EASTWOOD V GORDON at TG Millner Field

Winning the big games at this time of the season are all about converting chances and the simple art of defence.

That’s what Gordon did on Saturday in their much-hyped clash with Eastwood running out winners 15-7 in a game that had the healthy crowd at TG Millner on the edge of the seats from go to whoa.

The game gave us an insight into what we can expect when the finals roll into town come August.

Of course this one had an edge to it and you could tell from the way that Highlanders coach Dave Telfer fist pumped with his coaching staff that this meant a little bit more.

All during the week though he had played the straight bat.

You read all the stuff on this very website – we’ve moved on, it’s an important game, our preparation hasn’t changed.

But closing in on 5pm on Saturday it was apparent that it did mean something more to not only Telfer but to the players that followed him to Chatswood Oval from the Woodies.

The Highlanders led 15-0 at the break making the most of the two try scoring opportunities that presented themselves.

Hooker Siketi Tevao was the one who burrowed over for these opportunities so the expansive game that the Highlanders had thrived on was not on show.

That was all about the suffocating nature of the Eastwood defence and they managed to get themselves back in the game when Jay Legg scored from close range.

The Woodies did have chances to trim the lead a bit after the try but they continued to go for the try which in the end the Highlanders were able to repel.

Lachlan Shelley did have the chance too tighten things up at one stage in the second half but his penalty goal attempt went to the left of the uprights.

Brad Roderick-Evans was amongst the better Eastwood players but it was a day for the “fatties” and Legg, Evan Sheldon and hooker Max Stewart stood out.

Tevao was good at set piece as well as being in the right place at the right time for his double but Lachie Albert, Jack Hardy and Hugh Margin some of the better players for the visitors.

These two teams will likely come up against one another comes finals time and I for are looking forward to what the next contest brings.

It will unsoubtedly have us on the edge off our seats just like this one did on Saturday.

MANLY V SYDNEY UNI at Manly Oval

There is still time for Manly to make the Shute Shield playoffs but they may well live to regret a late penalty in their 48-40 loss to Sydney Uni on Saturday.

Bonus points will play a major role in who emerges from the mid competition table cluster to make the final six in 2026 with Tom Curtis’ after the bell three pointer a dagger to the heart of the Marlins.

Up until then the Marlins were very much in this one trailing by only the single score with two bonus points in the kit bag.

But the kick snuffed out one of those bonus points (a loss by seven points or less) and the Marlins now sit in ninth position two wins out of the top six.

It was close to a perfect winter afternoon for the encounter against the Students and the game delivered some bright moments from both sides.

The lead changed three times in the first half alone but Uni took the upper hand after the break and some good finishing from their back three got them home.

James McGregor at fullback had a great game in a contest that was always willing but filled with endeavour from both sides.

The try that Benji Joseland scored would have to go down as one of the better long range scores seen at the Village Green for some seasons.

McGregor snaffled the ball and fed it inside to Joseland who flirted with the defence in the cricket pitch area before breaking clear and scoring near the posts.

Uni now sit in fifth spot but the job is not done yet and they will continue to tread the tightrope for some weeks.

NORTHERN SUBURBS V WARRINGAH at North Sydney Oval

We’ve spoken about the individual brilliance that the Beasties have brought to the table in recent weeks but let’s not underestimate the value of a good combination when premiership favouritism is bantered about.

Warringah showed that in spades in their 29-15 win over Northern Suburbs on Saturday making the most of the opportunities that presented themselves in what was a tightly-contested affair.

Strategic recruitment and selection are an essential part of winning combinations and head coach Josh Holmes knows his way around this part of the job.

The recruitment of Hudson Creighton from the Brumbies and the emergence of flyhalf Sebastien Zaridze is a case in point.

The Rats have looked a little clunky in their attack in recent weeks but the presence of Creighton and Zaridze made a hell of a difference.

Skipper Ben Marr has been filling in at flyhalf in recent weeks following an injury to Byron Smith but he is best at the back and that’s the way it looked on Saturday at North Sydney Oval.

Things just ran a lot smoother with Zaridze in the No.10 jersey with his decision making getting his side into positions on the field where they could take advantage of their short game.

The Rats led 12-8 at the break but managed to get some separation on the scoreboard with two tries to Wes Thomas who looked like an edge “rugba league” backrower the way he ran on to the ball.

But Norths continued to chip away at things and a long range try to centre Nathan Russell got them to within a shout.

The yellow card to replacement scrum half Seamus Smith halted that progress but in the end a win to the Rats was the right result.

That keeps them on top of the competition table with some big games looming.

It will be an interesting next couple off weeks that is for sure.

RANDWICK V SOUTHERN DISTRICTS at Coogee Oval

The middle sections of the Shute Shield competition table are a dangerous place to be at the moment as the race for a playoff spot hots up.

Randwick would have travelled home from Woollahra Oval last weekend with their collective tail between their legs in the wake of their 47-7 whacking at the hands of Easts.

But what a difference a week makes as the Galloping Greens negotiated some contestable moments in the first half to record a 40-26 win over Southern Districts on Saturday.

The bonus point victory sees them sit in sixth spot on the ladder four points clear of the pursuing Hunter Wildfires and Northern Suburbs.

But as we all know with the middle section of the competition table so tight any thought of easing off the effort will be fatal.

The Wicks scored six tries and were able to dominate the collisions at the breakdown and that enabled many of their midfield men to call the shots.

Max Moore, Angus Houston and Isi Naisarani were the architects of that work and that gave more room to Felix Turinui and Jon Chan at inside centre to keep their side on the front foot.

There will be some MLR talent on its way back in coming weeks and it will be needed but the point of the game on Saturday was to restore balance and confidence in what they are doing.

There is a long way to go before the playoffs start but this was a signifi9cant win at home for the Galloping Greens.

Souths didn’t toss in the towel at any stage and defended stoutly while Blaise Barnes laid on a nice try (the first of the game) and scored one himself late in the game.

WS TWO BLUES V WEST HARBOUR at Eric Tweedale Stadium

The western Sydney derbies have been snarly, sometimes ponderous affairs in recent times but the Two Blues v West Harbour game on Saturday was high on skill and entertainment value.

The Two Blues would win 40-36 in a game that swept from one end of the field to the other from the first minute to the very last.

And it wasn’t just the running skills that were on show, many of the things that make rugby different were there as well with numerous scores from close to the line and lineout.

As we noted earlier the home team got the money in this one but it was the free running and speed of Wests winger Jeremiah Raniga that really caught the eye.

There’s not much padding on the frame of this bloke but he knows how to run in traffic and his efforts on the afternoon were rewarded with a hat-trick of tries.

Raniga’s just one of those talents that knows where to run at the right time and his speed off the mark bamboozled the Two Blues defence at different times.

His third try was a long range effort from a loose pass from the Two Blues and once he was in the clear it was time to put the binoculars down.

Elsewhere in the Pirates line-up Hunter Hannaford organised the game well from No.10 and kicked well while Bert Alcock made an impression at open side breakaway.

The Two Blues were missing Rod Iona and fullback Latrell Ah Kiong but were well served by Reece Sueseu, Christian Papa as well as Liam Lord and hooker Mesu Dolokoto.

They are only a big win away from playoff contention but in this competition anything is possible.

HUNTER WILDFIRES V EASTERN SUBURBS at Newcastle Sports Ground No.2

We spoke last week of Eastern Suburbs’ 20-game winning run at Woollahra Oval but it seems they are equally comfortable on the road if their 62-0 win over the Hunter Wildfires is any indication.

The grass in Newcastle was very real and the endeavour was there as the visitors put the Wildfires on the back foot right from the time they rolled another try in from a line out five minutes in on Saturday.

I was expecting this to be a hotly-contested game with Easts coming off the high of their big win against derby rivals Randwick but it was brush yourself off and rip in.

In the end they scored 10 tries, Jack Bowen kicked a truck load of goals, Otto Serfontein was dominant in the outside centre channel and Teddy Wilson had another super game.

The Wilson-Bowen combination at the moment is just about untouchable and they are dominating games in a manner that I haven’t see at Shute Shield level for many years.

There wasn’t anything too complicated in the way that the Beasties went about their work, they just ran into space, ran hard and tackled with an edge.

The defence I suspect would be the thing that the coaching group at Woollahra would be most pleased with.

The Wildfires are far from being a bum side but they just weren’t able to get into the game at any stage.

The score at halftime was 26-0 and Easts just continued on their way in the second stanza.

Finals footy is different and it will test this Easts side but the showdown with Warringah inn the big games will be well worth the price of admission.