Round 14 served up another cracking weekend of club footy across Sydney. From lightning starts and maul-fests to some serious individual brilliance, the ladder jostle is heating up with finals footy on the horizon. There were hat-tricks, sin bins and a few late-game heartbreakers just the way we like it.

Warringah def Gordon 32-22
A disastrous start for the Stags, as a cross-field kick into the in-goal was dropped and popped up for Benn Woollett to score. Barely any time had passed when another Gordon turnover led to Lebron Paramore-Naea finishing off an 80-metre effort. Coby Miln converted.

It was a blitz. Three tries in under ten minutes, with Zac Barnabas going over in the corner. Miln converted.
Fortunes turned for Gordon when Harry Emery intercepted a pass on the Rats’ own line. Will Kaye added the extras. Kaye then got one of his own, as sustained pressure put Gordon on the front foot and over the line.

Right on the stroke of half-time, Miln slotted a penalty to push the Rats further in front.

Miln started the second half as he finished the first, adding three more points. Gordon hit back through Conor Hickey, slicing through against his old club to close the gap.

The Rats responded with some well-worked, close-range attack, and Ben Marr was the one to finish it.

Naughty boy Sam Thompson was sent to the bin for tackling a jumper in the air.

A Gordon scrum in the dying seconds put Ollie Arkus away to narrow the margin, but it wasn’t enough.

Two Blues def West Harbour 35-30
Two Blues were the first to strike after just four minutes. A cheeky tip pass put Abel Magalogo away. Reece Suesue added the extras.

The Pirates hit back, with Jarod Byrnes putting on the “Go-Go Gadget” legs to race in. James Faiva converted.
Two Blues’ Cody Nordstrom took it upon himself to regain the lead, dragging three defenders with him at scrum time. Suesue converted.

The Pirates refused to go away. Somehow, Moli Schaumkel snatched the ball from his forwards at the maul and crashed over. Harbour were back in the game.

Two Blues took it personally. Nordstrom bagged his second, pushing the lead further out. Suesue added the two.
Holy guacamole. The Pirates returned serve, with Faiva finishing off a beautiful lineout move.

West Harbour came out firing after the break. Faiva knocked over two penalties to put them in front.

Hosea Saumaki responded for Two Blues, diving into the corner. Suesue converted.

Nordstrom continued his red-hot form, crossing the line for a third. Suesue added the extras and was perfect with the boot all day.

To close it out, Faiva bulldozed his way over for his second and converted.

Easts def Manly 36-33
Easts were first to score as Moli Sooaemalelagi went over from a maul. Cooper Whiteside converted. Henry Palmer backed it up, finishing off a spicy counter-attack for Easts. Whiteside converted. Manly hit back through a maul of their own, with Harry Fry crossing. Ben Burnell added the extras. Easts struck next through another maul, Sooaemalelagi bagging a double. Manly responded through (yep, you guessed it) a maul. Benjamin Gleeson went over.

Easts extended their lead again with a line break down the edge that was pulled up short, but Rob Cobb swept in and dotted down. Whiteside converted. Keeping it in the front-row club, the next to score was Reon Lowery from right in front. Whiteside converted again.

The second half was a tasty one. Manly scored first through Sione Misiloi. Burnell added the extras. A double naughty boy moment followed, with Manly’s Sione Misiloi and Easts’ Rob Cobb both sent off for consecutive high shots. Whiteside added three points from the tee.

Manly followed up with a sneaky trick lineout and Davea Teoteo powered over. Burnell converted. Manly struck again soon after, hitting back down the short side. Burnell added another two.

Randwick def Souths 33-24
Oliver Adkin was the first to cross for the Wicks, a good old-fashioned roll around the corner. James Hendren added the extras.

Souths responded through a rolling maul, with Tom Gibb claiming five.

Wicks were next to score with a bit of sneakiness. Joe Howard stripped the ball and ran in untouched. Tim Sippel converted.

They backed it up soon after, their attack too fast for Souths, and Matia Jensen strolled over. Naughty boy Mason Duke was sent to the bin for offside, and Wicks capitalised. Joel Ellis finished off a dominant maul and Sippel added two more.

Just before half-time, Josh Noonan was also sent to the bin for repeat infringements, leaving Souths down to 13.
If you went for a half-time pie, you probably missed it. Souths kicked off, the kick was charged down, and Allan Ferrie pounced to score. Struan Hutchison converted.

Another huge carry from Ferrie and suddenly Souths were back in it. Clearly reinvigorated and with Wicks going dormant, Adam Arkley bashed over. Hutchison added the extras.

The game went down to the final five minutes, but Randwick managed to edge ahead. Ben Sugars somehow found himself over the line. Sippel converted.

Hunter def Eastwood 22-12
We were off to a flyer. The acrobat James McGregor continued his absurd finishing prowess: a grubber through, a touch on the toe, and grounded within an inch of the dead-ball line.

Hunter hit back through a solid maul. Donny Freeman, the flying mullet, went over. Logan Love converted. It was rinse and repeat for Hunter, with Philip Talaileva finishing off the next.

Eastwood had insurmountable pressure for the remainder of the half but failed to convert.

It was much the same after the break. Ten minutes in, Eastwood finally struck back. Daniel Stovold burrowed over and Spinks added the extras.

Unfortunately, repeat infringements cost them dearly, and naughty boy Dion Yazdani got a breather after only a couple of minutes on the field.

Hunter increased their tally when Daniel Maiava crossed. Love converted. With just under ten to go, Hunter found themselves in prime position and earned a penalty. Love knocked over three, and that was all she wrote.

Norths def Uni 35-24
Uni were first to score, with Jack Matthews slotting three points. Norths responded quickly; simple numbers in their favour gave Callum Sirker open space. Max Burey converted. Against the run of play, Angus Allen was stripped in the tackle and Reece Mau’u went 80 metres to score. Burey converted. Norths were finding gaps far too easily. Burey broke through and offloaded to Josh Barr, who scored. Burey converted again.

Uni were under the pump, but thankfully naughty boy Kieran Curran was sent to the bin. Right on half-time, Clem Halaholo took a couple with him and got Uni’s first try. Matthews converted.

Burey got one of his own as Norths continued their strong form. A cheeky pick and go extended their lead. Tom Bacon added the extras. Norths had a second naughty boy when Thom Everard was sent off for a high shot. Tut tut.

Finally, Uni found some momentum. Declan Moore went over and Matthews converted. Uni then had a naughty boy of their own, with Toshiki Kuwayama sent to the bin for a tackle in the air. Burey got his second at scrum time, the overlap proving too much for the Students. He converted.

With barely any time left, Uni’s Halaholo crossed for his second. Matthews nailed a huge kick from the sideline.