By MARK CASHMAN

Two big derby games highlighted Round Eight of the Shute Shield competition played out on Saturday.

Manly broke a losing run that goes back to May of 2018 in their win over Warringah in the 7TWO match of the round while at Lidcombe Oval the Two Blues beat Penrith 36-29 in the showdown in the west.

Elsewhere Northern Suburbs, Gordon, Eastern Suburbs and Sydney Uni had victories.

Here’s how all the games panned out:

MANLY v WARRINGAH at Manly Oval

Sport is often about redemption and there was certainly an element of that in the way that the big northern beaches derby between Manly and Warringah played out on Saturday

On one side there was the disaffected star player moving to the big local rival and then in the derby three weeks on it all pans out just like on Friday Night Lights – and it did.

Harley Attwater called the shots and scored 19 points for the Marlins as they won the big beaches showdown 39-19 for the first time in two and a half years on the weekend.

The Marlins led 13-12 at the halftime break and in fact fell behind 19-13 not long after oranges only for the home side to rattle home with four tries in the final 30 minutes to secure a victory for the ages.

Manly coach Matt McGoldrick said Attwater was the glue that had pulled the Marlins together after a tough start to the season.

“I can’t explain how well liked and respected Harley is amongst the playing group,” McGoldrick said.

“With him there at flyhalf (and Harry Emery at scrumhalf) there is a certainty in selection that is breeding confidence.

“Harley’s got that classic A type personality, there is no bullshit about him and he’s confident and he’s dragging the guys along with him.

“His attitude to this game was just like any other – we’ll go out there and give things a good crack because we know that we are just as good as them.

“It’s great to watch and see play out.”

Attwater added: “Oh my God, that was pretty special. The Rats mean a  lot to me and still do, they are awesome blokes. And I love the Marlins.”

At fulltime he shared a hug with Warringah coach Michael Ruthven in a fine display of sportsmanship.

Attwater said it had been a tough build-up to the game for him with a real grand final feel to it.

“It is a massive weight off my shoulders,” Attwater said.

“I didn’t want to get in to them, I just wanted to play my best footy and I want  to play first grade, and that’s what it came down to.”’

McGoldrick thought that his side had in fact left three or four tries out there in the first half.

“The scoreline is what it is in the end but there were oodles of opportunities that we left on the ground in the first 40 minutes,” he said

“The win has been important for our club in that it has rewarded the first graders for the efforts that they have been putting in and everyone in the club can see what they can do under pressure.”

It must be said that the Marlins were able to bring their scrum and line out into play and make the Rats play out of their own half for much of the 80 minutes.

James Parker, who had been a reserve and third grade No.8 for much of the past two years, had a great debut at inside centre, pulling off some great tackles and carrying the ball well in contact.

“James has had a huge off season and has managed to strip some weight off and we felt this week was his time after playing some good rugby in the reserve grade side,” McGoldrick added.

“Our emphasis coming into the game was to try and stop Sam Ward’s running game which gives the Rats so much momentum.

“Well at one stage James just really jammed him rugby league style and it was great too see.”

The Manly front row headed by James Hilterbrand also did well and really put the heat on the Warringah scrum.

Warringah coach Mike Ruthven must have been rueing the two yellow cards – one to flyhalf Tom Halse and another to backrower Boyd Killingworth.

“At the end of the day we had 36 percent of the possession and we didn’t use it well,” Ruthven said.

“So it’s hard to win a game of footy with that amount of ball. The tone was set pretty much from the kick off.”

MANLY 39 (James Hilterbrand, Harry Bergelin, Dan Alley, Harley Attwater, Jed Ibbotson tries; Attwater 4 conversions, 2 pen goals) d WARRINGAH 19 (Sam Ward, Ezera Chee-am 2 tries; Tom Halse conversion, Tyson Davis conversion)

WESTERN SYDNEY TWO BLUES v PENRITH last Lidcombe Oval

Prop Kalafi Pongi scored a hat trick of tries as the Western Sydney Two Blues won an intriguing showdown in the west 36-29 against Penrith on Saturday.

The Two Blues scored five tries to four and had to withstand a late surge from the Emus who were direct and physical as well as creative throughout the 80 minutes.

The Emus in fact scored 17 points in the final minutes to give some real edge to the finish of the game with some great tries to Willie Tooala and scrumhalf Terry Fanolua and a penalty goal and conversions from Dean Blore.

The foundations for the Two Blues victory was through their forwards with Pongi the beneficiary of some excellent work from his fellow “fatties”.

Pick of the home side’s workers was Tuitakau ‘TK’ Kioa who scored a try and led the forward pack around all day.

“Yeah that’s right ‘TK’ fired up in the second half and led the forward pack which was much needed. His ball carries into contact were excellent,” Two Blues coach Joel Rivers said.

“Peni Tuitupou, our No.8, was also a big contributor being good with his ball carries and getting us over the advantage line more often than not.

“The whole forward pack worked together at scrum time and dominated set piece which was nice to see.”

Outside of the scrum No.10 Rory Garrett played a very sound tactical game for the Two Blues.

His deep corner kicks and control in the second half relieved a lot of pressure while his goal kicking has been on point over the last few weeks and was that way on Saturday.

The Emus were physical and have some great talent. Their backline was smooth and created a lot of issues from their centre pairing of Luke Nadurutalo and Riley Alcorn.

“As expected they were tough to handle in general play if we didn’t win the contact battle first up,” Rivers added.

“Their ability to offload was always dangerous and caused us a number of headaches throughout the game.”

WESTERN SYDNEY TWO BLUES 36 (Kalafi Pongi 3, Tuitakau Kioa, Niko Dalivusa tries; Rory Garrett 4 conversions, pen goal) d PENRITH 29 (Terry Fanolua, Jeremiah Faamausili, Luke Nadurutalo, Willie Tooala; Dean Blore 3 conversions, pen goal).

RANDWICK v GORDON at Coogee Oval

Gordon have been known for their direct and inventive attack in 2020 but their coach Darren Coleman was pretty chuffed about their defence in the 42-15 win over Randwick on Saturday.

The Highlanders scored six tries to two in a fantastic encounter in what was a good day for the visiting club at Coogee winning one and twos, fourth grade and second grade colts.

The Galloping Greens got things underway and gave their supporters some hope when Triston Reilly scored early in the piece and things went back and forth for much of the first half.

Maurice Longbottom added to the home team’s tally after that from long range but then the Gordon defence started to kick in and the benefits flowed.

In the final two quarters of the match Gordon went from 15-12 down to the final scoreline mostly due to their defence and the team’s ability to adapt on the run to the game situation in front of them.

“The Randwick scrum really held up and got on top of us and their lineout was the best we’d played so far so the team had to find other ways to win,” Coleman said.

“Our defence was outstanding. To hold them to two long-range tries off a turnover and an intercept was very impressive.

“So the way the team adapted and defended with spirit was pleasing.

It doesn’t get any easier next week with a fired up Souths, however each week this group is showing me more that they may have the mental strength and fabric to push into the playoffs.

“I knew they could play footy – now they are showing resilience which is the most powerful tool.”

There has been a toll for the Highlanders though with the loss for the season of their two tight head props – Rhys Brodie with a ruptured Achilles and Bosco Tagaloa with knee ligament damage.

Randwick coach Ben McCormack said Gordon were just too clinical on the day.

“They played pretty low risk and error free footy and forced us into error or penalty and when they get that midfield penalty they are good at making you pay with their maul,” he said.

“We failed to nullify the three influential players we talked about- Mahe Vailanu, Harrison Goddard and Rodney Iona who were all very good.

“Mahe was actually outstanding, strong carries, offloads, some huge hits in defence, scored a try himself and took two crucial breakdown turnovers that resulted in quick tries.

“Nailed his Lineout as well so it’s tough to understand why he couldn’t get a gig in Australia and needs to go overseas.

“But we’ll take our lessons, work hard and move forward to the game against Norths.”

GORDON 42 (Mahe Vailanu, Tom Silk, Harrison Goddard, Ahmu Tuimalealiifano, Ellis Abraham, Mike Pavlakis tries; Rodney Iona 3 conversions, pen goal, field goal) d RANDWICK 15 (Maurice Longbottom, Triston Reilly tries; Dave Horwitz conversion, pen goal)

NORTHERN SUBURBS v EASTWOOD at Pittwater Rugby Park

A penalty goal from Northern Suburbs flyhalf Angus Sinclair in the 81st minute has seen the Shoremen grab a pulsating 41-38 win over Eastwood on Saturday.

For Norths it was a vitally important victory at a vitally important time as they head into the back end of the minor premiership where they take on a host of teams in the top end of the competition.

To come over the next five weeks are Randwick, Southern Districts, Gordon, Sydney Uni and Warringah – a run that may well be making or undoing of this team.

Norths are playing the remainder of their home games at Pittwater Rugby Park with North Sydney Oval not available and they took to the surrounds well.

Eastwood started the game almost flawlessly when they scored from the kick-off and that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon with one team scoring and then the other hitting back.

Eastwood were ahead 24-21 just after the break and took what looked to be a decisive step forward when Norths prop Dewald Dekker was sin binned.

Tries from Pat Sio and scrum half Matt Gonzalez came soon after and the Woods looked set for an important victory.

But all the time Norths were battling away and staying in the game and a try from Reece Mau’u locked up the scores up at 38-all and set up the late game heroics from Sinclair.

“We’ve got lots to do with our defence obviously after leaking 38 points,” Norths coach Earl Va’a said.

“But ironically it was our defence that was able to work away and keep them at their end of the field for Brad Hemopo late in the game to force that final penalty.

“It’s an important win for us but at the same time there’s lots of things to work on.”

The lead changed seven times throughout the 80 minutes with 12 tries being scored throughout a grand afternoon at Rat Park.

Eastwood coach Ben Batger didn’t sugar coat his words when he expressed his disappointment in the Woods’ performance.

“We spent 79 minutes trying to lose the game and it was fitting that we ended up giving them the game in the 81st minute,” he said.

“Our defence was non existent and we virtually gave Norths a training run and allowed them to do everything they wanted .

“Then in attack we turned over way too much ball through very basic errors . I think we dropped the ball six times cold in their half.

“Credit to Norths though who had great energy and particularly Angus Sinclair who I thought controlled the game really well .

“We need to have a good look in the mirror because we have now conceded 120 points in three games which isn’t up to first grade standard let alone at team in the top six.”

Norths’ Connor Winchester did well in his first run on first grade game of the season while scrumhalf Duffy worked hard in defence and ran some excellent support lines in attack.

NORTHERN SUBURBS 41 (Nick Duffy 2, Reece Mau’u, Nathan Russell, Connor Winchester, Max Burey tries; Angus Sinclair 4 conversions, pen goal) d EASTWOOD 38 (Willie Leoso, Tim Anstee, Charles Granger, Patrick Sio, Matthew Gonzalez, Tim Simona tries; Tane Edmed 4 conversions)

SYDNEY UNI v WEST HARBOUR at Uni No.2 Oval

Sydney Uni survived a 17-point surge from West Harbour in the first half of the battle of the inner west to grab a 50-29 victory that sees the Students sit in second place on the Shute Shield competition table.

Uni had bounced out to a 14-0 lead early in the first half but Wests got their game into gear and posted tries to Dion Spice and James Turner along with a penalty goal and conversions to Patrick Pellegrini to grab a three point lead.

But the Students can take an opportunity and they worked their way back into the lead with tries to hooker Patrick O’Doherty and Jack McCalman restoring some sort of order.

They went further ahead just after the break with a try to Sevens flyer Angus Bell but a yellow card to James Armstrong invited the Pirates back into the contest.

Uni coach Michael Hodge said there was some great free flowing action throughout the 80 minutes.

“I was particularly happy with our forwards, who really stepped up against the very big and experienced West Harbour pack,” Hodge observed.

“There were some epic tries scored across the entire 80 minutes and I think will put us in good shape to take on Easts this weekend who were good against Souths at Forshaw.”

Wests coach Mark Gudmunson praised his side’s ability to work their way back into the contest.

“It was exactly as we thought, a well drilled team that would capitalise on West Harbour mistakes,” he said.

“But our ability to take a deep breath and stay with the plan was a big credit to how far we have come as a team and within the blink of an eye we were up 17-14.

“We got a few tough calls and Uni took advantage. We were really confident of a big second half and we threw everything at them.

“It ended up being three tries to two on the second stanza with some real exciting rugby played and the crowd at Uni was appreciative of the style of football played.”

Dion Spice was good in his 50th game for the club while the forward pack was strong and scrum very good and a real weapon.

Connor Chittenden and Justin Tavae both had strong games.

SYDNEY UNI 50 (Patrick O’Doherty, Jack McCalman, Hamish Dunbar, Angus Bell, James Armstrong, Tim Clements, Ben Carolan tries; Connor O’Shea 5 conversions) d WEST HARBOUR 29 (Dion Spice, Patrick Pellgrini, James Turner tries, penalty try; Pellegrini 2 conversions, pen goal)

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS v EASTERN SUBURBS at Forshaw Rugby Park

Eastern Suburbs dragged themselves into contention for a spot in the playoffs with a bonus point 57-19 win over Southern Districts on Saturday.

The Beasties sit just outside of the top six on 22 competition points and look to have got their game on a bit of a roll with the eight tries to three performance at the always hostile Forshaw.

They are a long way from being over the line with games against Sydney Uni, Randwick, and Manly to come in the final five weeks but there were suggestions of things being on the up.

Southern Districts continue to be hit by injuries with the club finding out late in the week that their back row find Harry McLennan forced into retirement following a neck injury and four of their starting pack earlier in the year including skipper Marcus Carbone gone for the season.

Easts coach Paul Taumoepeau said he would take a win of any sort against Souths at Forshaw.

“Souths at Forshaw are tough at any stage,” he said.

“It was a win that came from the wider first grade squad. We had a number of players step up and some guys from our reserve grade side come in and add value.

“Will Nicholls and Blake Rixon made their first grade debuts which was great.

“I thought we applied pressure for most part of the game through persistence in both attack and defence, that was pleasing.

“But I must admit that we got lucky a few times too.

“At the beginning of the last quarter Souths scored two back-to-back tries which had a familiar look about it after going through the vision of their last few games.

“But I’m happy we were able to keep attacking and were able to come up with more points from our end.”

Souths coach Todd Louden said the youthfulness of the playing group at Forshaw and the massive injury toll had taken its toll.

“We had an off day that for sure and I must say that Easts played very well and we just didn’t react and cope with what they were doing,” he said.

“In many ways we are a young club coming to terms with being consistent in our performances.

“I’m not surprised at the way that we have been up and down in our performances but we are working hard at making that line between good and bad a little bit flatter.

“We didn’t cope well emotionally with losing Harry (McLennan) because he is so well respected within the playing group and was playing such good footy.

“One thing this does do (there have been 45 players used in Shute Shield games this year) is create depth. The benefit may not come through this year but there will be an up side to it down the track.”

EASTERN SUBURBS 57 (James Donato 2, Sam Shires, Jack Grant 2, Richie Woolf, Sam Fogarty, Lindsey Stevens tries; Daniel Donato 7 conversions, pen goal) d SOUTHERN DISTRICTS 19 (Laurence Tominiki, Andrew Tuala, Nick Brown tries; Christian Kagiassis 2 conversions)

HUNTER WILDFIRES had the bye

IMAGE: ADAM MCDONALD / MANLY MARLINS