By MARK CASHMAN

Gordon continued their winning run towards the finals but it was a points splurge by Eastern Suburbs that really caught the eye as the final round of the home and away season of the Shute Shield was played out on Saturday.

The Highlanders held their nerve to beat Eastwood in the 7TWO TV match of the round while at Woollahra Oval Easts put 13 tries on Randwick which must put a spanner in the Galloping Greens’ finals campaign.

The big win by Easts saw them jump to second on the ladder with Eastwood dropping to fifth and the Wicks ending up in sixth spot.

At Rat Park, Warringah saw off their big four – Sam Ward, Josh Holmes, Rob Kelly and Dave Felstcheer – with an emotional 26-14 win over finals bound Northern Suburbs.

In the other games Wests and Souths played out a 45-all draw and the Hunter Wildfires accounted for Penrith 51-14 at Nepean Rugby Park.

Here’s how all the games panned out.

EASTWOOD V GORDON

It was far from perfect but Gordon coach Darren Coleman came away from their 29-24 win over Eastwood on Saturday with the knowledge that the Highlanders can tough out a game and win.

On a day when the Highlanders secured the club championship (the first time a club has won this other than Sydney Uni in 16 years) and the Sir Roden Cutler Shield, Gordon came from 24-22 behind to grab an important victory on the eve of the finals.

Skipper Jordie Goddard was the one that scored the crucial try which was duly converted by Rodney Iona to give a five point break and the final scoreline.

Eastwood did have their chances throughout the afternoon and at the end but as their coach Ben Batger said it was an opportunity lost.

The Highlanders got out to a cracking start and were up 19-0 after 20 minutes thanks to some nicely constructed tries to Rodney Iona, Oli Smeallie and Jack Dempsey, the Wallaby who started the game.

The Woodies weren’t done though and two tries from scrum half Matt Gonzalez got them back into the contest.

From there a try to Harry Wilson got the Woods within one point of the lead and then Tane Edmed’s penalty goal got them in from 24-22 before the heroics of the back end of the game played out.

Gordon coach Coleman was reflective on the achievements of the club in 2020, in a rebuild that started six years ago.

“I was happy to see the club faithful get some small recognition with the club championship trophy,” Coleman said.

“Int all started five or six years ago when the club started to rebuild the colts program which was on its knees and down to the one team.

“The first grade game was the first decided by a single score and to be honest I’d forgotten how stressful that can be.

“For a long periods of that game the Woods were clearly the better team with all the momentum and I was chuffed to see how our boys held on in the latter stages and showed grit to get it done. 

“That sort of resilience is what you need to win in playoffs – that was the most pleasing aspect of the game for me.

 “We know that when we get moving we can score points in bunches but to show resolve under pressure was a very pleasing return from that match. 

“Can’t wait for an exciting playoff series where anyone can win.”

Batger said at the end of the day he was disappointed with the Woods performance.

“We were horrible in the first 20 minutes and Gordon were very good. Then we had several chances to win the game at the end and failed to take the opportunity. 

“However we did fight back from 19-0 down and were right in the contest against the No.1 team so there is plenty of positives too .

“We now take on easts next Sunday who are the form team of the competition. It’s also a repeat of last year’s preliminary final, so If history is anything to go by it’s going to be a classic battle again.”

GORDON 29 (Jack Margin, Jack Dempsey, Rodney Iona, Oli Smeallie tries; Iona 3 conversions, pen goal) d EASTWOOD 24 (Matt Gonzalez 2, Harry Wilson tries; Tane Edmed 3 conversions, pen goal) at TG Millner Field.

EASTERN SUBURBS V RANDWICK

Eastern Suburbs tuned up for their Shute Shield finals campaign with a resounding 81-24 shellacking of Randwick in the Battle of the East on Saturday.

The Beasties scored 13 tries in an extremely complete display that has many saying that they are now the team to beat in the finals.

Skipper Jack Grant scored four tries in a fine all round display that said much about the robust carrying of their big back row and also the support game that they showed throughout the 80 minutes.

Hooker Moli Sooaemalelagi was another to stand out scoring three tries and organising his scrum well and being pretty much perfect at lineout time.

Winger Richie Woolf also got in on the act with a double and his speed on the right edge will be a major weapon for Easts throughout the finals.

Easts coach Pauli Taumoepeau said his side had to work to get the rewards but was happy to get a result like that in the eastern suburbs derby.

“The boys did well but it wasn’t a walk in the park as some would think,” Taumoepeau said.

“Randwick made us work through out that game. 

“I thought we did a lot of good things then off the back of that made some really solid decisions and I’m hoping that helps our preparation to play Eastwood this week. 

“We learnt a few things and have some work ons leading into the big challenge next week. It’s a whole new competition now.”

A somewhat shell shocked Randwick coach Ben McCormack said hats off to Easts on the day.

“There was a few key lessons we will take out of that – ones that I thought we learnt after big loss Norths but obviously not,” McCormack said. 

“Easts were outstanding and hats off to them, but the unfortunate reality was we allowed them to be. 

“We don’t have time to sook about it so we’ll grab the key learnings and push forward to try and turn it around for Gordon on Saturday.”

EASTERN SUBURBS 81 (Moli Sooaemalelagi 3, Jack Digby, Jack Grant 4, Henry Paterson, Richie Woolf 2, Nic Shannon tries; Daniel Donato 9 conversions, pen goal) d RANDWICK 24 (Triston Reilly 2, Simon Kennewell tries; Ben Donaldson 3 conversions, pen goal) at Woollahra Oval.

WARRINGAH V NORTHERN SUBURBS

The fairytale finish for Warringah’s retiring big four probably should have been going out on the back of a grand final win in a couple of weeks time but the next best happened on Saturday.

Skipper Sam Ward, scrum half Josh Holmes, hooker Rob Kelly and Dave Feltscheer all called time on their careers at Rat Park and were rewarded with a 26-14 win over finals bound Northern Suburbs.

In the end the Rats scored four tries to two, one of those a penalty try from a Warringah intentional knock down from winger Charlie Tupu, but it was game that always had a certain edge about it.

Warringah kicked off the scoring with a nice try to hooker Wes Thomas. The penalty try followed but the home side were able to jump out to a 19-7 lead with tries from Charlie McKill and Ben Marr.

Then as he has done so often in the past Holmes stepped up to the plate and engineered one of those tries that he has been famous for scoring.

Fittingly Ward nudged over the conversion to skip out to a 26-7 lead but games like this always have twists and Holmes was sin binned late in the game.

The Rats scrum with Rory O’Connor and Sam Needs as props were able to put some pressure on the Norths eight and this is something that coach Earl Va’a will have to address before the finals start. 

Warringah coach Mike Ruthven was pleased to finish the season on such a positive note.

“I was proud of the players for their commitment to the week and their desire to finish strongly,” Ruthven said.

“We were certainly lifted by the emotional energy around Wardy, Josh and ‘Bert’ playing their last games and those guys deserved to go out winners. 

“Before the game we spoke about our defensive effort and making sure we disrupted the momentum of Norths attack. 

“I thought we defended strongly and forced some errors from Norths and our ability to play off the transition was a real positive from the game.

“Our forwards provided a strong platform with a really solid set piece. Rory Suttor and Sam Needs both had strong games and really got us on the front foot. 

“Guy Rees and Robbie Nelson were rock solid through our midfield and Tyson Davis had some great touches from the back.”

Norths coach Va’a put the focus on what was ahead in the wake of the game.

“Warringah’s defence put us under pressure at different times and led us to drop some of those final passes when they try line beckoned.

“That said we’ve just got to be better in the coming weeks as it’s do or die next week against Sydney Uni.

“I thought our scrum improved a bit from last week and we will welcome back German Hafelli.” 

WARRINGAH 26 (Wes Thomas, Josh Holmes, Ben Marr, Charlie McKill tries; Sam Ward coversion, Marr 2 conversions) d NORTHERN SUBURBS 14 (Max Burey try, penalty try; Angus Sinclair conversions) at Pittwater Rugby Park.

WEST HARBOUR V SOUTHERN DISTRICTS

West Harbour winger James Turner scored a double to finish as the Shute Shield’s top try scorer in the wake of the Pirates’ 45-all draw with Southern Districts on Saturday.

‘Jimmy the Jet’ as he is known now at Wests, finished the season on 12 tries, one ahead of Eastwood’s Matt Gonzalez who also got a double on Saturday and two clear of Ben Marr (Warringah) and Triston Reilly (Randwick).

In what was great game of footy where the score and the lead bounced around for much of the 80 minutes with Souths scoring the final two tries of the game to draw level.

Souths did have the chance to grab the win but Christian Kagiassis’ conversion attempt of his own try went wide.

Wests coach Mark Gudmunson said in the wake of the game that his team deserved a better finish to their season where they finished 10th with four wins and a draw.

“It was a really good game of footy but I must say that I thought that were easily the best team on Saturday,” Gudmunson said.

“I don’t think that our position on the table reflects accurately the sort of footy team that we are.

“Guys like Otto Wendt, Dion Spice, James Turner and Cam Betham are people that the Waratahs should be looking at but on Saturday they weren’t there to see it – they were watching the one-way traffic at Woollahra Oval.

“All these guys and more did so well. I am sure Souths think they should have won, but they were not in our league to be honest.”

Souths coach Todd Louden was philosophical about the result and the season just finished at Forshaw.

“As they say a draw is like kissing your sister,” Louden said.

“We worked hard for all our tries and gifted them with four five pointers.

“But injuries continued to dog us with Sama Malalo off for surgery with blown eye socket from the game. 

“I reckon we finished where we should have on the table – just outside the top six.

“But we believe we will be so much better for the development we have achieved with all our young players – 27 debutants and 52 playing first grade this season in the 12 games.

“So a lot bad luck this season but have set up a good foundation for 2021.”

WEST HARBOUR 45 (Tavite Gadeisuva, Dion Spice, James Turner 2, Connor Chittenden, Josh Petero tries; Patrick Pellegrini 5 conversions) drew with SOUTHERN DISTRICTS 45 (Andrew Tuala, Tetera Faulkner, Charistian Kagiassis 2, Nathan Lawson 2 tries, penalty try; Kagiassis 4 conversions) at Taplin Oval.

PENRITH V HUNTER WILDFIRES

The Hunter Wildfires finished their return season to the Shute Shield with a hard fought 51-14 win over Penrith on Saturday.

The win means that the Wildfires will finish the season with two wins, a draw and nine losses with five bonus points.

They finished in 11th position on the table with 15 competition above the Two Blues and Saturday’s opponents Penrith.

It must be said that the Wildfires probably deserved a few more wins throughout their season and were always a competitive team that played out games against the bigger clubs in the competition.

They did get a massive boost on the eve of the game with the return of their Tongan Test scrum half in Mahe Fangupo who had missed the previous week’s game against West Harbour after returning to Orange to sort out a personal matter.

Fangupo’s presence was a massive boost for the Wildfires and he played a key role in the big win over the Emus.

The visitors started the game in fine style with two tries to Nimilote Qio and another to be block busting George Noa that gave them a 19-0 before the home side got on the board with a classy try to Dean Blore who duly converted.

Two tries to the Wildfires pretty much put the game out of reach for the Emus before the home side’s scrum half Terry Fanolua scored. Blore converted.

That was a call to action for the Wildfires and they finished off their season running in four tries in a game that was a lot closer than the scoreline indicated.

Penrith have accepted the Sydney Rugby Union’s invitation to participate in the Shute Shield next year but at this stage the Wildfires are yet to agree.

HUNTER WILDFIRES 51 (Shawn Ingle, George Noa, Hamish McKie 2, Chase Hicks, Nimilote 2 Lio 2, Matthew Dewar tries; Brendan Holliday 2 conversions, Taulogo Lalaga conversion) d PENRITH 14 (Terry Fanolua, Dean Blore tries; Blore 2 conversions) at Nepean Rugby Park.

WESTERN SYDNEY TWO BLUES V SYDNEY UNI

Sydney Uni scored better than a point a minute in the second half as they tuned up for the Shute Shield finals with a 72-24 win over the Western Sydney Two Blues on Saturday.

The game was evenly contested for much of the first 40 minutes and they went to the halftime break at 17-12 in the Students’ favour, but the visitors really busted after the break.

They scored 55 points in the second stanza from nine tries, with Uni winger Matthew Hood getting across the line for a hat trick of five pointers.

Uni coach Michael Hodge said the wind played a major role in the way that the first half played out.

“We ran into a stiff breeze in the opening 40 minutes and the Two Blues really tested us,” Hodge said.

“They moved the ball around well, and broke our line on the edges in the first half.

“At 17-12, we knew we needed to be far more clinical in the second half – and we were, running in nine second half tries.

“I must say that it was good preparation for the coming weeks and we were able to showcase our strengths against a very competitive home team.”

The Two Blues did have a number of hiccups before the game with Waratahs squad centre Tepai Morea pulling out of the match in the warm up.

“Yeah Tepai’s wife went into labour which was a challenge we had to deal with but the team started really well and did really well in that first half,” coach Joel Rivers said.

 “I felt that we blew two tries in the first half and had lapses in concentration which allowed Uni to score, but they competed well. 

“The second half was a different matter and we didn’t take chances, ran out of steam and the lack of experience killed us. 

“We missed Rory Garrett at 10 that’s for sure. Uni’s Stu Dunbar played well in the second half keeping the ball down our end. 

“But at the end of the day it was pleasing to see the boys play well in a game that had nothing on the line but pride.”

Rivers added that they were able to blood three players from their colts system in first grade on Saturday.

“It was great that those guys got a taste of what first grade is all about,” Rivers said.

“We have players with the talent to compete and win, but we need more experience and more depth. When we improve that over the preseason the club will be in a good place.”

SYDNEY UNI 72 (Declan Moore, Jack McCalman, Rohan O’Regan, Stu Dunbar, Will McDonnell, Matthew Hood 3, Patrick O’Doherty, Hamish Dunbar 2, Theo Strang tries; Stu Dunbar 6 conversions) d WESTERN SYDNEY TWO BLUES 24 (Niko Dalivusa, Zac Campton, Saiyasi Ikanidrodro, Dane-Reuben Terekia tries; Laim Tully conversion, Nick Blacklock conversion) at Lidcombe Oval.

IMAGE: ANDREW QUINN / GORDON RUGBY