In a round dominated by local rivalries, the Anzac Day weekend saw plenty of movement among the top six on the Shute Shield ladder.

Warringah now hold top spot, followed closely by Hunter, as Gordon drop to third.

Sydney Uni jump to fourth while Eastern Suburbs and Eastwood fall the furthest, now holding fifth and sixth positions.

Sydney Uni 31-19 Gordon

Sydney Uni put an end to Gordon’s winning streak in 2025, securing a bonus point win at home in an epic Anzac Day clash.

The Students struck early through centre Jullien Caillol, who took a hard line off the scrum to crash over for his first of two tries for the day.

Uni extended their lead to 12 via a pick and drive from Bradley Amituanai, before Gordon hit back as Aussie 7’s star Conor Hickey outpaced the opposition backline to touch down off the set piece.

Another try to the home side just before half time pushed the gap out to two scores, but the visitors came out of the sheds firing, taking first points of the half as reserve hooker Ryan Jackson completed a rolling maul.

Caillol’s second locked in the bonus point for the Students, and marked a momentum shift back in favour of Uni, with Benjy Joseland also crossing for a double.

A final push from Gordon showed their ability to execute with precision off set piece even in the dying minutes, but it ultimately left them with little to take away from Camperdown. 

Warringah 44-8 Manly

One of the most anticipated fixtures of the year delivered once again, as Warringah ran away with it in the second half to claim bragging rights in the Battle of the Beaches at Manly Oval.

It was an ominous start for Manly, who have struggled defensively in 2025, as they let Warringah backrower Keelan Whitman cross within the first five minutes.

But it would be the only try Warringah would score in the first half, as the Rats made things harder for themselves when Whitman was sent to the sin bin for a cynical tap down shortly after.

The Marlins took advantage of the overlap, with Lewis Berg scoring after several phases of pressure to bring the packed home crowd to their feet.

A genuine arm wrestle for the next 20 minutes saw plenty of attacking opportunities from both sides. But neither managed more than a penalty each and as they headed to the break, Warringah held a close 10-8 lead.

The Rats won’t be looking to change their flavour of Gatorade any time soon, as whatever happened in the sheds saw the visitors completely transformed in the second half.

Kicked off with a rampaging run to the line by second rower Phil Potgieter, Warringah went on to add a further four unanswered tries as they totally dominated possession.

A disappointing end for Manly after such a spirited first half, but an impressive finish from this dynamic Warringah outfit.

Special mention goes to veteran winger Tyson Davis who scored an absolute blinder in the corner to mark his 150th first grade game and cement another local derby win for the Rats.

Hunter 34-21 Southern Districts 

Hunter Wildfires continue to stake their claim as genuine title contenders this season, taking another five-point victory on the road to move up to second on the ladder.

Having suffered two heavy defeats already this year against top six teams, Southern Districts would have been eager to build on their close win over Manly in consecutive fixtures at Forshaw Rugby Park.

Unfortunately for the home side, the Wildfires caught them napping early as Bruce Kauika-Petersen and Brendan Palmer both crossed on the right wing to make it 12-0 within 15 minutes.

And when Ueta Tufuga scored a few minutes later, followed by his centre partner Sione Taufui, Souths fans would have no doubt feared another 80-point thrashing may be on the horizon.

But the Rebels got a sniff just before half time, as an overthrown Hunter lineout was caught by Souths openside Alex Crotti, then quickly shifted out wide to see Caleb Beams dive over before the Wildfires had time to organise their defence.

The visitors started the second half with the same tenacity as they did the first, attacking the Souths line hard and eventually cracking it through Mathew Meafua to claim their fifth try.

The home side replied with similar power, as scrum half Josh Noonan muscled his way over off the back of a scrum to give Souths a chance with 15 minutes to play.

A final try to replacement Jack Cesare was rewarded for a gutsy final push through the Southern Districts forwards, but the damage had been done in the first half, with the lead proving too much for the Rebels to overcome.

Western Sydney 36-23 West Harbour 

The boot of Tongan international James Faiva kept West Harbour in the fight at Concord Oval, but Western Sydney outscored their opponents five tries to two to stake their claim as the best in the west.

Skipper Tovo Faleafa opened the scoring for the Two Blues, taking three defenders over the line with him as the powerful No.8 targeted Wests’ backline.

The Pirates were impressive in attack in the first half, stringing together phases much more consistently than they have in previous fixtures this year.

Penalty goals to both sides kept the gap on the scoreboard to a minimum, before Wests took the lead for the first time with a try to Drew Sellers.

The home sided only needed to hold out for a few minutes to head to half time with the advantage, but dropped their heads in defence and gifted Hosea Saumaki his fifth try of the season.

West Harbour closed the gap to one point with another penalty goal to Faiva, but a perfectly placed 50-22 nudge from centre Abel Magalogo gave the Two Blues the perfect platform to launch their first attack of the second half.

Tries to Sitiveni Moceidreke and Kaynan Tua followed as momentum shifted heavily in favour of the boys from Merrylands.

Fullback Latrell Ah Kiong added one for the highlights reel, taking the kick off just outside his own 22, only to beat a handful of West Harbour defenders to seal the win for Western Sydney with an 80-metre dash to the line.

A consolation try went to Ethan Halatokoua, converted by Michael Dabulas, but it couldn’t close the gap enough to give Wests the losing bonus point. The Concord-based side still sit bottom of the Shute Shield ladder, having only managed to record one point from the first four rounds.

Randwick 34-19 Eastern Suburbs

Randwick pieced together another electric attacking display to knock over an undefeated Eastern Suburbs in the final local derby of the round.

The Wicks took first blood at Coogee Oval when no.8 Isi Naisarani made a half break in the midfield, offloading to Jonathan Chan who raced past the fullback to score.

Then it was the Beasties’ ever faithful driving maul which got them on the scoreboard at the opposite end.

More points followed almost immediately for Randwick with a try to James Hendren, before both sides tightened up their defence for the remainder of the half.

A penalty goal to Tim Sippel made it 17-5, and despite a 12-point gap, there was little separating the two sides in attacking promise as they headed into the sheds.

The Wicks managed to repel the Easts maul early in the first half, only for half back Jonny Van Der Velde to sneak over when play reset.

Randwick turned up the intensity in the final 30 and looked dangerous almost every time they had the ball, but were unable to capitalise on their chances until late in the game.

With seven minutes left on the clock, Randwick created an overlap on the left side to put Joe Browning in. And a 20-metre driving maul at the restart saw Easts’ replacement front rower James Wayland shown the cheese for collapsing, giving the Myrtle Green supporters plenty to cheer for.

Finishing the game with 14 men, Easts looked to end it with a bit of pride, launching an attack from their own half with a clever kick over the top fielded by openside Nick Cross. But a handling error saw the ball fall into the hands of Randwick flyer Tom O’Callaghan who locked in the bonus point try with one of his first touches of the day.

As the bell signalled the end of yet another classic rivalry, Beasties winger David Vaihu chipped for himself on the 40-metre line, then regathered and beat his opposite man to the far corner, closing the gap slightly in what was a convincing win for Randwick in the Battle of the East.

Northern Suburbs 48-45 Eastwood

Northern Suburbs narrowly edged out a strong Eastwood outfit in nail biter as the Shute Shield headed out to the country, taking Sydney’s premier competition to Cowra Rugby Club.

Matt Minogue gave his side an advantage early with two long-range penalty goals to give Norths a 6-0 lead.

It was a strong defensive start for both sides, with neither able to turn attacking phases into five pointers in the first quarter.

But poor discipline from the Shoremen saw Ratu Kuitakeivuravura sent to the sin bin, allowing Eastwood the opportunity to target holes in the defensive line and get their first points of the day after 20 minutes through Isaac Crowe.

The Woods took control again while they had the overlap, with Harry Snook sniping off the back of the scrum to score in the far corner.

Norths responded through Kuitakeivuravura as he looked to make amends for his earlier indiscretion, before a second yellow card for the red and black saw Eastwood hit back again before half time to take an eight-point lead into the sheds.

Points flowed in the second half as Norths took first blood through Tom Bacon to close the gap to just one point.

After Norths were awarded a penalty try, Eastwood managed another score themselves despite being down to 13 men with two having been shown the cheese.

And what followed in the final quarter was a real thriller for rugby fans despite rainy conditions in Cowra.

The lead changed hands multiple times through runaway tries to Lachlan Shelley and Ronan Kelly for the Woods, while quick hands from the Shoremen saw Callum Sirker slide into the right corner.

With a bit over two minutes left and trailing by four points, the Norths backs piled into a strong driving maul to carry James Margan over the line for the match winner.

Despite the win, Norths still sit eighth on the ladder, matched on points with Western Sydney who hold ninth place.