By Angus Hayman

Round one of the Shute Shield colts season delivered plenty of attacking rugby with Randwick, Warringah, Manly, Gordon, Easts and Souths all starting their campaigns with strong wins. 

Several sides showed early promise despite defeat, while others were left with plenty to work on after an opening weekend reality check.

Sydney Uni and West Harbour showed glimpses but couldn’t sustain consistency, while Hunter had a win stolen from their pocket and Eastwood endured a tough afternoon, all now looking for a quick response next week.

Warringah 48-33 Sydney Uni

Both sides entered round one with something to prove and it showed early, with Sydney Uni striking first through a brilliant counter attack. Fullback Dane Mitchell sliced through multiple defenders before offloading to inside centre Conick who found Tom Hartman, crossing for the opener.

But Warringah quickly took control, running in three consecutive tries as flyhalf Harrison Dene pulled the strings. His creativity and composure turned half chances into points as the Rats surged ahead 21-7.

Hartman grabbed his second to keep Uni in the contest, but Warringah finished the half strongly with a penalty goal and a late try to take a 31-14 lead into the break.

Uni came out with intent in the second half, with Monty Schmude slicing through off a sharp halfback cut-out pass to score under the posts. However, any momentum was quickly shut down when Dene produced a clever cross-field kick to set up a try in the corner.

A struggling scrum and mounting penalties hurt Uni’s chances of a comeback, and while they finished bravely with two late tries, Warringah had already done enough to secure a 48-33 bonus point win.

Hunter 24-26 Manly

Manly were forced to do it the hard way in Newcastle, coming from behind to snatch a late win in a back-and-forth contest.

The deadlock was broken by Hunter through a gritty pick and go, with second rower Hubbard crashing over. 

Manly responded quickly, spreading the ball wide for winger Dunn to create space and send scrumhalf Fabar under the posts.

The Wildfires hit back through a slick wide play finished by Moyle, before Manly again responded through a powerful effort from front rower Harvison to level the scores, 14 all.

Hunter edged ahead late in the first half with two well-worked tries, including a sweeping team movement finished by number eight Beney, to take a 24-14 lead into the break.

But that would be their final score of the afternoon with Manly’s defence lifting in the second half, shutting down the Wildfires and turning the tide through fitness and field position.

After being denied by the narrowest of margins down the sideline, Manly eventually broke through with a scrappy try to close the gap. Sustained pressure and a dominant scrum then set the platform for reserve forward Ingram to crash over for the winner.

Manly held on for a 26-24 victory, claiming a bonus point win, while Hunter took two bonus points from a narrow loss.

Gordon 50-21 Parramatta

Gordon opened their season in dominant fashion, overpowering Parramatta with a clinical attacking display.

The tone was set early when number eight Turner sliced straight through the defence untouched to score, before the home side added two more quick tries, including a sharp show and go from halfback Howells.

Parramatta showed some fight, with Seckold finishing off a well-worked backline move to reduce the deficit. They added another through hooker Keti after some strong carries, keeping the contest alive at 24-14.

However, Gordon continued to respond every time they were challenged, with winger Roach grabbing his second off a smart short-side play. A late intercept try to Parramatta kept things interesting, with Gordon leading 29-21 at the break.

Any hope of a comeback was quickly shut down in the second half as Gordon ran in three unanswered tries to blow the game open. The highlight of the second half being a powerful rolling maul covering significant ground, eventually setting up hooker Gyngell for the first of his two tries in a commanding performance.

The 50-21 result secured a bonus point win for Gordon and an impressive start to their campaign.

Eastern Suburbs 48-14 Northern Suburbs

Eastern Suburbs made it look tough early in round one, eventually running away with a convincing win over Northern Suburbs.

After some early scrappy play, Easts struck first through winger Nikas, who finished off a slick passage of hands. Norths responded quickly, with Wong crossing untouched off a well-executed backline move to briefly take the lead 7 – 5.

The game settled into a grind before Easts regained control, with Nikas grabbing his second in similar fashion. From there, the home side capitalised on poor exits from Norths, piling on three unanswered tries to take a commanding lead 20 point into half time.

Norths showed some fight early in the second half, with scrumhalf Greig spotting an opportunity and darting over from close range. But that would be as good as it got.

Easts shifted gears and showcased their attacking firepower, running in three more tries, including a hat-trick to flanker Weir, to seal a dominant 48-14 bonus point win.

Randwick 84-7 Eastwood

Randwick made a ruthless statement in their season opener, overwhelming Eastwood in a one-sided contest.

Eastwood struck first against the run of play, intercepting a pass to score under the posts and take an early 7-3 lead. But that would be their only highlight of the afternoon.

From that point on, Randwick took complete control, running in 13 unanswered tries in a dominant attacking display. Their backline played with speed and flair, repeatedly finding space and exposing Eastwood’s defence.

Charlie Bird led the scoring with 19 points from the boot in a polished performance.

While the result underlined Randwick’s attacking potential, a tougher test awaits next week, while Eastwood will need to regroup quickly after a heavy defeat.

Southern Districts 15-10 West Harbour

Southern Districts edged out West Harbour in a gritty, defence-heavy contest.

The breakthrough came from a stunning 99 metre effort, with flyhalf Newman scooping up a turnover and sprinting away to open the scoring.

The remainder of the first half was dominated by physical exchanges and territory battles, with Souths taking a narrow 5-0 lead into the break.

Souths extended their advantage early in the second half through a powerful carry from second rower Bell, but West Harbour responded strongly.

A quick tap caught the defence off guard, sending Dos Santos Hall over in the corner, before sustained pressure and forward carries brought them within two points late in the game.

However, a costly yellow card proved decisive, allowing Souths to slot a penalty goal and secure a 15-10 victory. West Harbour took a bonus point for their troubles in a hard-fought performance.