On a day of reflection, mateship, and fierce spirit, the Shute Shield honoured Anzac Day with hard-fought rugby across the state. From the Battle of the Beaches to wild finishes in the country, Round 4 dished up upsets, blowouts, and classic Shute Shield chaos. The competition is heating up, and some early favourites are starting to flex. Strap in, here’s how it all went down.
Hunter def Souths 34-21
Hunter rolled into this one red-hot, and with Souths fresh off the upset of the round, it was set up for a cracker.
But like Finding Nemo taught us, “Fish are friends, not food,” unless you’re Bruce “Sharky” Kauika-Peterson, who bagged the easiest try of his life to kick things off. He had a shaky throwing day (we’ll go easy on him), but it didn’t matter, Brendan Palmer crossed minutes later, and the Wildfires were flying.
Unleashing pure aggression meant big collisions… and big penalty counts. New tackle laws aren’t built for the “big boys” but gee it’s entertaining.
Early penalties and patchy defence had Souths scrambling, and by the half-hour, Hunter were four tries up, Sione Taufui strolling in after a slick offload from Connor Winchester.
Damien Faiane earned himself 10 in the bin, and though Winiata Cherrington almost ignited a comeback, the bounce of the ball said “not today.”
Luckily, Caleb Beams finished a nice catch-pass movement to finally put Souths on the board.
Just before the break, a brilliant intercept from Logan Love turned footrace into folklore until David Nicol pulled off the chase of the year to shut him down at the death.
The second half? More of the same. Discipline cost Souths again as Matt Meafua crossed early.
Josh Noonan hit back off a sharp scrum play, but Souths just couldn’t stem the tide.
Highlight? Max Freeman, the human tank, tried to somersault over the corner post but was robbed blind! Where’s the benefit of the doubt, sir?
Souths closed with a nice consolation try after some patient phase play, showing flashes of their bone-rattling defence when they’re switched on. A shoutout to Jake Douglas, 200 games. Raise the bat, son. Massive effort.
Warringah def Manly 44-8
The 105th Battle of the Beaches was played on Anzac Day. Two giant packs, two electric backlines, and plenty of feeling.
The Rats struck first, with Keelan Whitman bulldozing over off a quick tap. First try of the game and first naughty boy all in one, can’t blame the man for wanting a breather, he’s a workhorse. Ten in the bin.
I’m terrible at maths, but 14 v 15 is usually a disadvantage (so they say). Lewis “Ice” Berg snuck in to level the score.
With the wind in their mullets and some crunching tackles, the Rats won a penalty, and Coby Milne slotted it from the left to push the lead out to five.
The Marlins looked dangerous shifting the ball wide. We love a big man with speed, and Ethan Cutler was unreal to watch in the open field. Their pressure was rewarded with a penalty right in front. Three points, thank you very much.
Hunter Ward, oh captain, my captain, what a half of rugby. They often say, “Why pay full price for a seat if you spend most of it on the edge?” That’s exactly what this game delivered, a real arm-wrestle.
Milne struck first after the break with a cracker penalty from 45 out. Then the floodgates opened.
Phil Potgieter strode home minutes later, showing the kind of flair we love from the big men. Pat La Toracca found himself in space and made it count, while Wes Thomas added to the party as the Rats blew Manly away.
Not sure what was in the halftime Gatorade, but Warringah clearly brewed the stronger batch.
Thank God Tyson Davis crossed on his 150th. Great man, great game.
Finally, Archie Saunders finished off a brilliant cut-out ball from Milne to blow the scoreline wide open.
It was a tough day for Manly, and you have to wonder, is it slowly becoming an even tougher season?
Uni def Gordon 31-19
The Students bounced back strongly, handing Gordon their first loss of the season.
With Shute Shield legend Jake Gordon back, Uni looked sharp from the start.
The scrum dominated early, Julien Caillol barged over, and Brad Amituanai followed with a trademark Uni forwards’ try.
Gordon showed why they are top of the table when Conor Hickey burned the defence to get them on the board.
But Uni’s set piece was firing, and Benjy Joseland crossed untouched off clean ruck ball.
This week’s naughty boy was Harry Emery who copped 10 minutes for a trip tackle.
The second half stayed physical. Even with a man down, Gordon’s maul powered over with Jake Tierney scoring.
Penalties pinned Uni inside their own 40 for long stretches, but Amituanai set up Caillol’s second with some brilliant footwork and a crisp offload.
Coach killers were everywhere. Gordon’s missed kicks to touch cost them dearly.
Props kept the madness alive when Sione Harris chipped behind, Uni counter-rucked, and set up Joseland’s second try.
Gordon fought hard and James Armstrong crossed late, but Uni’s defence held firm.
Leon Bonagre, on debut, picked up a yellow with a minute left as Gordon pushed for a bonus point.
Not to be. Uni closed it out for a huge statement win.
Norths def Woods 48-45
There’s nothing better than a country round and Cowra delivered.
Early points went to the red and black lumberjacks as Matt Minogue slotted a penalty from 45 metres, then did it again from 50 on the angle. The kid is absolutely flying.
Norths kept rolling when Ratu Kuitakeivuravura knocked the ball from Lachie Albert’s hands on a quick tap. Naughty boy, ten in the bin.
Norths’ Seamus Smith and Matt Ryan. (Photo by Clay Cross/SPORTSPICS)
Eastwood turned down the points and were rewarded, Harry Snook double-pumping to send Isaac Crowe under the sticks, then dummying over himself off a left-side scrum.
Redemption came for Ratu who powered over to keep Norths in it. This was proper country rugby with big collisions, red painted lines, a bit of biff, and maybe a few utes doing circle work out the back.
Norths lost a second player when Will Riley went to the bin, and Eastwood’s maul did the damage with Harry Turner crossing before halftime.
The second half exploded. Jayden Henderson got marched for a WWE-style suplex at the ruck. Even with a man down, Norths fought on, and Tom Bacon flew over to close it to a one-point game. Then it went completely off the rails.
Lachlan Shelley was sin-binned for slapping the ball dead, giving Norths a penalty try. Eastwood hit back through Ratu Tuisese who muscled his way over. Norths responded as Theo Vukasinovic burrowed over and Cole Spinks kept the scoreboard ticking with a penalty to level it again.
Shelley tried a chip and chase that was charged down, but the ball popped up beautifully and he raced away to score.
Norths stayed clinical with sharp hands around the corner and Callum Sirker finished in the corner.
Eastwood hit back down the short side with Ronan Kelly barging over to take the lead with six minutes to play.
But it was the bald eagle himself, James Margan, dragged over by a ten-man Norths maul after the bell, who sealed the win for the Shoremen.
Both kickers deserve a massive nod. Minogue and Spinks went seven from seven in a deadset clinic off the tee.
Two Blues def West Harbour 36-23
The Battle of the West never disappoints. Big hits, fast hands, and enough “Chee-hooing” to shake Lithgow.
West Harbour struck first with a long-range penalty from James Faiva before the match paused for a serious moment, with best wishes to Harrison Blake after a nasty early injury. Thankfully, he was throwing signs to the crowd on the stretcher and seemed to be loving the green whistle.
Parra fired back with razzle-dazzle from the Suesue brothers but fumbled near the line. They made up for it soon after, Tyrone Mahutariki bulldozing over from a rolling maul.
The Pirates clawed back with penalties, but Parramatta’s attack stayed hot, with Hosea Saumaki untouched after a sharp set-piece before halftime.
The second half was chaos. Penalty goals traded like a game of Pong, a cheeky grubber from Abel Magalogo setting up Sitiveni Moceidreke under the posts, and maul power getting Kaynan Tua across.
Then the highlight. Latrell Ah Kiong went 80 metres, beat four defenders, hit a filthy goose step, and somersaulted into the corner. Try of the round.
The Pirates hit back late through Ethan Halatokoua, but it was not enough. Josh Hickey picked up a late yellow to cap off a brutal afternoon.
Another classic Battle of the West.
Randwick def Easts 34-19
Oh boy, what a fixture. No time to waste.
Isi Naisarani started the party early, silky offload to Jono Chan from a lineout and Wicks were up by seven after five minutes.
Easts hit back quickly with Ciaran Booth crossing untouched after some lazy Randwick defence at the lineout.
You cannot give this Randwick team backline space – a simple two-pass shift, a hitch kick from James Hendren, and they were in again.
Three tries on the board after 17 minutes and Chan looked unstoppable every time, he touched the ball.
A long-range penalty from Tim Sippel closed the half, with Randwick firmly in control.
The Beasties needed a rocket at halftime and got it. Jonny Van Der Velde sniped through early in the second half to boost Easts.
Still, Randwick stayed composed. Jack Barrett smashed through three defenders, jersey shredded like he was auditioning for Magic Mike, absolute scenes.
Jack Bowen became the first naughty boy, but Wicks’ pressure kept mounting.
A clever 50-22 from Cooper Whiteside opened the door for Easts, but they turned the ball over and Randwick punished them.
Edge to edge movement, offloads everywhere, eventually a penalty and three more points to Wicks.
Easts lacked punch and Joe Browning sealed it, crossing after a simple catch and pass to push the lead further.
More pain followed when James Wayland joined the naughty boys list for collapsing the maul.
Bowen tried to spark something late with a chip and chase, but a poor Easts pass let Thomas O’Callaghan pounce, nudging through for another score.
Finally, with the clock in the red, Easts produced some late magic with two chip regathers, David Vaihu jogging into the corner.
Too little, too late. Randwick’s firepower proved too much.
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