Believe it or not, we’re already at the halfway point of the 2019 Shute Shield regular season. After nine rounds, four competition separates the top four sides, while there’s just three competition points between fifth and ninth. We checked in with all Shute Shield coaches to find out what they’ve thought of the season so far and what they’re expecting in the months ahead. Photo: Serge Gonzalez Ben Batger: Eastwood - 1st (32pts, 6 wins) How would you describe your start to the season? Are you where you thought you would be at this point of the year? “We’ve put ourselves in a good position and hopefully after this round at the halfway point, we’ll be in the top four which was our goal at the start of the year,” Batger told Rugby News.  “Having said that we aren’t where we should be as team. A few results have gone our way which has helped our position on the ladder. We have high standards and expectations and we haven’t met those yet.  “