After 20 matches, not a whole lot separates Warringah and Northern Suburbs heading into tomorrow’s Shute Shield decider at North Sydney Oval.

For anyone sitting on the fence, here are five reasons why Warringah will win:

Scrum

After being dominated by Manly in the second northern beaches derby, the Warringah tight five have spent the last month working tirelessly to ensure their scrum could be used as a weapon in the finals, and it proved vital last weekend against the Marlins. The Norths scrum was dominated by Souths in the opening week of the playoffs and while it improved against Eastwood last weekend, the Norths big men will need a big effort to ensure parity at scrum time.

Josh Holmes

No player in the competition can turn a game on its head quite like Warringah scrumhalf Josh Holmes. While he isn’t the most conventional No.9, on form he probably wouldn’t look out of place in a gold jersey at the moment. Holmes sparks much of Warringah’s attack from the base of the ruck and one of his trademark darts could swing momentum in the Rats favour.

Experienced heads

Warringah haven’t played in a grand final since 2005 but they have the most experienced squad in the competition. 37-year old lock Cam Treloar captained Warringah’s last premiership side 12 years ago and will play from the bench tomorrow, while a handful of others have been at the club for five or more years. It also doesn’t hurt to have 34-year old former London Irish playmaker Myles Dorrian on the bench in case anyone goes down.

Cohesion

With experience comes cohesion and Warringah have that in spades. A core group including the Holmes brothers, Hamish Angus, Dave Feltscheer and Sam Ward have been the heart and soul of the Warringah club in good times and bad for the best part of a decade. When things get tough tomorrow, that cohesion could prove crucial.

Emotion

The Warringah club and the wider rugby community were rocked by the tragic passing of lower grader Lachie Ward, brother of No.8 Sam, during a match at Rat Park earlier this year. From all reports, Ward exemplified everything that is good about grassroots rugby and his image will be the last things the Rats players see before they run out tomorrow. The Warringah first grade and third grade players will have no shortage of motivation.

Photo: Karen Watson