Eastwood v Sydney University – Live on 7TWO

Saturday’s clash between an undefeated Eastwood side and the in form Students could easily be the match of 2015.

Eastwood was far from its best against Easts last weekend, but managed to lift in a number of crucial moments. Whilst John Manenti’s side remain undefeated, it faces its toughest test this weekend.

“They have strike power right across the field. As usual, all Uni team are always well drilled at the breakdown, scrum and lineout. Those areas of the games all always top notch,” Manenti said.

Sydney Uni welcome back Tom Carter and Angus Roberts for the match, yet coach Chris Malone still thinks his side will be up against it on Saturday.

“They’re undefeated, they’ve got good continuity,” Malone said.  “They’ve had virtually the same team every week and we’re expecting a very tough game against an extremely strong side which will most likely be there in the final at season’s end.”

Halves Jake Gordon and Stu Dunbar have been instrumental in the Students return to form in recent weeks, yet Malone still thinks his side is far from its best.

“We’ve put a few wins together but we’re far from a finished product.  We’ve shown good resilience in the last few games.  Ultimately this game will give us a good indication of where we are and where we need to improve.”

Catch all the action live on 7TWO from 3pm this Saturday.

Video: Hear from both camps ahead of Saturday’s clash – https://rugbynews.net.au/rd8-match-preview-eastwood-v-sydney-uni/

Eastern Suburbs v West Harbour

Easts looked impressive against Eastwood last weekend, but fell away in crucial moments of the match.

Darren Coleman was thrilled with his side’s commitment against the defending premiers, but wants to see better execution against the Pirates.

“Composure at crucial times hurt us last week but we will learn from that experience.”

After a disappointing start to the year, Saturday’s clash is crucial for the Beasties.

“We figure we can only afford to drop two more games this season to be assured playoffs, so this week is massive for us.”

West Harbour ran in seven tries in the wet against Penrith and will take plenty of confidence into the clash.

The Pirates have had few changes to its side in the last few and can claim three straight wins this weekend.

“I feel like out attacking shape is really progressing and out patience with the ball is really improving as well,” Joe Barakat said.

Warringah v Penrith

 Warringah continue to fly under the radar in 2015 and now sit in 6^th spot after a 12 point win over Parramatta.

The Rats are searching for a fourth straight win and can set up its season nicely with a good performance against the Emus.

Penrith was disappointing in a 48-5 defeat to West Harbour last weekend but are eager to bounce back this weekend.

Teki Tuipulotu thinks his side is heading in the right direction and is hoping for a big performance against the Rats.

“We’ll look to take them on up front and then try and give our back plenty of space to do what they can do,” the coach said.

Southern Districts v Northern Suburbs

Southern Districts returned to the winner’s circle with a tight win over Gordon last week but was again far from its best.

The Rebels will be without captain Jed Holloway again this weekend, with a strong crowd expected at Forshaw Park for ‘Back To St George Day’.

Norths coach Simon Cron said his side’s unplanned week off last weekend came at the perfect time, with a number of players able to rest niggling injuries.

He’s been impressed with his players right across the park, but still thinks the Shoreman can improve.

“Our focus this weekend is to implement our ‘A’ game and get our execution right. We can still improve our combinations and certain players need to lift their work rate, but I think we are on the right track.”

Parramatta v Gordon

Parramatta fell short against Warringah last weekend and is still desperately searching for its first win of 2015, something Two Blue fans are hoping will come at Merrylands this weekend.

Gordon was again unlucky last weekend against Southern Districts and led late in the match.

The Highlanders set piece was once again an issue, with injuries to a number of key forwards making things very difficult for Geoff Townsend.

It was a courageous effort last week to get so close after the issues we had with the scrum and the nine scrum penalties that resulted,” Townsend said.

Both sides will be desperate for points on Saturday.

Randwick v Manly

Randwick was disappointing in a 14 point loss to Sydney Uni last Saturday night.

Whilst Shannon Fraser was happy with elements of his side’s performance, he said it was important that it improve this weekend.

“It’s important that we play well at home in front of our supporters and play the style that we have been working hard to deliver,” Fraser said.

Randwick will against be without young centre Andrew Kellaway.

Manly coach Damien Cummins also wasn’t complaining after getting last weekend off.

He wants to see a more consistent scrum against Randwick and would like his side to compete for longer passages of the match.

“We saw it against Easts and Souths for 20 minutes and Uni for longer but we aren’t happy with our drop off,” Cummins said.