Sydney Uni won’t play finals footy for the second straight season after falling short against Manly at Manly Oval on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Warringah, Norths, Easts, Gordon and Randwick all confirmed their finals berths with wins in round 16.

Manly 31-21 Sydney Uni

Manly scored crucial tries on either side of the half time break to claim a 31-21 victory and end Sydney Uni’s season with two rounds remaining. 

Both sides scored tries from attacking lineouts in the opening stages before Lalakai Foketi scored a long range gem for the Marlins off the back of a clever chip from flyhalf Brendan Owen. 

Uni responded with a try to centre Eddie Poolman to level the scores midway through the first half before Manly took control of the match with two match-defining five pointers. 

The Marlins scored another try from inside their own half on the stroke of half time, then jumped out to a 28-14 lead two minutes after the break when Brendan Owen scored from an intercept. 

Uni closed the gap with a slightly opportunistic try in the 72nd minute, but Manly kicked a penalty goal just before the full time siren to seal a 10-point win. 

The Marlins are fourth with two rounds remaining, six competition points behind competition leaders Easts and just a point ahead of Gordon in sixth. 

Warringah 38-35 Western Sydney

Warringah bounced back from a disappointing loss to Randwick last weekend to beat Western Sydney 38-35 in a seesawing and high scoring affair at Rat Park. 

Warringah outscored the Two Blues five tries to four and led 28-20 at half time after scoring three five-pointers from driving mauls. 

Clayton Frans crossed shortly after the break to give his side a 35-20 advantage, but the Two Blues refused to go away and crossed through Tovo Faleafa in the 50th minute and again from a maul 10 minutes later to reduce the deficit to just five points. 

A second yellow card to Two Blues lock Johnny Kawau saw the visitors reduced to 14-men for the final 15 minutes and Warringah took full advantage, adding a penalty goal soon after to extend their lead to eight points. 

Western Sydney scored on full time to claim a losing bonus point but it wasn’t enough to keep their finals hopes alive. 

Eastern Suburbs 27-20 Eastwood

Eastern Suburbs edged closer to the club’s first minor premiership since 2000 with coach Ben Batger and backs Fabian Goodall and Chris Bell beating their former side 27-20 at Eastwood. 

Goodall opened the scoring for the Beasties but after having a try disallowed, Eastwood kicked two penalty goals to take a 6-5 lead. 

Easts prop Vuni Fifita barged over from close range to give his side a 12-6 lead at the break, but Eastwood responded through winger Charlie Sorovi who scored on the back of a strong run from Michael Stringer to reduce the deficit to just two points. 

Easts kicked away with two tries midway through the second half and led 27-13 with 15 minutes remaining. 

But a try to replacement prop Will Goddard with eight minutes on the clock gave Woodies fans hope of a comeback. 

Trailing by seven points Eastwood attacked after the full time siren and controlled possession nicely, but Goodall eventually caused a turnover to seal the win for Eastern Suburbs against his former teammates. 

Northern Suburbs 42-7 Hunter

Norths scored six converted tries in an impressive 42-7 victory over Hunter at North Sydney Oval to keep their hopes of a top two finish alive. 

Norths’ forwards dominated proceedings in the first half, with prop Sifa Amone, flanker Boston Kerapa and hooker Sam Kitchen all scoring to give their side a 21-0 lead at half time. 

Kitchen scored again from a driving maul shortly after the break before winger Carrick McDonough finally got in on the action to push ahead as the competition’s leading try scorer. 

Replacement centre Tauteau Taufa then crossed in the 72nd minute for his side’s sixth five pointer. 

Hunter scored on full time through centre Tom Watson, but were a fair way off the pace against the Shoremen, who seem to be peaking at the right time of the year. 

Norths face Gordon and Manly in their final regular season matches and could finish anywhere from first to sixth ahead of the playoffs. 

Gordon 22-15 West Harbour

Gordon scored four tries in a fairly scrappy 22-15 win over West Harbour at Concord Oval but remain in sixth spot on the Shute Shield ladder with two rounds remaining. 

The Highlanders’ backs offloaded brilliantly to score the opening try after just two minutes but couldn’t stop West Harbour flyhalf Hunter Hannaford who stepped his way to the line from an attacking five metre scrum soon after. 

Joey Walton threw a big dummy and scored to give his side a 12-8 lead at the break but was sin binned in the second half.

While Walton was in the bin, his side pushed further ahead though with an opportunistic try to scrumhalf Joe Snow scored after a loose ball popped up perfectly into his hands. 

West Harbour responded with a try to Scott King from a perfectly weighted Hunter Hannaford grubber to reduce the deficit to just two points with 20 minutes remaining. 

But Gordon scored again through replacement back James Armstrong in the 70th minute to claim a 22-15 win. 

Randwick 70-16 Southern Districts 

Randwick scored eight unanswered converted tries and flyhalf Andrew Deegan kicked 10 from 10 in his side’s eighth straight Shute Shield win. 

Souths matched Randwick for most of the first half and trailed 14-13 with just a few minutes remaining in the first stanza. 

But the defending premiers scored through Christian Yassmin on the stroke of half time and ran rampant on both edges in the second half. 

Yassmin, fellow winger Triston Reilly and replacement hooker Ben Sugars all scored doubles while Deegan finished the afternoon with 25 individual points. 

Randwick face Eastwood and Hunter at home in the final fortnight of the regular season and could push into the top two if Easts or Warringah drop a match in the weeks ahead.