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. 

Manly’s forwards attacked Easts’ line late in the first half but couldn’t find a way through. After a heap of phases, the Marlins eventually spun the ball wide and flyhalf Brendan Owen strolled over untouched to give his side a 10-5 lead at the break. 

But Manly didn’t start the second half well. After failing to clear the ball from the kick off, Easts flyhalf Jack Bowen showed good speed to split the Manly defence on counter attack. He passed to fullback Luke Glen who tip toed down the sideline and scored inside the first minute of the second half. 

The Marlins responded with a penalty goal minutes later but welcomed Easts back into their red zone again from the restart. Easts came close to scoring from a maul but eventually spread the ball to Bowen, who stepped his way to the try line. 

Easts failed to convert though, for the third straight time, keeping Manly’s hopes alive. 

Both sides traded penalty goals and Easts led 18-16 for the final 20 minutes. The home side received a yellow card and defended with 14 men for most of the final 10 minutes. 

But Manly couldn’t find an answer in the closing minutes, allowing Easts to move into second spot.

Eastwood 20-17 Sydney Uni (Image: Serge Gonzalez)

Eastwood held on to beat Sydney Uni 20-17 to move within one win of a spot in the top six after their third straight victory. 

The Woodies welcomed back Tane Edmed and Tim Anstee from Super Rugby but it was Uni who opened the scoring with winger Jack Matthews crossing in the corner after some quick hands from the Uni backs. 

Eastwood No.9 Tom Goddard took a quick tap from a penalty and almost scored in response. But the Woodies recycled possession and backrower Ben Dalton scored out wide soon after following a clever long ball from Tane Edmed. 

Five minutes later, Uni flanker Sam Allsopp scored from a quick tap close to Eastwood’s line and the Students led 17-10 at half time after Jack Matthews snatched an intercept to score his second try of the afternoon. 

Things tightened up in the second half before the Woodies broke through in the 60th minute. 

James McGregor split the defence with his speed and set up Michael Stringer to score to give the home side a 20-17 lead. 

Uni attacked deep in Eastwood territory in the 80th minute, but couldn’t find a way through the stoic Woodies defence. 

Warringah 38-30 Western Sydney

Warringah defeated Western Sydney 38-30 in a try-fest at Eric Tweedale Stadium on Back to Two Blues Day. 

Warringah outscored the Two Blues three tries to two and led 20-18 after a seesawing first half. 

The Rats extended their lead when Ben Marr muscled his way over early in the second half, then added a penalty goal. 

No.8 Chlayton Frans then crossed from close range in the 56th minute to give the visitors a 35-18 lead. 

But the Two Blues hit back with two tries in three minutes to Tailiki Nadredre and Rilloy Suesue to reduce the deficit to just five points, before the Rats kicked a late penalty goal to seal an eight point victory. 

Northern Suburbs 34-10 Hunter

Norths scored three unanswered tries in the final 20 minutes to claim a bonus point win over Hunter in Newcastle. 

The Wildfires opened the scoring with a try from a quick tap to No.9 Issac Montoisy. 

Norths responded with three quick tries through prop George Thornton, backrower Ed Timpson and winger Carrick McDonough. 

But Hunter kicked a penalty goal late in the first half to go to the break trailing by just seven points and stayed in the fight until the 60th minute when the visitors kicked up a gear. 

Norths flyhalf Jude Gibbs kicked to set up a try for Harry Burey midway through the second half. 

Returning centre Henry O’Donnell then burned his defender to set up his side’s fifth try and put the result beyond doubt before another cross field kick from Gibbs helped Welsh winger McDonough claim a hat trick. 

The 24-point win was Norths first since early May after three losses and a draw in recent weeks. 

Norths are sixth, 10 competition points ahead of Hunter in 10th spot. The Wildfires will need to string some wins together soon if they plan to play finals footy again this season. 

Randwick 47-3 Southern Districts

Randwick scores five second half tries to claim a convincing 47-3 victory over Southern Districts on a fairly chopped up Coogee Oval deck. 

Souths opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the 10th minute and were in the match for most of the first half. 

Randwick scored through Christian Yassmin and Ben Houston to lead 14-3 before the floodgates opened after the break. 

Kurtley Beale made an appearance off the bench for the Wicks as five seperate Randwick players  scored in the 42nd, 48th, 58th, 69th and 72nd minute to sat up a bonus point win and secure fifth spot on the Shute Shield ladder. 

Gordon 29-23 West Harbour

Gordon held out a fast finishing West Harbour side to claim a 29-23 victory at Chatswood Oval and secure third spot on the Shute Shield ladder following the Stags seventh win in eight matches. 

Gordon prop Tristan Fuli scored two first half tries to give his side a 14-9 lead midway through the first half. 

The home side then pushed further ahead with a try from a maul, then scored a brilliant long range try that started inside their own half on the stroke of half time to lead 24-9 at the break. 

West Harbour responded in the 67th minute when winger Matt Whelan scored and flyhalf James Faiva converted from near the touch line. 

But the Pirates gifted Gordon great field position shortly after the restart and the home side scored through winger Will Arcus to claim a 29-16 lead. 

West Harbour hit back again in the 70th minute through replacement forward Rob O’Donovan and trailed by just six points for the remainder of the match. 

But Gordon’s defence held strong in the closing stages in another tight win at Chatswood.