West Harbour and Manly both claimed impressive wins in round 11, while Warringah, Gordon and Easts also posted victories. 

We spoke to the coaches to get the inside word from the weekend’s matches. 

Photo: JB Photograhy

West Harbour 40-37 Northern Suburbs

West Harbour flyhalf Tiaan Swanepoel kicked a drop goal after the full time siren to help his side claim a three point win over Norths after fighting back from 17 points down late in the match. 

Norths looked to have the game wrapped up following tries to wingers Nuno Sausa Gudes and Nathan Russell but the Pirates refused to go away. 

With their season close to being on the line, the home side scored three back to back tries to take an unlikely lead in the final minutes. 

Angus Sinclair kicked a field goal to put Norths back in front, but Swanepoel returned the favour after the full time siren to seal a famous win at Concord. 

“I want to say it was all part of the plan,” a very relieved West Harbour coach Mark Gudmunson said. 

“We thought we’d get some opportunities late in the game when space opened up around their forward defending in the backline. 

“But we didn’t think it would take until the 70th minute. In saying that, we always had a good feeling that with decent ball, we could score quickly.”

Gudmunson said fitness and respect for the ball proved the difference for his side and seemed confident that Wests will continue to climb up the ladder. 

“Teams think they’re fitter than us generally but I know we outlasted Norths on Saturday,” he said. 

“We need to get grounded again and focus on Randwick next week. With the bye the following week, that game is crucial for us. 

“Last week will count for nothing if we don’t back it up this weekend.”

Manly 27-21 Sydney Uni

Manly have fought back from 21-10 down to claim an impressive bonus point win over Sydney Uni and secure their spot in the top six. 

For the second straight week, the Marlins found their best late in the match, scoring three back to back tries through Beaudein Waaka, Alex Humfry and Kotoni Ale. 

“I’ve been fortunate to have had a lot of success against Uni over the years but I’ve also had my tail kicked by them quite a few times as well,” Manly coach Billy Melrose said. 

“There are certain things that you have to do that are non negotiable against them and we were able to stick at it, then change the flow of the match late in the game.

“There was nothing in it. Uni were very good in the first half, clinical in their finishing and they had a few opportunities to finish us off. But we found a way to hold on at crucial times.”

After a horror run of injuries, Melrose has blooded a number of debutants in 2019 but said his new look backline finally clicked in the second half. 

“Confidence is important and the boys are starting to know the bloke next to them a bit, which is important in the clutch moments.”

Kotoni Ale, Nic Holton and Sam Lane all made impressive cameos off the bench and Melrose said it’s going to get harder and harder to pick his starting XV each week. 

“We got a couple back from injury and we should get a few more back in the coming weeks but we also lost a couple of good ones, you’ve just got to get on with it.

“If they boys there at the moment keep improving, they might be hard to shift.”

Warringah 49-24 Western Sydney

Warringah jumped into top spot on the Shute Shield ladder after claiming a fairly comfortable 49-24 win over Western Sydney. 

The Rats scored seven tries including a double to young No.8 Luke Reimer in their seventh straight win. 

The Two Blues scored two late tries through prop Kalafi Ponga and centre Trent Winterstein, but the result never really looked in doubt. 

While the Hillbillies will be growing in confidence with every Warringah win, we should get a better indication of the Rats’ premiership credentials after matches against Easts, Uni and Norths in the coming weeks. 

Gordon 19-17 Randwick

Gordon held off a late charge from Randwick to claim a hard fought 19-17 win at Chatswood in another game that almost got away from them. 

The Stags led from the opening whistle, thanks to a double to hooker Mahe Vailanu but were forced to watch nervously as Randwick flyhalf Bryan Croke attempted a 48 metre penalty goal after the full time siren. 

Fortunately for the home fans, the kick missed and the Stags held on for a tight victory that leaves them just one win outside of the top six. 

“If that kick had of gone over, I’m not sure how I could have got the boys up again after another tight loss,” coach Darren Coleman told Rugby News. 

“Our defence has been a feature of our game all year and it won us the game on Saturday. We restricted them to one try in open play (Randwick also scored from a scrum penalty try) and defended well all day, including some tough goal line stands and a 25+ phase effort at the end.

“Hopefully that bit of luck at the end, heading into a bye next week, is a bit of a turning point and we can launch an attack towards the playoffs from here.”

Gordon’s first grade side aren’t the only big improvers at Chatswood this year. The club is now second behind Sydney Uni on the Club Championship ladder.  

Eastern Suburbs 34-26 Southern Districts

Easts claimed a scrappy 34-26 win over Southern Districts at Woollahra on Saturday to break a two match losing streak and secure a spot in the top six. 

The Beasties jumped out of the gates brilliantly and led 17-0 following tries to Archie Hall and Will Paterson. 

Souths hit back with two tries to flanker Sam Latunipulu in his return to first grade but Easts had too much class in the second half. 

While Souths didn’t go away and scored through Denny Godinet to reduce the deficit to five points late in the match, a penalty goal to Dan Donato sealed the result for the home side. 

“We’ll take the five points but we’ll also take away a lot of lessons on how not to play,” Easts coach Pauli Taumoepeau said. 

“It’s consecutive weeks now that we’ve started the game on fire, then battled away for the next 80 minutes.”

Following the win, Easts are three points clear of Gordon in seventh spot but face Warringah and Manly in the coming weeks ahead of a bye in round 14. 

“It’s a good match to win. I was happy with parts of our game, it’s not all bad but we just looked disjointed. 

“We need to improve out decision making heading into the backend of the season. We’re creating plenty of opportunities but we’re not making the right decisions from there.”

Souths’ finals chances look all but over after an eighth straight loss, while Easts will likely welcome back a number of Waratahs following the end of the Super Rugby regular season.