By Mark Cashman; Image Karen Watson

MANLY V WARRINGAH at Manly Oval

Good sides know when to put the foot down to maximise their advantage and the case in point is Warringah’s 42-13 win over Manly in the big northern beaches derby on Saturday.

In front of a packed out crowd the Rats rode the ups and downs of the first half in this always spirited game to make it three wins from their last three derby encounters.

Case in point was midway through the second half where Zac Barnabas snaffled a penalty over the ball deep in their territory with the Rats ahead just 28-24 and the Marlins very much in the contest.

Skipper Ben Marr quickly got his hands on the ball for a tap and go from the penalty, got his side at the right end of the field and from the breakdown Manly’s Joe Dillon was yellow carded.

The ball from the ensuing lineout went to the left edge and with the home side running out of troops Marr touched down to the delight of his teammates.

Jackson Ropata added to the Rats delight in this 107th derby but Manly hit back to keep within the postcode of their rivals with a late try to Daveo Teoteo, the match result though was pretty much done and dusted.

The Marlins did lead 24-14 at the break but there was always an inevitability that the Rats were coming and coming hard.

They remain undefeated after three rounds of the Shute Shield and it must be said that they are the best side in the competition at this point in time.

Lots of good performers part from Marr and Barnabas with Clayton Frans and Byron Smith major contributors.

This is one of the great days of club rugby in Australia and as such it should be cherished and nurtured.

One could say that the Marlins are laughing all the way to the banks with their hospitality and entry receipts but I’m sure they would consider trading at least some of that for a victory in the derby.

GORDON V RANDWICK at Chatswood Oval

Three second half tries powered Gordon to significant 31-28 victory over Randwick at the ground that nobody says they like on Saturday.

There’s been plenty of online chatter about Chatswood Oval in the last month with visiting sides complaining about everything from the condition of the grass to the visiting change room’s plumbing and lack of Feng Shui.

As Gordon skipper Milan Basson told colleague Jon Geddes late last week: “I think it is great. They are talking about the facilities, but our goal is to give them another reason to dislike going there – and that is with our performance.”

The visiting team went into the break with a 21-12 lead and seemingly confident in the way that they were handling the big moments in this one.

Waratahs squad prop Jack Barrett along with scrum half Mitch Short were the standouts for the Wicks with Barrett laying on and scoring one five pointer himself while Short gave oodles of energy and urgency to general play.

But once the teams emerged from those dastardly dressing rooms it was a completely different story, the home side took the high ground and scored some nice tries.

All the talk around the Highlanders has been about the influx of players from Eastwood but the major contributor on Saturday was a man from Warringah Conor Hickey.

He was sharp laying on a number of tries and helping the Highlanders play there game at the right end of the field.

Helping on his way was un heralded backrower Tom Horan who scored a nice try, had a try assist and generally was a real pest, much like his father Tony.

So at the end of the day Randwick still don’t like playing at Chatswood Oval but it’s got little to do with “facilities”.

EASTERN SUBURBS V EASTWOOD at Woollahra Oval

A five-try second half has powered Eastern Suburbs to an impressive 49-16 win over Eastwood and maintain their undefeated start to the 2026 Shute Shield season on Saturday.

The two teams were within touching distance of each other at halftime at 21-19 but the Beasties powered away to grab a bonus point victory and top spot on the ladder, just ahead of Warringah on averages.

Easts are making Woollahra something of a fortress and they were powered to great things by the efforts of the likes of Connor Tupai, skipper Josh Bokser, winger Ollie Dawkins and scrum half Jack Bowen.

Bowen’s role was significant yet underplayed with the Waratahs squad No.10 keeping his side on the front foot with ball in hand and scoreboard ticking over with his kicking from the tee.

The Beasties domination was helped along by Bowen’s seven from eight kicking performance with those sort of points introducing tension into the scoreboard which is always handy.

For the Woodies they were best served by fullback Isaac Crowe, who has game changing pace and scrum half Tom Goddard as well as flyhalf Brad Roderick-Evans.

I’m sure if Woodies coach Anthony Griffin had been offered a two from three start to the season in March he would have jumped at the chance.

They have shown a willingness to stay in games and that is going to make them big contenders for a playoff spot as the season gets into it’s funk.

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS V HUNTER WILDFIRES at Forshaw Rugby Park

It’s the longest road trip in the Shute Shield and I’m sure the “craic” would have been great on the bus trip home as the Hunter Wildfires sneaked their way to a 31-28 win over Southern Districts on Saturday.

The long range, game pitching penalty came from the Wildfires fullback John Porch after settling in the Hunter after time in Ireland with Connacht and France.

This correspondent didn’t know about Porch’s ability from the kicking tee but he nailed this one pretty well and silenced the rollicking crowd at Forshaw with the final act of the game.

Before that the game was very much thrust and parry with the Wildfires getting a five pointer on the board before the home team would return serve.

Souths were best served by scrumhalf John Poland and centre Cam McKenzie, who looks like a series talent while Hunter enjoyed the work of hooker Andrew Tuala and winger Brian Palmer.

The Wildfires rode the ups and downs in the first 40 minutes and were up 21-14 at the break but within minutes of the resumption it was all tied up again when goal line pressure saw Hopoate Finau over in the corner.

Souths did hit the front with a try to Mitieli Tuinakauvadra only for Sau Vaihu to level it up and set the scene for Porch to step up with the final play of an absorbing game.

SYDNEY UNI V WS TWO BLUES at University No.2 Oval

Sydney Uni made a statement of intent and the WS Two Blues were given a major reality check in the wake of the Students 50-12 win on Saturday.

Most pundits felt that the home side would be pushed all the way by the Two Blues but it was apparent after the first half that the Students were well and truly on and hungry for tries.

The good Uni sides of the more recent past have been pragmatic combine actions that loved squeezing the life out of the opposition but when Rugby News spoke to Uni boss John Manenti in the pre-season he was keen to settle on a new style.

A style that best suited the talent that he had at hand and I think that that new style stuck its head up over the parapet on the weekend.

In the end Uni scored seven tries to the Two Blues two and bossed the visitors around for much of the afternoon.

Declan Moore, Eddie Poolman (with two tries), Hwi Sharples, Harry Potter and James McGregor stood out for Uni with standouts hard to pin down on the Two Blues side off the equation.

The early exchanges were executed with some pace and precision for Uni and the home side went to the break with a 24-10 lead.

The second half followed much of the same road map with the half century attend late in the piece.

Of some concern for the Two Blues was a couple of heavy losses that their lower grade teams sustained with their fourth grade conceding 109 points.

NORTHERN SUBURBS V WEST HARBOUR at North Sydney Oval

On one level it was “mission accomplished’ but in many ways the manner in which it was executed was far from satisfying for Northern Suburbs as they defeated West Harbour 28-17 on Saturday.

Norths’ bonus point victory got the first tick in the win column for the season and pushed them up the competition table after starting the day in 12th spot, yes stone, motherless last.

But there wouldn’t have been too much joy in the rooms afterwards and I’m sure there will be lots to pull apart when the times comes this week to review the performance in detail.

Norths bounced out to 14-0 lead early with tries to Callum Sirker and Tom Everard and a major boost to their for and against looked very much on the cards but Wests finally got their hands on the ball and by the time halftime loomed were less than a couple of tries away from the lead at 14-5.

Then immediately after the break Wests continued to run the hard lines and were rewarded with a game tightening try to Will McDonald.

That prodded Norths into action and they added some nice tries to fullback Shane Wilcox and then skipper George Thornton for the bonus point.

The game marked James Margan’s 100th first grade game and he was busy throughout in his way but the red and black game managers were far too east-west when they needed to be north-south.

But as they say a win’s a win!