As we hit the halfway mark, round nine delivered chaos, carnage and a couple of comebacks as the Shute Shield rolled into June.

The Rats ran riot, Uni edged a thriller, and Souths fell just short in a bottom-of-the-table scrap. Eastwood and Easts both copped late cards in spicy finishes, while Parramatta’s retro kit magic helped snap their losing streak. Finals footy is creeping into view and the heat is turning up.

Manly def Wildfires 31-24
Hunter, keen to continue their unbelievable season, were locked in a gridlock for the first quarter until Yool Yool got Manly on the board. Moments later, he sliced through the Hunter defence and Manly pushed further in front. Hunter rolled out a lovely lineout set piece, tip ball to Sione Taufui, quick hands and Frankie Nowell finished in the corner. A turnover on the stroke of half-time and Hunter were on the prowl again. Manly were caught napping out wide, and Nowell streamed in for his second. Flirting heavily with the dead ball line, but we’ll allow it.

The second half started the same. We might have to double barrel his name, Yool Yool-Yool, in for the hat-trick. Well in. Both sides looked sharp at set piece time, and we love to see it. A cheeky loop play from Hunter at scrum time put Brendan Palmer in the corner, but denied. Manly pulled further ahead when Dally Bird stripped the ball, putting them on the front foot, and deservedly Simon Kennewell bashed over. Same corner, different man, Elisapeta Alofipo finally gave Hunter the points they needed. For a scintillating finish, Hunter’s pack went to work. Impossible to stop close range, Daniel Maiava levelled the scores. But Manly, playing their best footy yet, saw Oli Horne gas down the sideline to seal a crucial win. Good to see them back and firing.

Uni def Eastwood 36-32
The Students were out to prove a point and didn’t take long. A cheeky cross-field from the handsome fullback (let me have this one) found Benjy Joseland, and Uni were on the board. Moments later, Joseland had a double off some lovely phase play. But same old story for Uni, struggling to clear their half and letting Woods back in. A perfectly weighted grubber and tough bounce gave Michael Stringer five points. A sharp set piece followed, and James McGregor finished acrobatically to level it. A slapped-down pass gave Uni a penalty in front, and they edged ahead with four to play. Eastwood answered, Cole Spinks slotting three to tie it on the bell.

Eastwood dominated the restart. Uni defended well but failed to exit. Eventually, Hadley Tonga powered over and Woods took the lead. Very naughty boy alert. Some choice words to the ref from Eastwood’s number five, Jhy Legg. That’s a red card. Uni struck back as Tom Morrison charged over. Reilly Canning had a stormer and deserved his try. A saucy grubber in behind from Lukas Ripley set up Morrison’s second, and the scores were level. A late penalty gave Woods the edge again. But young Eamon Doyle stepped up, straight through the middle of the ruck, those gangly legs got him there. Uni finally land a close one.

Warringah def Norths 47-19
Holy smokes, Ben Woollett, take a bow. What a finish to open the scoring. I reckon he was about six feet in the air, diving over. Moments later, a turnover and Archie Saunders found Coby Miln. Two tries in two minutes.

further disaster for Norths, a spilled ball at the back and Woollett got his double. Rats scoring at a point a minute. Norths still asleep and Rats in serious form, Chlayton Frans strolled over. 26 nil after 21 minutes. Hard not to be frustrated but Norths’ naughty boy Tom Bacon was sent for a tip tackle. Do we just call it now?

To add insult to injury, Jackson Ropata got one for himself and we were back to a point a minute. It was not all doom and gloom for Norths, with Sam Kitchen giving them some momentum, crossing over at half time.
Wes Thomas must be sick of Jake Barnabas stealing his maul tries, as Rats opened the second half much like the first. Ropata, our second naughty boy, was sent for a deliberate knock down and Mr Baldy James Margan gave Norths some hope. Unfortunately, Ivan Fepule’ai put the nail in the coffin, burrowing over. Late in the half, Margan got his second, but it was too little too late for the Shoremen.

Wests def Souths 31-26
First points went to Souths in the bottom of the table clash. Struan Hutchison slotted three. A few wobbly kicks from both teams, but the ball bounced Souths’ way, three passes to the speedster David Nicol, and they were on a roll. West Harbour were unphased, their maul sliced through Souths’ defence and Onehunga Kaufusi scored.

Hutchison added another three, then another. Souths had all the momentum and all the pressure. But don’t count out the Pirates. A beautiful unders line from Senijiale Dawai and they were back in it. Another Wests maul and they hit the front. Rob Irimescu, now that is leadership.

Three penalties in the first three minutes of the second half proved too costly for Souths. Morris Clementson added three. Trent Bax gave us some razzle-dazzle as he stepped and raced home for Wests. Alefosio Aho found himself five metres out and bounded over for Wests’ final try of the day. A strange second half, but the game rolled on. Fortunately for Souths, the scoreline stayed within reach. A poor day off the tee from Clementson, hitting two from six, kept the gap to just 14 points. Isaac Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens took three with him as he crossed, and Souths were back in it. A soft penalty for not retreating after the kick and Clementson added three more. Kneepkens pounced on a wobbling ball and crossed for his second. Pirates held on to seal their first win of the season.

Two Blues def Randwick 27-14
Parramatta, donning their sexy retro long sleeve jerseys, wasted no time getting on the board. Abel Magalogo slid over for the opener. Playing under advantage and opting for the three, Reece Suesue edged them further in front. Our first naughty boy of the day was number two Oniti Finau for repeat infringements. With numbers in their favour, a tasty short ball from Josh Hickey hit Simione Ofa, followed by a huge left footstep from the big man. Try time. It was all Parramatta in the first half. To make matters worse for Randwick, Dave Vea was sent off for a punch to the head right on half time.
One minute into the second half and the Two Blues were in again. Hosea Saumaki finished off a slick turnover counterattack. Redeemed naughty boy Finau burrowed over to get Randwick on the board. Game on. A late tackle from Airi Hunt earned him a stint in the bin. Naughty, naughty. A man down but still flying, Latrell Ah Kiong hit the ball with serious pace, racing home and making it a tall order for Randwick with three to play. In the final moments, a well-shaped maul gave Finau his second, but it was too little too late.

Easts def Gordon 28-26
Henry Palmer showed his class with a big left fend and serious pace to give Easts their first of the day. Speaking of speed, how about Jack Hardy cutting through the open field? A penalty lineout for the Stags followed, grungy pick and goes for more than ten phases, and finally Jimmy Armstrong glided in. A stolen lineout from Easts gave them front-foot ball in great territory.

Cooper Whiteside sliced through and offloaded to resident big man Reon Lowery who flopped over. Gordon struck next with a cheeky grubber from Conor Hickey to put away Will Kaye just before half time. Level pegging. Time for the oranges.

Beasties had great momentum early in the second half and turned pressure into points as Julian Heaven continued his try scoring rampage. Another penalty lineout gave Easts another maul try, finished by Moli Sooaemalelagi. The last quarter got spicy. Mr Whiteside was sent for a deliberate knock on. Naughty boy.

Kaye bagged his second through a simple overlap. Things got worse for Easts as Jack Tougher-Wells was also sent for ten for repeat infringements, and in the dying minutes George Gibson joined him for the same. Two in the bin for Easts. Naughty boys. Tristan Fuli gave the Stags a shot to level the score, always a tough kick. Head up Mr Kaye.