure everyone knows their own roles. Our line out must perform better this week and our breakdown needs to improve,” Pirate coach Neil Tunnah said.

“Eastwood will be hurting from last week’s loss which will make them very dangerous. The likes of Needs and Mason up front are very talented, as are Ayoub, Sutton and MacDougal behind the scrum.

Vaughan Lomax replaces Junior Satiu in the only change for West Harbour.

Ladbrokes: Eastwood – $1.20; West Harbour – $4.25

Southern Districts v Sydney University

After jumping out to a quick lead against Gordon at home last weekend, Southern Districts let the Highlanders back into the match and struggled for consistency across the 80 minutes.

“It’s certainly something that we have addressed this week. We’ve been fortunate enough to get away with it the past few weeks but we can’t do that against a side like Sydney Uni. They will make us pay,” Matt Barr told Rugby News.

The Rebels welcome back halfback Dewet Roos to the starting side after impressing from the bench last weekend.

“We need to stick to our structures for the entire 80 minutes and try and put them under some pressure at set piece,” Barr added.

Sydney Uni were too good for Norths at home last weekend in what coach Tim Davidson described as a “step in the right direction in terms of our consistency in performance.”

Davidson has added Chris Talakai, Harrison Williams and Christian Yassmin to the Students starting side.

“We are preparing for a tight tussle against Souths who are a quality football side playing with plenty of confidence. You don’t get many opportunities against them and they are particularly tough to beat at home,” Davidson said.

Ladbrokes: Southern Districts – $2.10; Sydney University $1.70

Randwick v Eastern Suburbs

Randwick suffered their second defeat of the season last weekend, losing to Warringah 26-20 at Rat Park.

“Last week’s performance was a little uncharacteristic. Not to take anything away from Warringah, but we just didn’t perform to our standards,” Wicks coach Shannon Fraser said.

The Galloping Greens are now equal with Sydney Uni on 31 competition points, with just on bonus point win separating first and seventh position going into this weekend.

“In my mind, Easts are one of the form teams and the competitions benchmark, so we’ll need to be at our best to get the result,” Fraser added.

Easts claimed a bonus point victory over Penrith at home last week and now sit fourth on the Intrust Shute Shield table heading in to Saturday’s local derby.

“The game is only worth five points but like all derbies, it means a lot to a lot of people at Easts. There should be a good crowd on Back to Randwick day, so it’s one of the better occasions on our rugby calendar,” Easts coach Darren Coleman said.

Coleman has made a number of changes to the side that beat Penrith last weekend and said his side was looking forward to taking on one of the competition’s best sides.

“To win, we will need to get parity with their set piece and keep up with their fit, mobile and physical forward pack,” the coach added.

Ladbrokes: Randwick – $1.53; Eastern Suburbs $2.45