Warringah caused an upset in round two, defeating Randwick 26-13 at Rat Park, while Eastern Suburbs, Manly and Western Sydney all claimed their second straight victories to move to the top of the Shute Shield ladder.

Elsewhere, Hunter beat Souths at the death and Norths were too good for Eastwood in Cowra.

Catch up on all the weekend Shute Shield action from round two below.

READ NOW: 100-game milestone had special meaning for Rats’ warhorse Wes Thomas

Warringah 26-13 Randwick

Warringah provided defending premiers Randwick with a reality check, beating the Galloping Greens 26-13 at Rat Park in Wes Thomas’ 100th game.

Both sides exchanged penalty goals to lock the scores at 6-a piece after 30 minutes, before Thomas broke from the back of a maul to score Warringah’s first try in his milestone match.

The Wicks hit back with a try to James Hendren to level the scores just minutes before the half time break, but were clearly in a tighter tussle than last week, when they ran in 10 tries in Newcastle.

Warringah added two penalty goals to lead 19-13 in the 60th minute, before a yellow card for a deliberate knockdown to replacement No.9 Kai Willoughby saw Randwick reduced to 14 men.

The visitors survived most of that 10 minute stint without conceding points, but on the last play before Willoughby was set to return, Wes Thomas found space down the short side and offloaded to new Rat Komiti Tuilagi to score and deliver the killer blow.

Warringah are now two from two under coach Josh Holmes and face out of form Eastwood at TG Millner next weekend. Randwick return to Coogee for the first time this season to host Sydney Uni in round three.

Northern Suburbs 38-27 Eastwood

Norths returned from Cowra with their first win of the 2024 Shute Shield season, after scoring five tries to beat Eastwood 38-27 in Central West NSW. 

The Shoremen scored three tries from driving mauls in the opening 25 minutes to establish a handy 21-3 lead before Eastwood opened their account with a try to recruit Julian Zissis from close range. 

Norths kicked a penalty goal early in the second half to extend their lead to 16 points. 

But Eastwood kept themselves in the match, with a pick and go try to forward Ben Dalton keeping the Woodies within reach. 

Norths’ forwards and backs combined nicely with a series of offloads to set up a try for Roan Frostwick midway through the second half. 

And while Eastwood scored twice late in the match, a Seb Cameron try in the corner and a sideline conversion from Jude Gibbs, who kicked six from six, sealed a fairly comfortable 38-27 victory for the Shoremen. 

Eastern Suburbs 40-36 Gordon

Easts held off a fast finishing Gordon side to claim their second straight win at Woollahra Oval under new coach Ben Batger. 

The two sides went try for try in an entertaining first half with Teddy Wilson setting up two tries for Easts and Milan Basson setting up one and scoring another for Gordon to give the Stags a 24-19 lead at the half time break.

Easts kicked ahead with two driving maul tries in five minutes to take a 33-24 lead. 

But Gordon responded minutes later with Brandon Quinn scoring in the corner on the back of a strong run from John Akauola. 

Easts looked to have sealed the result when recruit Cooper Whiteside scored a try off a clever inside ball from Jack Bowen to give the Beasties a 40-29 lead. 

But Gordon scored in the 78th minute from a driving maul to reduce the deficit to just four points. 

The Stags attacked after the full time siren, but a penalty for playing the ball on the ground sealed the win for the Beasties. 

Western Sydney 52-36 West Harbour

Western Sydney claimed their second win at the Eric in as many weeks, beating West Harbour 52-36 in a high scoring and seesawing affair that was only really decided in the 78th minute. 

The Two Blues offload game was brilliant early and helped the home side claim a 21-7 lead following tries to Rilloy Suesue, Nik Vikena and Marcel Faaofo. 

But West Harbour were up for the fight and responded with  three unanswered tries – to Nick Brown, Vuate Karawalevu and Callum Sirker to take a 24-21 lead after 30 minutes. 

Western Sydney scored on either side of the half time break, first through some fancy footwork by new fullback Christian Papa, then with a counter attack try by the Suesue brothers to take a 35-24 lead. 

But once again West Harbour responded and scored a driving maul try to reduce the deficit to four points with 25 minutes remaining. 

Two Blues centre Nik Vikena kicked ahead and regathered to score and extend his teams lead but the Two Blues wasted that good work by throwing an intercept to hand Vuate Karawalevu his second try of the afternoon and keep the Pirates in the match. 

But after kicking a penalty goal to add some breathing space, Two Blues fullback Christian Papa plucked an intercept of his own and raced away to score in the 78th minute and seal a hard fought 52-36 victory. 

Manly 31-29 Sydney Uni

Manly kicked a penalty goal in the 80th minute to claim a thrilling 31-29 victory over Sydney Uni at Camperdown and claim their second victory of the season. 

The Students opened the scoring early with a try to flanker Sam Allsopp on the eastern touchline. 

But Manly quickly responded, first with a driving maul try, then thanks to some fast feet from scrumhalf Ryan Du Plooy who stepped his way through the Uni defensive line off the back of another maul deep in the Students’ territory. 

With Manly down to 14 men, Uni scored again on the far touchline, this time through replacement winger Josh Calvert. 

But the Marlins responded and took the lead to half time after fullback Wilson Dulieu scooped up a loose ball and raced away to score. 

Manly scored the try of the match early in the second half. 

Attacking on half way, the Marlins broke the Uni defensive line then offloaded five times to set up Ruan Du Plooy for his second five pointer of the afternoon. 

Momentum swung behind the Students after that though. The home side kickstarted their comeback with a try from a driving maul, before young centre Rohan Leahy ran a fantastic line to score untouched from a mid field set play. 

Uni then added a penalty goal to regain the lead for the first time since the eighth minute. 

Manly showed poise and patience in the closing stages and eventually earned a penalty advantage with just seconds remaining. 

Flyhalf Robbie McIntosh calmly slotted the three pointer from close to the posts to steal victory at the death to big cheers from the travelling Manly fans. 

Hunter 23-21 Southern Districts

Southern Districts blew a prime opportunity to open their account under new coach Joe Barakat, falling just short against Hunter under lights on the Central Coast. 

Souths raced away to a 14-0 lead after 25 minutes following a try to new lock Mark O’Reilly and a second from a driving maul. 

Hunter hit back with two tries to new fullback Ethan Morgan while Southern Districts had two players in the sin bin on either side of half time. 

Hunter took the lead with a penalty goal, but Souths were up for the fight and responded with a a nice set play that led to a try to new fullback Rihari Wilson. 

Leading 21-15, the Rebels blew a chance to go further ahead minutes later and were held up over the line with two attackers unmarked near the sideline.  

Hunter hit back with a try to Tom Watson but missed the relatively simple conversion to trail 21-20 inside the final 10 minutes. 

The Rebels defended their line bravely in the closing stages but eventually conceded a penalty, gifting Hunter a penalty goal and a 23-21 victory.