Round 11 of the Shute Shield delivered another blockbuster weekend of running rugby, last-minute drama and standout individual performances.

From Norths and Easts trading haymakers in a 11-try thriller, to Warringah cutting loose against the Two Blues, and Gordon surviving a late Uni surge, it was a round full of twists. Hunter showed flair out wide to pip Randwick, while Manly and West Harbour played out a seesawing classic. With finals fast approaching, every point counts and the ladder remains as tight as ever.

Manly def West Harbour 38-24
Harry Fry was the opening scorer for the Marlins. Maul time equals try time. Ben Burnell added two. 0–7. Wests looked dangerous in attack, but it was Manly’s Dally Bird who capitalised on a spilled ball. Burnell converted. 0–14. Manly were really hitting their stride, Wilson Dulieu finished off a juicy short side attack. 0–19. “Cattle dog” was heard from the sideline and rough and tumble ensued. Manly’s naughty boy Fred Kaihea was sent for ten. The Pirates opted to scrum and walked it in, Ethan Halatokoua closed the gap. Morris Clementson added two. 7–19.

The start of the second half was all Wests. Senijiale Dawai dived into the corner and game on! 12–19. Momentum continued for the Pirates, a huge cut-out to Dawai and into the corner he went. 17–19. Strike while the iron is hot, they say. A simple scrum set-piece and poor defence from Manly, Taine Rush went in under the sticks. Clementson added two. 24–19. Manly hit back with another maul, Davea Teoteo got his first for the day. Burnell converted. 24–26. Déjà vu, Teoteo got his second moments later. 24–31. It was a serious momentum shift as Simon Kennewell took three with him from 20 out as he barged over. Burnell added two. 24–38. More rough and tumble as a frustrated Rush was sent for striking. Naughty boy number two.

Eastwood def Souths 29-17
Eastwood looked dominant early on, Tane Edmed went in untouched. 0–5. A failed intercept attempt from Souths allowed big man Jayden Henderson to stream home from 30 metres. Edmed converted. 0–12. Souths were next to cross; after holding strong possession, Zane Gaiter went in. 5–12. We hit a gridlock for the rest of the half, both teams struggling to find momentum. Finally, on the stroke of half-time, Edmed knocked over three and into the sheds we went. 5–15.

Tane Edmed (Photo by Getty Images)

It must have been the ladies on the sideline because Souths hit back first. Gavin Wood slid in. 10–15. With the deadlock broken, Woods replied. Cole Spinks raced down the sideline to extend their lead. Edmed added two. 10–22. Poor one-on-one tackling from Eastwood gave Souths another, as big, bad Allan Ferrie bolstered through. Hutchison added two. 17–22. A late turnover at lineout time gave Woods the ball inside their half. A bit of razzle dazzle from Spinks poked through a grubber and Reilly Canning finished off the try and the game. 17–29.

East def Norths 38-31
We open the account with a naughty boy, Miles Amotosero was sent for a tip tackle, and Easts were down to 14 after 2:30. To make matters worse, a Norths penalty try was awarded from a scrum penalty. 0-7. Easts forwards responded, Rob Cobb burrowed over. Jack Bowen added two. 7-7. Tit for tat as Norths stayed composed near the Easts line, Baden Godfrey edged them in front. Matt Ryan added two. 7-14. A stunning counter-attack fresh from Wales and a cheeky kick ahead, Otto Serfontein raced in. 12-14. Norths fired back with razzle dazzle, Seamus Smith cross-field to Callum Sirker, flick pass to Tom Bacon and Norths increased the lead. 12-19. It didn’t end there. Serfontein in unreal form, chipped over the last defender and raced in for his double. 17-19. Halftime.

Easts struck early, Amotosero redeemed himself and the Beasties took the lead. Bowen added two. 24-19. Then they boldly ran it from their own five metre line, Serfontein streaked away and Derby Lancaster finished with no one home. Bowen with two more. 31-19. The skills were on show all day, Bowen’s chip was regathered and offloaded to Joe Wadman to score. Two more for Bowen. 38-19. Norths weren’t done, Le Maitre showed serious speed to narrow the gap. 38-24. Just like a game of hot potato, Norths tossed and popped until Bacon found himself with ball and space. Matt Minogue added two. 38-31. A last-minute penalty and Norths went to the lineout, but to no avail.

Hunter def Randwick 27-26
It took 28 minutes but we finally got our opening score, Joe Browning finished off a lengthy possession set for Randwick. 0-5. Hunter’s scrum was dominant and proved costly for Wicks, Philip Talaileva picked and went. Connor Winchester added two. 7-5. Halftime.

Wicks didn’t take long to respond, a penalty led to a maul and in under a minute Ben Zucchiatti added five more. Jack Bergin converted. 7-12. Finally, some spice, Hunter’s tasty scrum set piece put Sitiveni Vahai over for his first. 12-12. Not long after, Brendan Palmer beat one and flicked out the back, Vahai got his second. 17-12. Naughty boy Bowen Abra was sent for a tackle off the ball, Wicks went to the maul and Oniti Finau went in. Bergin added two. 17-19. Hunter hit back, utilising their offloading skill to put Tomas Aoake in the corner. 22-19. Ten to go and all to play for, Hunter rolled around the corner and Sam Tufuga bashed his way over. In the dying minutes, Wicks did what they do best, held the ball and played for a penalty, and that’s what they got. They went to their maul, the big men went to work and Louis Robinson went over, contrary to the match reports. Bergin dropped over for two.

Warringah def Two Blues 44-29
It did not take long before we had our first points, two minutes in and Latrell Ah Kiong hit a gap. 5-0. Warringah, unfazed, went edge to edge forcing Parra’s big bodies to shift, a line break from Keelan Whitman meant Jackson Ropata had no one in front as he crossed over. Coby Miln added the extras. 5-7. Two Blues responded with three points thanks to Reece Suesue. 8-7. Rats went immediately off the kick-off, snatched by Archie Saunders and offloaded to Ropata for his second. 8-12. Gee, what a game. Parra were next to score as Fabian Goodall bulldozed his way through off a scrum launch. Suesue with two. 15-12. A Rats penalty levelled the scores as Miln slotted three. 15-15. Quelle half.

We love to see big men in space and that’s what we got. Rats number 3 Jaiden Christian galloped home. Miln with two. 15-22. Just like the Empire, Parra struck back, Harrison Valevatu went in at the corner. 22-22. Rats returned serve through a maul, Zac Barnabas with his usual antics. Miln converted. 22-29. Ropata sliced through Parra’s defence, Rats pulled down short and Miln dotted down and converted. 22-36. Groundhog Day folks, another line break and, you guessed it, finished off by Miln. 22-41. Goodall got his second much like his first. Suesue with the two. 29-41. A late penalty from the sideline increased Miln’s tally to 24 and the fat lady sung.

Gordon def Sydney Uni 41-31
Jack Matthews gave us and Uni the opening points. 0-3. Gordon then showed how dangerous they can be with three in a row. First, Will Kaye sped home down the sideline untouched and converted his own try. 7-3. Next up, a charge down from Archie Hosking led to a try. Kaye added two. 14-3. Then Liam Usher dotted down from close range under the sticks. Kaye converted. 21-3. Another poor start for Uni.

Not all bad though, a quick tap from Sam Bignold ended with Sepesa Loga-Tarogi in for his first. Matthews added two. 21-10. The Students struck again before half-time through Declan “the Bison” Moore. Matthews with the extras. 21-17.
A knock-on early in the second half gave Gordon possession and territory. Their attack was too sharp and Uni’s defence too narrow, Tevita Ahokovi crossed. 26-17. Uni hit back with a maul turned penalty try. 26-24. Naughty boy Brandon Quinn was sent for cynical involvement.

A mix-up at the back for Uni cost them. Matthews flicked the ball in from touch, three stood still and Milan Basson came steaming through to score. 31-24. Then a moment of brilliance from Loga-Tarogi with nine to play. Matthews nailed the kick. 31-31. A big three from Kaye with six to go put Gordon back in front. 34-31. With two minutes left on the clock, Gordon earned a penalty and went for the scrum. Kaye broke through, offloaded to Quinn and that’s all she wrote.