After five rounds, it’s still tough to know what to expect from a handful of Shute Shield sides from week to week.

We spoke to all 10 coaches playing this weekend to find out the latest ahead of round six this weekend

West Harbour v Gordon

Most current Shute Shield sides would consider a 20-20 draw against a red hot Norths side as a good result, but Pirates coach Todd Louden is setting some seriously high standards at Concord this year.

“We played quite poorly against Norths in a number of elements to be honest and I’m sure they would say the same,” Louden said.

“I think it was largely due to the pressure both sides asserted in defence – so in a reverse view the team knows they have much more improvement in them and that gives them a lot of confidence as we haven’t played anywhere near what we are capable of yet.”

Despite showing plenty of potential, West Harbour remain outside of the top six and will be looking to take maximum points from this weekend’s clash against an out of sorts Gordon side.

The Highlanders had the week from hell last week following changes to the clubs coaching staff, but say they’re ready to move on and play rugby.

“Last week against Uni wasn’t a true representation of what we can achieve. We’ve now dealt with the off field issues and we’ve put that behind us,” Adam Hill told Rugby News.

While things won’t get any easier for Gordon this week when they travel to Concord to face the in form Pirates, Hill said the side is looking forward to the challenge.

“We’ve focussed this week on staying connected in defence and on our attack.

“It’s time for us all to start enjoying our rugby again.”

Randwick v Northern Suburbs

After leading Eastwood 19-10 at Coogee Oval last week, Randwick leaked 33 unanswered points and failed to fire after the half time break.

“We missed too many opportunities in the first 40 minutes and didn’t make Eastwood work hard enough for their points,” Wicks coach Owen Finegan said.

“Then we had 10 poor minutes, made some crucial errors and allowed Eastwood to score three quick tries.”

Finegan said he expected Norths to bounce back following a surprising result against West Harbour last week.

Andrew Kellaway hasn’t been named to play against the Shoreman, although Randwick welcome back Australian U20s winger James Ramm for the important clash, on the back of an impressive showing for the Junior Wallabies at the Oceania U20s Championship on the Gold Coast.

Shannon Fraser will travel to Coogee Oval as an opposition coach for the first time on Saturday, but the Norths coach said he’s been preoccupied with his own side’s performance after a lacklustre effort against West Harbour.

“We’re not happy with last week, we missed the mark not only on the detail of our structures, but also with our application. We’ve identified a few key areas that let us down last week and have spent the week working through those,” the former Randwick coach said.

Fraser has made two changes to the side that played the Pirates with Sam Kitchen and James Brown named to replace JP Sauni and Nick Palmer.

After last week’s draw, the Shoreman are one point behind Sydney Uni at the top of the Shute Shield ladder, but Fraser said his side wasn’t paying that much attention.

“The ladder is irrelevant at this point in time. It’s pretty simple, if we play well and keep improving, we’ll do alright.”

Southern Districts v Eastern Suburbs

Southern Districts will be desperate to get their season back on track when they host Eastern Suburbs at Forshaw on Saturday.

The Rebels welcome back gun centre Apo Latunipulu for the crucial clash, after he missed the opening five rounds of the season to get married and Barr is hopeful the former Australian U20s star will have an immediate impact.

“I’ve already noticed the difference this week at training, Apo brings a lot of confidence and composure to the side,” Barr said.

An injury riddled Souths outfit has lost their past four matches after opening the season with a victory over Penrith but also welcome back Australian U20s playmaker Bayley Kuenzle for Saturday’s clash.

Easts returned from beautiful Orange with a bonus point win and plenty of confidence after outlasting Parramatta in the Central West.

While they sit five spots ahead of Souths on the Shute Shield ladder, Beasties coach Pauli Taumoepeau said his side won’t be taking the Rebels lightly.

“They’ve just been unlucky I thought in a few key moments of games so far this year but they’ve got some solid pieces returning tomorrow. The danger is that they’ve got the pieces they need to win and they’re close to making it all click,” Taumoepeau said.

“Tomorrow will be tough, there’s no doubt about it. We’ll need to be at our best.”

Southern Districts will host an inaugural Surf Club day on Saturday and battle Easts for the Harry Gibbons Cup. Following the first grade match, newly reformed Subbies side North Cronulla Sea Lice will play local rivals Burraneer on the main field under lights for the Harry Gibbons Shield.

Sydney University v Manly

Sydney Uni scored 13 tries in a dominant display against Gordon last week and are averaging more than 57 points a match so far this year.

“I was really pleased with our execution and the accuracy of the simple fundamentals of the game,” rookie coach Rob Taylor said.

The young Uni backline continues to grow in confidence each week and will face a tough test this weekend against an experienced Manly outfit. Despite that, Taylor said the focus has been internal.

“Every week we focus mainly on our performance and playing to our strengths and from there, we work out where best to attack the opposition during the game.”

Manly coach Billy Melrose said last week’s bye came at the perfect time for his side and allowed them to nurse a number of niggly injuries.

“We had a short break then came together later in the week. On Saturday we got together and had a hard gym session followed by a few beers at the Steyne Hotel, it was good.”

Former Melbourne Rebels backrower Jordy Reid has been named as a potential starter for the Marlins on Saturday, while Sam Lane will parter Dennis Pili-Gaitau in the centres to play Uni.

“Their start to the year has been near perfect. You can tell they are well coached and have been playing some good footy from what I have seen,” Melrose added.

Despite boasting the second best defensive record in the competition, Melrose said he hoped his side would make life easier for themselves this weekend.

“We need to respect possession a little more. It’s okay to tackle, but last time out we played with 10% of the ball and you can’t afford to do that against good sides.

“If we can gain some ball, have a little composure and play with our free spirit, we should give ourselves a chance.”

Eastwood v Warringah

Eastwood claimed their second big win in as many weeks on the back of a strong second half showing against Randwick at Coogee Oval.

“We had a sluggish start but after a classic (John) Manenti halftime spray we produced our best half of the year. We controlled the ball and played with plenty of energy and enthusiasm,” assistant coach Ben Batger, an experienced recipient of Manenti halftime sprays, told Rugby News.

Despite building nicely into the season, Batger said the Woodies would need to improve again this weekend and play for the entire 80 minutes against Warringah.

“They’re a dangerous team with threats all over the park. They play a physical game and Josh Holmes controls them well from No.9. Then out wide, players like Harry Jones can hurt you from anywhere.”

The Rats claimed their fourth win on the run, beating Southern Districts 38-24 at home last weekend.

Despite that, Warringah coach Darren Coleman has had an uneasy week on the northern peninsula as his side prepares to travel to TG Millner.

“I think I’ve been there something like 24 times as a player and a coach and never come away a winner, so hopefully we can turn that around this weekend,” he said.

“Mick Snowden hit the nail on the head in his Rugby News article earlier this week. They are a big, experienced team, so they were always going to start the season slow. Now their big forwards are fit and they’re creating plenty of space for Snowden and Jai Ayoub.

“Throw in the home crowd at TG Millner and we’ve got a tough challenge ahead of us.”

Photo: JB Photograhy