Five of the six teams currently sitting in playoff positions won over the weekend to secure their spots at the pointy end of the Shute Shield ladder.

Elsewhere, Eastwood beat Sydney Uni in a thriller to move within one win of Norths in sixth position.

Eastern Suburbs 18-16 Manly

Easts defended with 14 men for most of the final 10 minutes but held on to claim an important 18-16 win over Manly at Woollahra to move to second spot on the Shute Shield ladder.

Manly opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the 20th minute but Easts responded minutes later with a try from a driving maul to score the first try in a tight first half.