I hope everyone was well rested after a tasty long weekend because Rd. 10 delivered another weekend of chaos, comebacks and cracking tries. From intercept stunners to last-minute heartbreakers, teams jostled for ladder position with finals footy on the horizon. Whether it was Norths’ slick handling, Easts’ grit, or the Rats’ remarkable resurgence, there was no shortage of drama across Sydney’s rugby battlegrounds.

Manly def Souths 33-15
Inside the first 10 minutes, Souths stripped the ball from Manly’s rolling maul. They played wide from their five, and ouch, a charged-down kick from Simon Kennewell. Robbie McIntosh added the extras, 7–0. From one coach killer to another, a non-threatening grubber turned into try time when Isaac Kneepkens poked one through. Robbie McIntosh slipped, and Straun Hutchison slid over. 7–5.
A huge tighthead scrum for Manly led to a kick for touch, then a maul, and this time they went over. Harry Fry, lovely stuff. Ben Burnell added two. 14–5. In the dying moments of the first half, Thomas Gibb barrelled over. Hutchison added two. 14–12 at half-time.
Second half, and we have ourselves a naughty boy. Maka Mafileo, a strike to the chest, see you later, champ. Hutchison took three. 14–15. A man down, but no worries. Fred Kaihea, inside a Manly maul, took them back in front. 19–15.
It wasn’t long before they were back on the attack, and the Marlins’ silky hands moved it across the field to Wilson Delieu. Burnell added two. 26–15. A late strip from Manly’s Davea Teoteo blew out the final score, and Will Burnell added the extras.

Randwick def Warringah 33-31
Against the run of play, Gage Phillips went coast to coast with a huge intercept. Jack Bergin converted. 7–0. Randwick stayed on top, bashing the door down, and Isi Naisarani snuck in. Bergin added two more. 14–0. More chilli! Naisarani went straight through the middle and Joe Browning finished it off. Bergin converted. 21–0. To top off the half, Browning got his second, some soft one-on-one defence and the Wicks pushed even further ahead. 28–0.

It wasn’t all bad for the Rats. With the clock in the red and some dubious passes going their way, Coby Miln went over and converted. 28–7.

A spicy second half, to say the least. Momentum swung to the Rats and ten minutes in, Tyson Davis crashed over. Miln added two. 28–14. Minutes later, a poor set-piece turned to gold for Warringah, individual brilliance from Archie Saunders brought them within seven. 28–21.

Heartbreak for Randwick, a spilled ball was scooped up by Jackson Ropata, offloaded to Ben Woollett, and then back to Ropata. A huge conversion from Miln levelled it. 28–28 with 15 to play.

The Rats managed to squeeze in front. Miln slotted a penalty, and they took the lead. 28–31. Wicks’ rolling maul, big boys went to work, ball spat out and Alex Wallington dived over. 33–31.

Oh, it’s not done. The Rats earned a penalty from 50 out, Miln stepped up and I think he’ll want to forget about that one…

Gordon def Hunter 31-6
Hunter struck first with a tidy penalty from Logan Love. 3–0. Hunter’s “Hells Bells” playing in the background wasn’t enough to stop Tristan Fuli from close range. Will Kaye added the extras. 3–7. A shaky first quarter for both teams, but Love closed the gap with another three. 6–7.

Moments later, a sharp counterattack from Kaye gave Gordon territory and momentum. Brandon Quinn went in on the far side, and Kaye converted. 6–14. With ten to play in the half, we had our naughty boy, Tevita Ahokovi was sent off for striking. A fairly uneventful finish followed for both sides.

First points in the second half went to Gordon, with Kaye slotting three. 6–17. Hunter were trying to break the seal but couldn’t find a way through. They lacked punch, and their handling and discipline let them down. This allowed Gordon to keep possession and momentum, though to say it was scrappy would be an understatement.

Milan Basson finally crossed for the Staggies, and Kaye added two more. 6–24. God, this was a hard watch. Jake Tierney sealed the deal, and Kaye finished with a perfect scorecard.

Uni def Wests 38-19
Sam Allsopp opened the account for Uni on a desert-like pitch. 5–0. Shortly afterwards, Benjy Joseland flew home to increase the lead. Joey Fowler added two. 12–0. Big, bad Onehunga Kafusi was catapulted in to close the gap. The Students were in front but caught napping as Senijiale Dawai went straight through the ruck from his own 22 and streamed home. Morris Clementson converted. 12–12. A tit-for-tat half.

The second half was a monstrous defensive effort from Uni. The pressure became too much and seven minutes in, Ethan Dobbins claimed five. Fowler converted. 19–12. Two minutes later, Jack Mathews went in off a lovely lineout set-piece. Fowler added two more. 26–12.

Joseland got his second with a dazzling run down the sideline, a cheeky grubber to himself and in at the corner. 31–12. Harbour had their backs against the wall, but they can play some serious footy. Naughty boy Lukas Ripley was sent off for repeated infringements, and Wests eventually capitalised. Trent Bax claimed five, with Clementson converting. 31–19.

A horrible pass to ground from Harbour was scooped up by Leafi Talataina, and Fowler added the extras. 38–19. A second naughty boy, Tom Lambert, was binned for a shoulder charge. Uni down to 13, but unfortunately the Pirates couldn’t close the gap.

Easts def Eastwood 26-24

Woodies were in the retro jerseys and out for blood, but it was Easts who struck first. David Vaihu crossed off the back of quick ball from close range. Cooper Whiteside added the extras. 0–7. A quick tap from Lachie Albert put the Woodies on the board. Tane Edmed converted. 7–7.

A naughty boy early on, Henry Palmer was sent off for a tackle in the air. Time for a breather. One man up and Woods made it count. Isaac Crowe claimed five, and Edmed added two. 14–7. Crowe backed it up with some razzle-dazzle against Derby Lancaster, leaving him for dust. 19–7.

Beasties hit back with a tidy maul, Kieran Booth closing the gap. 19–12. Another naughty boy for Easts and off went Derby Lancaster. From the ensuing scrum, Crowe secured his hat-trick. 24–12 at half-time.

Reon Lowry gave Easts a much-needed score. Whiteside added two. 24–19. Booth struck again when a loose lineout ball fell into his hands with no defenders in front. Whiteside converted. 24–26 with 15 to play.

It was turnover for turnover as the match went down to the wire, but Easts had too much possession with too little time left.

Norths def Parramatta 29-24
Four minutes was all it took for superstar Henry O’Donnell to slide through and put Marshall Le Maitre away. 5–0. The Shoremen followed up with a beefy maul, 13 men behind it, and James Margan went over. Matt Ryan converted. 12–0.

It took 30 minutes, but the Two Blues hit back. Cody Nordstrom scored a mid-air touchdown in the corner to close the gap. Reece Suesue converted. 12–7. Norths’ Baden Godfrey then scored the easiest of his career, 10 metres out, bouncing ball off the lineout and no one at home. Ryan added two. 19–7 at half-time.

Parra responded to open the second half, with Hosea Saumaki crashing over for another powerful try. Suesue converted. 19–14. With 20 to play, it was all Two Blues. Denied earlier, they went quick off a full-arm penalty and Nordstrom bagged his second. Suesue converted. 19–21.

A Norths penalty closed the gap, Ryan slotted three. 22–21 with 15 to go. Another stunning play from O’Donnell, a flick out the back to Tom Bacon, and with five minutes on the clock, Norths pushed their lead out. Ryan converted. 29–21.

A lazy penalty against Norths for offside gifted Suesue a shot from in front, which he nailed to secure a bonus point loss.