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From the brutal grind at North Sydney Oval to the Wildfires lighting it up in Newcastle, this round had everything: yellow cards, intercept tries, late drama, and a few teams putting their hand up as genuine contenders.
Randwick def Harbour 31-28
It was a tight ball game between the Wicks and Wests. Quick thinking from Tim Sippel’s tap put Randwick on the front foot, and Isi Naisarani took the liberty himself, picking through the middle of the ruck to open the scoring just one minute in. West Harbour looked organised and dangerous in attack, stringing together some quality phase play to strike in the corner.
The theme of the season remains: you cannot give Randwick time and space. Simple hands to No. 13 Hamish, and the big man went 70 metres to stroll in for Wicks’ second.
The new maul laws had many thinking they would be weaned out as an attacking option this year, but Randwick said “say less” as Louis Robinson dotted down.
The Pirates played their best rugby in the first half calm, strong carries, and clearly a point to prove. Fullback Matt Whelan dodged, ducked, dipped, dived, and dodged his way in from five out.
In the final moments of the first half, a big dummy from Sippel put Joe Browning in a hole go-go gadget arm as he stretched out, ball down, try time.
First chocolates in the second half went to the Pirates, Ethan Halatokoua finishing off a well-executed maul. Harbour was within five. Both teams went quiet until the final quarter. Randwick unleashed the big boys, and Oli Adkins became the man of the moment.
Harbour proved that size matters, bullying Randwick’s defence, and it was only a matter of time before they crossed again, thanks to Onehunga Kaufusi. Three minutes to play, and we had a nail-biter.
A last-minute penalty gave Randwick the final say. They kicked to the corner, secured the lineout, retained possession and that’s all she wrote.
Warringah def Parramatta 48-47
The men from the West came out firing against the competition leaders. Parramatta looked sharp early, with strong carries and silky offloads. Hosea Saumaki bashed over for the opener before Fionn Clifford followed off quick ball from Rilloy Suesue. A penalty try and a sin bin to Coby Miln pushed the score to 19-0 inside 16 minutes.
Parra kept rolling. Suesue sliced through off a lineout to extend the lead, while Warringah looked flat. Eventually, Phil Potgieter muscled his way over, and Jake Barnabus followed from a strong maul. Just before halftime, Latrell Ah Kiong flew in to make it Parramatta’s half.
The second half flipped. Ah Kiong was binned for a high shot, and Sitiveni Moceidreke joined him shortly after. With two down, Jackson Ropata hit back for the Rats, but Tovo Faleafa crashed over to keep Parra in front.
Then the comeback kicked in. McKill, Fepule’ai, and Ropata all crossed as Warringah roared back. Miln added a penalty to take the lead, and a high shot handed the Rats key territory. Malachi Tia sealed it.
Parramatta scored after the bell to grab a bonus point, but the comeback was complete. A thriller and a warning. Warringah are never out of it.
Easts def Manly 66-5
Reon Lowery opened the scoring, flopping over to give Easts the lead. Manly needed a bit of luck and found it with a nasty bounce off the synthetic turf, regathered and finished by Charlie Powell. Hate to spoil the story, but that was their only score of the day. Ouch. Tough season for the Marlins.
Manly were good in patches, but system failures really let them down. A great team on paper, but they struggled to break the line. Poor ball retention and too many miracle passes killed any rhythm.
Easts’ scrum was dominant — must be nice having so many Tahs in the pack. Riaihe Jacobs had a solid outing with the boot, but his forwards’ slow work rate let him down. There were almost too many Easts tries to count — so here they are:
Scorers:
• Julian “the game they play in” Heaven – crashed over from a maul
• Darby Lancaster – intercept against the run of play
• Lancaster again – silky ball from Jack Bowen put him away
• Lancaster hat-trick – lovely offload from Cooper Whiteside
• Joel Cobb – cheeky flick pass from Heaven down the blindside
• Lancaster’s fourth – bounce pass didn’t work, but he did
• Cobb again – cross-field kick from Bowen, delicious
• Lancaster’s fifth – line break from inside Easts’ 30, chip and chase, try time
• Otto Serfontein – clean hands, cheeky step, crashes over. Good night, Manly
Darby Lancaster. Photo: Karen Watson, Sydney Rugby Union
Tough, tough day for the Marlins. Not sure what you say as a coach, but right now they’re current residents of Struggle Street.
Gordon drew with Eastwood 33-33
We love a tight game, and oh lordy, did we get one!
A late shot on Conor Hickey gave Gordon a kick to touch five metres out. Their destructive maul went to work, and Jackson Ryan did the rest. Eastwood replied immediately. “Copycats!” yelled from the sideline as they mauled over too. Jayden Henderson, thank you very much.
The Woodies rolled around the field phase after phase, and poor defensive organisation from Gordon meant Jhy Legg grabbed the five-pointer. Eastwood were showing off their dangerous counterattack, James McGregor has a better 0–60km/h than the new Tesla Roadster, and Isaac Crowe is just as rapid. Gordon was caught ruck-watching and Eastwood were clinical in-phase. Lachlan Albert put Henderson into a beautiful gap, try time, Woods!
Gordon, feeling left out, finally struck. Will Kaye, who loves open space, sliced through to put them in prime position. Solid phase shape and a beautiful ball over the top from Hickey to Brandon Quinn put Gordon back on the map. 14–19. Half-time.
Woods came out hot after the break. Straight from the kick-off, it was edge to edge, length to length. Serious pace, simple catch-pass, and a cheeky chip and chase, Michael Stringer scored – the perfect start to the second half.
Staring down a long day, Gordon hit back through some individual brilliance from fly-half ring-in Hickey. A grubber into the in-goal reduced the gap. You’re most vulnerable after scoring, but Gordon said, “Nah mate, we’re on one.” Liam Usher crashed over and we had a tied ball game.
With 15 to play, the Staggies found themselves five metres out. Great speed around the corner, the big boys doing what they do best, and Tristan Fuli found the line.
In the dying moments, Woods were on the prowl. Forced back into their own half, Eastwood launched a counterattack. A late shot from Gordon’s naughty boy Fuli left them one down with little time remaining. Woodies earned a lineout five metres out. Gordon threw everything at them defensively, but the numerical disadvantage was too costly. A beautiful cut-out pass found Michael Stringer in the corner. Two points down, kick to come.
Up stepped Cole Spinks and he thundered it over the black dot.
Hunter def Uni 48-34
Hunter keep marching on and Uni continue to trip over themselves. The Wildfires’ big men were relentless early, smashing tackles and setting the tone. A charged-down kick from Jack Evenden opened the scoring before Uni hit back through Declan Moore off a classic rolling maul.
From there, it was tit for tat. Bruce Kauika-Peterson and Philip Talaileva both crossed for Hunter, while Moore bagged another to keep Uni in the hunt. But a yellow to Jullien Caillol for a high shot handed the momentum back. Connor Winchester nailed the penalty, and though James Kane answered with three of his own, Hunter’s scramble defence denied a 70m counter before Brad Amituanai finally crashed over.
With Uni still a man down, Jack Matthews joined the naughty list for a tip tackle, and Frankie Nowell was denied before the halftime whistle.
The Students opened the second with a lucky try, but Hunter hit back fast through Evenden’s second. Uni’s errors mounted, and the Wildfires ran away with it. Moore finished with four tries in a dominant performance.
Mathew Meafua powered over late, Winchester stayed sharp off the tee, and a final intercept from Daniel Maiava sealed it.
Hunter protected their perfect record at home, and they’re looking seriously dangerous.
Norths def Souths 33-17
The reinvigorated Souths took on the Shoremen in a stunning afternoon clash at North Sydney Oval. Both teams had a crack early, but neither could break through. We love a bit of argy-bargy, and Nathan Russell took it upon himself to light the spark with Winiata Cherrington. Get after it, fellas.
Matt Minogue broke the deadlock with a cheeky dummy, slipping through untouched. Thomas Gibb replied shortly after a well-drilled maul and Souths were on the board. Norths hit back with a maul of their own, Marshall “The Master” Le Maitre dotting down to retake the lead.
It was a tough, physical battle, both sides throwing the proverbial sink at it. Norths were next to strike: Minogue over the top to Reece Mau’u, and the lead stretched to two tries. Three minutes after the bell, Matt Balaski added another three.
Norths were too strong in the second half, starting the way, they intended to finish, on top. Sam Kitchen bagged his first of the day, pushing the gap to 18 points. Souths desperately needed something. After a lineout inside Norths’ half and 12 patient phases, they got it. Playing with penalty advantage, Josh Noonan stabbed a Thurston-like grubber through, and Mark Balaski raced onto it for Souths’ second.
Norths showed slick skill from 1 to 15, shifting the ball across the park and running Souths side to side. Eventually, the cracks began to form. Another Norths lineout delivered a sneaky trick play to put Le Maitre in for his second.
Credit to Souths they played good footy. Their shape around the park was strong, and Noonan steered the ship well. They threw it around and broke the line with strong carries. But after James Margan was sent to the bin, the Rebels couldn’t capitalise.
Norths played until the fat lady sung. Their resounding pressure proved too much. Will we see them in the finals again this year? Only time will tell…
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.