Warringah and Hunter held true to form, not budging from their places on top of the Shute Shield ladder. 

A dominant win for Eastern Suburbs bumps them up to third, equal on points with Randwick who climb from seventh.

But a draw sees both Gordon and Eastwood fall to fifth and sixth, with just four points separating the top six at the end of round five. 

Randwick 31-28 West Harbour

West Harbour were unlucky not to get their first win of the season, going down by just three points to Randwick at Concord Oval.

It was an all-too-common start for the home side, with Wicks kicking off the scoring after just 67 seconds through no.8 Isi Naisarani.

But Wests weren’t disheartened, getting their first try of the day as a kick through from Matthew Whelan was toed ahead by Drew Sellers for himself to score. 

Randwick then turned on the pressure, starting with Hamish Comonte who broke the line in his own 22 and beat everyone to add yet another five pointer to his season tally. 

Two rolling mauls saw the visitors pick up their bonus point before half time, but the Pirates were able to close the gap slightly through Whelan to head into the sheds 12 points behind. 

An early try from set piece gave Wests plenty to play for in the second half, as they threw everything at the Wicks and kept them without score for nearly 25 minutes.

It was replacement Oliver Adkins who finally found the line for the Myrtle Green late in the half, burrowing his way through the tight Pirates defence to extend the Wicks’ lead to 10 points.

The home side were able to put themselves within three with a late try, but had to settle for two losing bonus points as Randwick ran down the clock.

Warringah 48-47 Western Sydney 

In a genuine game of two halves, Western Sydney relinquished a 23-point lead at half time to lose by just one at Rat Park.

If any Two Blues fans had money on their side to bring five points back from Warringah, they’d have been counting their winnings early as the visitors raced away with 26 unanswered points in as many minutes. 

Tries to Hosea Saumaki, Fionn Clifford and Rilloy Suesue, along with a yellow card penalty try, meant things couldn’t have got much worse for the home side in the first half. 

Phil Potgieter eventually got the Rats off the duck, but when Coby Miln’s conversion was charged down, no one would have blamed the Warringah fans if they made for an early exit. 

Both sides dotted down again as the half came to a close, with Western Sydney strong favourites at the break, holding a 33-10 lead. 

Two yellow cards for the visitors when play restarted gave Warringah plenty of opportunity to claw their way back, and they started to build momentum when Jackson Ropata found himself unmarked on the right wing. 

Despite being down two men, Two Blues grabbed another try as no.8 Tovo Faleafa took it back to age grade rugby, picking up from the back of a five-metre scrum and running over three defenders for his first of the day.

But still feeling the effects of the sin bin, Western Sydney couldn’t keep up their defensive scramble, letting Warringah run in three unanswered tries to bring the gap back to just two points.

A penalty to Miln gave the Rats the lead for the first time, before replacement Malachi Tia leapt over the ruck with a few minutes left to give his side even more room to breathe. 

Two Blues took final points as the bell rang, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win in what finished as an absolute coach killer for the visitors.

Eastern Suburbs 66-5 Manly 

A star-studded Eastern Suburbs side put Manly to the sword, as Wallaby Darby Lancaster ran in five tries to celebrate Ladies Day at Woollahra Oval. 

Five Waratahs lined up in Easts’ starting fifteen, as Ben Batger’s men looked to improve on their disappointing display against Randwick last week. 

And improve they did, taking first points through prop Reon Lowery after just three minutes. 

Manly showed plenty of promise early on, as winger Charlie Powell was on the receiving end of a chip over the top by Riaihe Jacobs to get the Marlins on the board. 

But that would be the last of the visitors’ points for the day, as the Beasties turned it on for a packed crowd on the biggest day in their social calendar. 

Lancaster’s haul, which included two intercept tries, gave fans plenty to shout about as the Waratahs flyer turned the Manly defence on their head. 

The Marlins now sit just one point above bottom on the ladder, while Easts move up to within two points of top spot. 

Gordon 33-33 Eastwood

Off the back of two losses last week, both Gordon and Eastwood were eager to get back to their winning ways in round five. But they couldn’t be split, with scores all locked up on the final whistle at Chatswood Oval. 

A Gordon maul just five minutes into the game gave the home side the advantage early, with hooker Ryan Jackson the man to add another try to his tally. 

But Eastwood hit back straight away in very similar fashion, this time with Jackson’s opposite number in Jayden Henderson coming up with the spoils for his first of the day. 

And the start set the tone for most of the match, as it turned into a classic arm wrestle with both sides adding further points to leave little separating them, and a half time scoreline of 19-14 in favour of the Woods. 

They extended their lead early in the second 40, coming out of the blocks in lighting fashion off the kick off. Simple hands out wide put Isaac Crowe into space, who kicked ahead to gift Michael Stringer five points. 

Then some individual brilliance from Gordon playmaker Conor Hickey shifted momentum in favour of the Highlanders, leading to three unanswered tries in 15 minutes to take the lead.

Gordon may have held on for the win had it not been for some poor discipline by try scorer Tristan Fuli, who spent the end of the game in the sin bin for a late tackle.

The Woods capitalised on the overlap through Lachlan Shelley on the right wing, with the conversion locking it all up with a few minutes left to play.

The home side attempted to launch one final desperate attack on the Eastwood 22 metre line, but a knock on in the ruck saw the referee call time and leave both sides deflated with the first draw of the 2025 season.

Hunter 48-34 Sydney Uni 

Not even a four-try haul for hooker Declan Moore was enough to give Sydney Uni the win in Newcastle, going down by 14 points in a top of table clash.

Both sides looked impressive from the outset, with neither able to crack through strong defensive lines in the first 10 minutes. But a kick charged down by Hunter fullback Jack Evenden eventually broke the stalemate, as he toed it through and fell on the ball for his first of the day. 

Then it became a battle of the set piece, with two maul tries apiece dominating the half.

Moore grabbed his hat-trick just before the break with a clever pick and go, and a Wildfires penalty made it a two-point ball game at drinks. 

Uni fullback James Kane became the only other player in his side to score when play restarted, shrugging off three would-be defenders to sneak through on the right wing. 

But the home side hit back almost immediately through their own fullback Evenden, who secured his second from a well-worked play at scrum time.

The Students looked as though they may run away with it when Moore busted through the line from the base of the ruck and finished with a swan dive for his fourth in what was every front rower’s dream. 

But Hunter weren’t prepared to end their winning streak, as they added another 17 points to finish the game, with an intercept try to backrower Daniel Maiava adding the final nail to Uni’s coffin.

The loss sees Sydney Uni drop out of the top six, while the Wildfires hold their spot in second. 

Northern Suburbs 33-17 Southern Districts 

Northern Suburbs fly half Matt Minogue orchestrated a solid performance for last year’s grand finalists, with another bonus point win bringing his side within one point of the top six. 

The playmaker picked up first points of the day, stepping through the defensive line to dive over under the posts. 

Southern Districts’ only try of the half came a few minutes later as their power up front proved too much for the Norths pack, splintering the defence with a well-executed drive from the lineout.

But the Norths forwards weren’t to be outdone, with openside Marshall Le Maitre getting his first of two from the middle of a rapidly moving maul. 

Minogue then showed more class at North Sydney Oval, sending a two-man cut-out ball over the top to put winger Reece Mau’u over in the corner and giving his side an 11-point lead at the break. 

Two more tries at lineout time extended the lead for the Shoremen, but an excellent combination in the halves saw Canadian Mark Balaski cross under the black dot to give Souths a sniff. 

The Rebels had plenty of attacking opportunities after half time, however strong defensive sets from the home side continued to repel them without reward. 

Even when Norths’ replacement James Margan was sent from the field with 10 minutes to go, the visitors were unable to turn the advantage into points. 

Southern Districts remain on five points, sitting 10th on the Shute Shield ladder, with the gap between the bottom three and the rest of the competition increasing to eight.