And then there were six…

After 18 entertaining rounds of Shute Shield rugby, we’ve reached the finals series and are left with six teams that probably all genuinely think they are going to win this year’s competition.

Very little separates this year’s finalists and you can easily make an argument for each of the six contenders.

Here’s a few reasons why each team can and can’t win this year’s competition.

Eastern Suburbs

Why they can win it:

Under Ben Batger, Easts have been flying in 2024 and head into the playoffs on the back of 11 wins in their past 12 matches. Easts’ set piece is extremely solid and they’ve conceded less penalties at scrum time than any other side this year.