Southern Districts caused a massive upset in Newcastle, handing Hunter their second loss of the season. 

Elsewhere, Gordon, Manly, Eastwood, Randwick and Norths all consolidated their spots in the top six with wins over teams below them on the ladder. 

Southern Districts 26-19 Hunter

Previously last placed Southern Districts caused the upset of the round, beating competition leaders Hunter 26-19, in the Wildfires first loss in Newcastle this season. 

Hunter looked at their barnstorming best early and opened the scoring when flyhalf Conor Winchester scored on the back of a dominant five metre scrum. 

But as they would continue to do all night, Southern Districts made metres out wide through their exciting backline, before used patience and power in tight to score through their forwards. Flanker Archie Hosking scored the Rebels’ first from close range to level the scores after 20 minutes. 

Hunter regained the lead with a penalty try from a five metre scrum, but Souths responded to level the scores at the half time break. This time, flyhalf Cooper Hansen broke a tackle close to the line to score after an impressive backline move. 

Souths winger Maui Wallace used his footwork to score three minutes into the second half, but Hunter responded with a try from a driving maul to level the scores. 

Hosking then scored his second try for the visitors from close range, which Cooper Hansen converted from the sideline to give the Rebels a 26-19 lead with 15 minute remaining. 

Hunter had plenty of opportunities to hit back in the closing stages, but a combination of poor execution and some desperate Southern Districts’ defence helped the Rebels hold on for a morale boosting win. 

Gordon 41-28 Sydney Uni

Gordon scored four consecutive second half tries to set up an impressive 41-28 victory over Sydney Uni, highlighted by hat-tricks to both scrumhalf Harrison Goddard and try thief Thomas Maka.

Uni started well and led 14-0 after nine minutes following tries to Simon Kennewell and Tas Smith, but Gordon quickly responded and crossed twice from close range through Maka then Goddard to level the scores. 

Maka then added his second of the afternoon from the back of a driving maul to give the Stags a 19-14 lead at the break. 

Uni took the lead early in the second half following a try to Jack McCalman but from that point on, Gordon took control. 

The Stags spread the ball to Maka, seagulling on the wing, for his seventh try in two weeks. The visitors then jumped out to a 36-21 lead following two tries from the base of the ruck to nippy No.9 Harrison Goddard. 

Uni turned to young centre Ronan Leahy to get the home side back in the match. Leahy broke the Gordon defence and was tackled inside his attacking 22 but was friendless at the breakdown. 

Gordon winger Oli Arcus then stole the ball cleanly and ran 80 metres to score and seal the victory for Gordon. 

Northern Suburbs 24-15 Eastern Suburbs 

Norths bounced back from last week’s disappointing loss to Hunter to beat Easts 24-15 at North Sydney Oval. 

In a tight and gritty match, both sides kicked penalty goals early before Easts scored through a driving maul to claim an 8-3 lead. 

Norths hit back through Boston Kerepa who found space on the edge to give his side a 10-8 lead, then pushed further ahead following a try to hooker James Margan. 

After a long period of possession deep in Easts’ territory, Margan scooted from the base of the ruck and scored untouched against the tiring Beasties defence to give his side a 17-8 lead at the break. 

Both sides blew opportunities close to their lines in a mostly scoreless second half. 

In the 75th minute, Norths flanker Luke Gersekowski scooped up a loose pass from Easts and offloaded to Nathan Russell, who scored to seal the result against the run of play. 

Easts crossed late through replacement winger Ben Baker, but it wasn’t enough to impact the result. 

Manly 36-22 Western Sydney 

Doubles to prop Ivan Fepule’ai and winger Yool Yool proved the difference in Manly’s 36-22 victory over the Two Blues at Granville. 

The visitors started quickly, scoring from a driving maul, then through Yool Yool to claim a 10-0 lead before the Two Blues hit back through Faiva Faiva to reduce the deficit to five points at half time. 

The two sides traded five pointers from close to their line early in the second half, before Manly winger Cole Swannack snatched an intercept and ran 60 metres to score against the run of play and give Manly a 22-10 lead. 

Two Blues’ replacement prop Ratu Nasiganiyavi scored from close to the line to reduce the deficit to 5 points with 13 minutes remaining, but Western Sydney looked out of puff. 

Against a tired and retreating defensive line, Ivan Fepule’ai scooted from the base of the ruck to score his second, before Yool Yool ran around Nemani Nadolo to score and claim a 36-15 lead. 

Ratu Nasiganiyavi scored his second try late in the match, but it was Manly’s afternoon at Eric Tweedale Stadium. 

Eastwood 61-44 Warringah

Eastwood outscored Warringah six tries to two in the second half to claim a 66-41 victory in a try-a-thon at TG Milner in a match that had just about everything, except for any decent defence. 

Warringah started brilliantly and led 19-0 after 10 minutes following three consecutive tries. 

But Eastwood worked their way back into the match and levelled the scores late in the first half at 26-all, thanks to two penalty tries from dominant attacking mauls. 

Warringah scored through their maul just before the break and crossed again through Ben Marr early in the second half to lead 36-33 after 45 minutes. 

But Eastwood dominated most of the second half. 

The Woodies forwards combined nicely down the short side to set up Dan Stovold for a five pointer, then pushed further ahead following a try to prop Adrian Brown. 

While Warringah continued to fight and reduced the deficit to just six points midway through the second half, Eastwood crossed for three tries in the final 15 minute to seal victory in a match that featured 17 five-pointers and just a handful of tackles. 

Randwick 22-19 West Harbour

Randwick scored one of the tries of the season from deep inside their own half to set up a 22-19 victory over West Harbour at Concord and claim their third straight win. 

Both sides scored tries from driving mauls in a tight first half, with West Harbour taking a 7-5 lead to the break. 

Randwick started quickly in the second half and took the lead, with a try to lock Cormac Daly just minutes after a yellow card to a West Harbour forward. 

But with a man still in the bin, the Pirates responded and took a 14-12 lead after Damien Fleming crossed from close range. 

With the match in the balance, Randwick attacked from a scrum 30 metres from their own line. 

Flyhalf Coby Miln switched to the short side and chipped to winger Jackson Mohi. Mohi gathered the ball and offloaded to replacement No.9 Oliver Fox brilliantly in one motion to set up a match defining five pointer. 

But once again, West Harbour responded and crossed through prop Siteki Tevao to level the scores at 19-all. 

With three minute remaining, Randwick destroyed a West Harbour scrum to win a penalty and claim a 22-19 lead. 

But the match had more drama to come. West Harbour attacked in Randwick’s half in the final minutes and looked to have made a clean break through young hooker Albert Alcock. 

But the referee ruled Alcock’s knees had touched the ground in an earlier tackle and awarded a penalty to Randwick that ended the match.