With five rounds remaining in the 2019 Shute Shield’s regular season, incredibly 10 of the competition’s 11 sides can mathematically still earn a finals berth.

Warringah will feature in the finals and it appears something would need to go very wrong for Eastwood, Northern Suburbs and Sydney University to drop out of that top six too.

Sure, some of the other potential finalists’ chances aren’t over realistic either but we’ve seen and heard more than enough in 2019 to know anything can happen.

Check out your side’s run to the finals, and what they’ll need to do in the final five weeks.

WARRINGAH (first; 47 points): Northern Suburbs (A), West Harbour (A), Manly (H), Western Sydney (H), Southern Districts (A)

They’re five points clear on top and they’ve won eight games in a row, so this isn’t about what Warringah needs to do to make the finals, we’re looking at the Rats’ road to the minor premiership.

Of the current top six, they’ve got one of the easier runs home too.

Upsets can and probably will happen in the final five rounds but considering their recent form it’d take a brave man to predict Warringah getting beaten by West Harbour, Western Sydney or Southern Districts.

The Rats’ clash with Northern Suburbs this weekend is massive and it’ll tell us plenty about both sides’ premiership credentials, while Warringah’s round 16 Battle of the Beaches probably shapes as their toughest task in the lead-up to the finals.

The Rats will want to win all five of their remaining games so as to not give anyone else a sniff, but four victories, maybe even three, should be enough to cement that minor title.

EASTWOOD (second; 42 points): Manly (A), Gordon (H), West Harbour (A), Southern Districts (H), Eastern Suburbs (A)

Their minor premiership hopes rely on a couple of sides upsetting Warringah but the Woodies’ focus is surely just on securing a much-coveted top two spot.

They don’t play the Rats again so their minor title hope is largely a ‘what if’, and with Northern Suburbs breathing down their necks controlling their own results is all the Woodies can do.

Crucially they have an easier run home than the Shoremen, the Ben Batger-coached Woodies only play two of the current top six sides.

Eastern Suburbs are only just outside that finals frame and of their final five match-ups the Beasties happen to be the one side Eastwood hasn’t beaten yet.

The Woodies next two games against Manly and Gordon shape as telling fixtures.

NORTHERN SUBURBS (third; 42 points): Warringah (H), bye, Gordon (H), Sydney University (A), Randwick (H)

Northern Suburbs can’t afford to shift their focus past this weekend’s round 14 showdown with Warringah at North Sydney Oval.

A win over the Rats will provide a gigantic confidence boost ahead of the Shoremen’s final month of the season, or final three weeks rather considering they have a round 15 bye, which does provide a valuable five points.

Like Eastwood Northern Suburbs’ run will be about doing enough to secure a spot in that top two, if things fall the right way and the minor premiership lands in that lap it’ll be a bonus.

Even after Warringah their run home isn’t easy though, and they’ll have their work cut out for them against Gordon, Sydney University and Randwick.

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY (fourth; 40 points): Western Sydney (H), Eastern Suburbs (A), Southern Districts (A), Northern Suburbs (H), West Harbour (A)

Of the current top six the students’ run home is the easiest, with their round 17 clash against Northern Suburbs the only time they’ll play a side above them on the ladder as it stands now.

That game is at home as is their clash with Western Sydney this weekend which they should win well.

Being away to Eastern Suburbs, Southern Districts and West Harbour does make things slightly tougher, but they’re still games the students should win – of those three the Beasties will likely pose the biggest threat.

Something will have to go very, very wrong for Uni to miss the finals and we’re expecting them to finish in the top three. In fact, the students winning all of their remaining games is realistic so they could well push into the top two.

MANLY (fifth; 37 points): Eastwood (H), Southern Districts (A), Warringah (A), West Harbour (H), bye

With Eastwood and Warringah on their radar the Marlins can’t afford to drop either of their games against Southern Districts or West Harbour.

Losses in either of those games, or both, could be disastrous, even with a final-round bye providing a guaranteed five points.

That’s certainly not to say they’ll lose to the Woodies or the Rats, they’re a handy chance to beat both considering they went close to Eastwood in round two and should’ve closed out a win over Warringah in round eight.

Naturally that return trip to Rat Park in round 16 is the biggest of their final four games, and depending on how the Marlins fare in the next fortnight it could be the decisive one too.

GORDON (sixth; 33 points): West Harbour (H), Eastwood (A), Northern Suburbs (A), Eastern Suburbs (H), Western Sydney (A)

You’d expect Darren Coleman to be disappointed should Gordon dip out of the finals frame in the last five weeks but, objectively, what the Highlanders have done already in 2019 is quite remarkable.

This is a side that only won one game last year, finished last and was beaten 97-14 by Northern Suburbs in round eight, a finals berth would transform their turnaround from incredible to nothing short of astounding.

In the last couple of weeks they’ve taken a big step forward in terms of closing out tight games and with showdowns against West Harbour, Eastwood, Northern Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs in the final five weeks it looks likely they’ll have to do the same a couple more times, at least.

EASTERN SUBURBS (seventh; 32 points): Bye, Sydney University (H), Randwick (H), Gordon (A), Eastwood (H)

The Beasties haven’t lived up to the pre-season hype but they do still have some control of where they’ll finish.

They play three sides sitting above them now and one of those is Gordon, who they’re one point adrift of heading into this weekend’s bye, the week off gives them five crucial points and a chance to take stock before an important clash with Sydney University too.

A defeat in that game won’t spell the end for the Beasties but it would make their job all the more monumental considering they’re already teetering on the precipice of do-or-die rugby, a loss would likely push them over the edge.

They just need to keep winning, to try and take other results out of the equation as much as possible.

RANDWICK (eighth; 27 points): Southern Districts (H), Western Sydney (A), Eastern Suburbs (A), bye, Northern Suburbs (A)

After a really slow start Randwick have shown they’re capable of matching it with the competition’s best, their wins over Northern Suburbs, Eastern Suburbs and Manly this year are proof enough of that.

But they’ve still been pretty sporadic, and that’s why they’re sitting where they are.

They’ve got their work cut out for them in their last four games of the season but they don’t have the toughest draw, and there is a realistic chance they could win all four of those games if they hit their straps.

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS (ninth; 26 points): Randwick (A), Manly (H), Sydney University (H), Eastwood (A), Warringah (H)

Mathematically the Rebels can still make the finals however it seems pretty unlikely, considering their last month is against sides all currently in the top six.

They’ve not beaten any of those sides yet this year but they did beat Randwick in round three, so they’ll take plenty of confidence into Saturday’s all-important match-up with the eight-placed Galloping Greens.

They’ll give themselves a sniff if they win that one but it seems like the Rebels will potentially be able to have a say in which sides feature in the finals, rather than being there themselves.

WEST HARBOUR (10th; 25 points): Gordon (A), Warringah (H), Eastwood (H), Manly (A), Sydney University (H)

Year-to-year there’s always one signature of any West Harbour side, when they get momentum they’re very, very hard to stop and they proved that most recently by beating Northern Suburbs in round 12.

But it’s impossible to get around how diabolical their run home is, all five of their remaining games are against top six outfits, and they’ve got no returning Super players.

They’re still a mathematical chance and if they pull off that miracle they’ll make a lot of coaches very nervous, but it just seems way too big a mountain to scale.

Look to them to potentially cause an upset or two in the final five weeks though.

WESTERN SYDNEY (11th; 7 points): Sydney University (A), Randwick (H), bye, Warringah (A), Gordon (H)

The Two Blues are 19 points adrift of their nearest rivals and can’t make the finals in 2019 after another tough year, with just win on the board through 13 rounds.

They could cause an upset though and wins over Randwick or Gordon in particular would throw a cat amongst the pigeons.