Randwick were dominant in a bonus point win over Easts, Manly held off Norths, the Two Blues upset Uni, Gordon scored 28 points in 12 minutes to beat Eastwood, Hunter were too good for West Harbour and Souths held off Warringah in quite a strange weekend of Shute Shield action.

Catch up on all six matches in our review below:

Randwick 43-24 Eastern Suburbs

Randwick claimed bragging rights with a dominant performance in a 43-24 victory over Eastern Suburbs in the traditional Anzac weekend local derby. 

The Galloping Greens ran in four first half tries to lead 31-3 after 32 minutes. The home side scored from a driving maul first, then out wide through Christian Yassmin courtesy of two lovely long balls from Coby Miln and Zac Carr. 

Randwick then scored two tries in two minutes against the run of play from an almost identical position. 

Easts coughed up the ball twice from an attacking lineout on the 22-metre line, allowing Randwick to race away to score consecutive five pointers and establish a match winning lead. 

Easts scored on either side of the break, both times capitalising on a dominant scrum, and reduced the deficit to 14 points. 

But Randwick ended hopes of a comeback quickly, earning a penalty try, then scoring from a beautiful backline set play to push away to a 43-17 lead. 

Easts scored a late consolation but the final 43-24 scoreline perhaps flattered the visitors. 

Randwick and Easts sit fifth and sixth on a tight Shute Shield ladder, both level on 11 competition points. 

Manly 29-24 Northern Suburbs

Manly held on in the final minutes to claim a second straight nail biting victory in front of their home fans, defeating Norths 29-24 to move within one competition point of the top of the Shute Shield ladder. 

Manly and Norths both ran in two tries in the opening 20 minutes, with Norths scoring through wingers Seb Cameron and Ratu Tagive and Manly returning serve with two tries from driving mauls to level the scores at 10-a piece.  

The Marlins took a lead to the half time break when winger Yool Yool, moments after saving a try at the opposite end, latched on to a perfect cross field kick from flyhalf Robbie McIntosh. 

The home side then jumped out to a 29-10 lead in the 50th minute with two quick tries. 

Impressive centre Ofa Manuofetoa scored in the 43rd minute from close range, before the Marlins’ forwards caught the Shoremen napping at lineout time and crossed from a cheeky driving maul. 

Norths refused to go away through and fought their way back into the contest with two maul tries and trailed by just five points in the 74th minute. 

With just two minutes remaining, the Shoremen again attacked the Manly line and were unlucky not to receive a penalty for what looked to be a collapsed maul. 

Young Manly No.7 Zac Barnabas then claimed a crucial pilfer two phases later to win back possession and seal a thrilling 29-24 victory for the Marlins 

Hunter 34-21 West Harbour

Hunter consolidated their spot at the top end of the Shute Shield ladder, beating West Harbour 34-21 to claim the Wildfires’ third straight victory at home in Newcastle. 

The home side led 10-0 early following two tries scored on the same edge. Alex Pohla created space for Issac Ulberg to score his side’s first try before Donny Freeman did it all himself minutes later.

West Harbour hit back with a try to Prez Tufuga from close range, but the big Pirates’ pack had a hard time matching the physicality of Hunter, particularly at scrum time. 

Hunter No.8 Tiueti Asi finished off a pushover try to extend his side’s lead in the 33rd minute, before Alex Pohla scored a brilliant individual five pointer from inside his own half, again attacking off clean front foot ball provided by the Hunter forwards. 

Hunter led 24-7 at the break, and while West Harbour continued to fight, the result was never really in doubt. 

Callum Sirker scored twice for the Pirates in the second half to add some respectability to the scoreline, but a try to Hunter winger Deon Evans-Ao, again off a dominant scrum, sealed the result in Newcastle. 

Western Sydney 33-17 Sydney Uni

Western Sydney defeated Sydney Uni on Saturday for the second time in two seasons, scoring five tries to claim a 33-17 bonus point win over the defending premiers at Eric Tweedale Stadium. 

The Two Blues opened the scoring through lock Paula Waqa before the Uni forwards hit back scoring from a driving maul, then through lock Luke Ratcliff to claim a 12-5 lead. 

Western Sydney responded quickly though and took a 14-12 lead to the break following a nice backline play that led to a try in the corner after passing through five sets of hands. 

In the second half, the Two Blues’ forwards stepped up their aggression and physicality and the outside backs capitalised. 

Faiva Faiva showed great speed and strength to score down a tight short side to extend his side’s lead, before centre Sitiveni Moceidreke used his footwork to give the Two Blues a 26-12 advantage. 

Uni hit back through winger Sepesa Loga-Tarogi to reduce the deficit to 9 points in the 67th minute, but Western Sydney sealed the result when Moceidreke scored his second on the back of some brilliant counter attack that saw the ball spread from one sideline to the other. 

After losing their opening three matches by eight points or less, the Two Blues are now just one win outside the top six. Uni are one competition point ahead of Western Sydney in eighth spot. 

Gordon 45-28 Eastwood

Gordon scored 28 points in a dramatic final 12 minutes to claim a 45-28 victory over Eastwood at a wet and boggy Chatswood Oval. 

Eastwood led 13-10 following a tight first half but gifted Gordon the lead when they dropped the second half kick off allowing Brandon Quinn to score just 14 seconds after the break. 

Eastwood scored two tries in five minutes, both from close range, early in the second half to reclaim a 25-17 lead. 

But the drama was just getting started. 

With 12 minutes on the clock, Gordon attacked deep in Eastwood territory. Stags No.9 Harry Emery looked to have set up a certain try when he passed to an open Brandon Quinn on the touchline but Eastwood lock Fritz Jahnke-Tavana knocked the ball down to stop the play. 

That turned a five point try and a sideline conversion into an automatic seven points and left Eastwood with 14 players for most of the remaining minutes. 

The Woodies kicked a penalty goal to push out to a 28-24 lead but play quickly returned deep into Eastwood territory. 

A Gordon maul was collapsed near the Eastwood try line, resulting in another penalty try and another yellow card. 

Against 13 men, the Stags then scored down the short side through Oli Arcus in the 77th minute, then from an intercept through Ola Tauelangi in the 83rd minute to claim a fairly remarkable 17-point win. 

Southern Districts 21-17 Warringah

Southern Districts handed Warringah their fourth straight defeat to start the 2023 season in a tight but strange fixture at Forshaw. 

Warringah dominated possession deep in Rebels’ territory for the majority of the first half but a combination of good Southern Districts’ defence and poor Warringah execution kept the scoreboard attendant quiet. 

Souths capitalised on their few opportunities in the first half though. 

19-year old Jackson Ropata broke tackles to set up a try for Gavin Wood in the 15th minute, then scooped up a Seb Wileman mistake on the halfway line and ran untouched to give his side an unlikely 14-0 lead at the break. 

Warringah hit back with a driving maul try 10 minutes into the second half, but Souths again found a way to score points against the run of play. 

With the Rebels scrum going backwards, fullback Issac Ratumaitavuki-Kneepens found space on the short side and kicked downfield. Ropata then out sprinted Aussie 7s gun Ben Marr to score his second try and give Souths a 21-5 lead. 

Marr and Esera Chee Kam set up a good try from counter attack in the 70th minute to get the Rats back in the game. 

Then when Rats’ winger Sonny Meleisia scored in the corner in the 77th minute, suddenly it was a 21-17 ball game with two minutes on the clock. 

Souths squandered several chances to close out the match, allowing Warringah to attack the Rebels’ line for several minutes after the full time siren. 

But a Warringah mistake helped the Rebels hold on to an important 21-17 victory. 

Souths are 2-2 after the opening month but sit outside the top six. Warringah are still winless in 2023.