Norths and Hunter are four competition points clear of the remainder of the competition after both claiming important wins in round 13. 

Western Sydney also move into the top six, following a come from behind victory over Souths, while just two competition points seperate Randwick, Eastwood and Manly in third, fourth and fifth spots after a weekend of surprising results. 

Eastwood 28-27 Gordon

Eastwood scored fourteen unanswered points to take a one point lead over Gordon before the Stags missed a penalty goal with just minutes remaining in a nail biting 28-27 victory for Eastwood at TG Millner. 

The visitors opened the scoring when Gordon winger Will Terry chased down a perfectly weighted attacking box kick from Harrison Goddard, who was back wearing the No.9 jersey. 

Eastwood hit back with a try to centre Komiti Tuilagi who linked with flanker Nick Russell from the back of a maul to level the scores after 22 minutes. 

Gordon pushed ahead on the back of some brilliant counter attack from Oli Arcus. After swinging the ball from one sideline to the other, Arcus used speed to beat one defender, then bumped off another before passing to Joey Walton to score. 

Walton then threw a lovely cut out ball to set up Will Terry for his second try of the afternoon, before the Stags added a penalty goal to lead 22-7 at the break. 

Eastwood prop Will Leoso muscled his way over from close range two minutes into the second half, but Gordon pushed further ahead when John Akauola scored from the back of a driving maul, handing the Stags a 27-14 lead midway through the second half. 

Eastwood responded with a try to Pama Fou in the 68th minute, then took a one point lead five minutes later when James Weyland barged over from close range. 

Gordon regained possession off that kick off though and had a chance to win the match with a penalty attempt from 30 metres out and 15 metres in from the sideline. But that shot sailed wide and Eastwood held on for an important one point victory. 

Norths 25-22 Sydney Uni

Norths gave their minor premiership hopes a massive boost with a hard fought 25-22 victory over Sydney Uni. 

Uni opened the scoring when Theo Strang put Henry Clunies-Ross in space. Clunies-Ross then linked with George Poolman who scored the visitor’s first try. 

Norths hit back when Brodie Leber reached out and just found a white blade of grass, before Leber helped set up the try of the afternoon for Nick Duffy. 

Norths swung the ball wide and Leber did well to keep the play alive, offloading to Duffy in support. Duffy then produced a put down, worthy of an NRL winger, to score and hand his side a 12-8 lead. 

Uni retook the lead with a try from a driving maul, before Norths levelled the scores on the stroke of half time with a penalty goal. 

Leber was back in the action midway through the second half. After another half break, he offloaded nicely to Harry Burey who showed good pace to beat three Uni defenders and score. 

The Shoremen then kicked a penalty goal and led 25-15 with 15 minutes remaining. 

Uni weren’t done just yet though. As Norths looked to clear the ball out of their half, replacement Uni forward Mali Manukia took an intercept and linked with Hugh Bokenham who scored in the 73rd minute to reduce the deficit to just three points. 

The Students attacked in Norths’ territory for the majority of the final five minutes, but Norths’ defence and discipline held strong. Boston Kerapa eventually caused a turnover to seal an important 25-22 victory for the home side. 

Manly 14-14 Randwick

Manly and Randwick played out a fairly bizarre 14-all draw at Manly Oval in a result that could prove vital for both sides later this season. 

The two sides, known for their electric attack, were both kept scoreless for just about 60 minutes in a match played with finals like intensity, particularly in defence. 

After what seemed like 100 phases on Randwick’s line, replacement Manly prop Maka Mafileo scored the first try of the match from close range in the 60th minute, and would have been paying 151-1 for first tryscorer if anyone could find a market. 

New Manly recruit and former Leicester Tiger’s No.10 Tom Hardwick then put his stamp on the match. 

From inside his own half, Hardwick kicked cross field and found winger Fraser Toohey in space. The Marlins then worked play down to Randwick’s line before Hardwick threw a long ball to Wilson Dulieu on the opposite wing to give the home side a 14-0 lead with 13 minutes remaining. 

Randwick scored through Ben Houston in the 75th minute but both sides looked out on their feet. 

Trailing 14-7 inside the final minutes, Randwick moved the ball deep into Manly territory. 

Cormac Daly broke a tackle and got to within inches on the Manly try line, before replacement forward Cronan Gleeson eventually scored next to the posts seconds after the full time bell had rung. 

Andrew Deegan calmly slotted the simple conversion to seal a 14-14 draw at Manly Oval. 

Hunter 31-27 Warringah

Hunter survived an early and a late scare from Warringah but managed to hold on to record an important 31-27 victory over the 11th placed Rats in Newcastle. 

Warringah led 12-0 early following an early try scored off a big right foot step by centre Tyson Davis. Flanker Charlie McKill then crossed from the back of a maul, but may have been a little lucky to have been awarded the try after a questionable putdown. 

Hunter opened their account through Andrew Tuala who broke from the back of a well defended maul and scored. 

The two sides then exchanged penalty goals, giving Warringah a 15-10 lead at half time. 

Hunter took their first lead of the evening in the 45th minute when skipped Rob Puliuvea scored from close range. 

The Wildfires then claimed a 24-15 lead when Conor Winchester stepped his way through to score and all but sealed the victory with a try to Tom Watson in the 70th minute. 

Trailing 31-15, Warringah weren’t done with yet though. They scored two tries in two minutes through winger Jack Blain and prop Sateki Latu to reduce the deficit to 31-27 with minutes to play. 

But the Wildfires managed to hold on and secure second spot on the Shute Shield ladder. 

Western Sydney 28-18 Southern Districts 

Western Sydney have moved into the Shute Shield top six with a scrappy but important 28-18 bonus point victory over Southern Districts at The Eric. 

Souths opened the scoring with a penalty goal and had the Two Blues on the ropes early, when Isaac Ratumaitavuki-Kneepens found space and offloaded to winger Declan Mulcahy to score. 

Mulcahy then scored his second try in as many minutes when he took an intercept not long after the kick off and helped his side to an unlikely 15-0 lead. 

That seemed to wake the Two Blues though, who returned to their attacking best soon after. From near the halfway line, the Two Blues turned a half break into a great team try with brilliant support play seeing the ball spread through six sets of hands before Reece Suesue scored. 

Nemani Nadolo then attracted three defenders and threw a miracle flick pass to set up a Faiva Faiva try and reduce the deficit to one point in the 35th minute. 

Souths kicked a penalty goal on the stroke of half time to extend their lead to 18-14 but handed the Two Blues the opening points of the second half. 

The Rebels forwards conceded a penalty deep in their own territory and walked with their backs turned as Western Sydney No.9 Rilloy Suesue took a quick tap and scored untouched. 

Leading 21-18, the Two Blues dominated territory for the majority of the season half but Souths’ defence did improve. Replacement forward Josh Roberts eventually scored in the 78th minute to seal a 28-18 victory for the home side. 

West Harbour 31-27 Eastern Suburbs

West Harbour scored 14 unanswered points in the final 20 minutes to claim a 31-27 victory over Easts and keep their slim finals hopes alive. 

The Pirates opened the scoring in just the third minute when Josh Thompson scored on the back of a strong run from Justin Masters. 

Easts hit back when Ben Baker scored under the sticks from a quick tap and led 13-7 midway through the first half after two Nic Shannon penalty goals. 

Flyhalf Lachlan Bradford then slid through the Pirates’ defence and scored to give the visitors a 20-7 lead in the 35th minute. 

West Harbour responded with Josh Thompson scoring his second on the stroke of half time, then added a penalty goal early in the second half to reduce the deficit to just three points. 

But Easts pushed further ahead when Archie Gavin broke through and offloaded to hooker Julian Heaven to give Easts a 27-17 lead. 

Pirates’ skipper Max Clementson barged over from close range in the 60th minute to get his side back into the match. 

Before the Pirates took control through their set piece. West Harbour destroyed an Easts’ five-metre scrum inside the final five minutes and earned a scrum penalty. 

They then had the Easts’ scrum going backwards again moments later, but this time chose to pass to replacement back Vuate Karawalevu, who was too strong on front foot ball and scored to seal a 31-27 West Harbour victory.