Eastern Suburbs are one win away from breaking a 55-year Shute Shield premiership drought dating all the way back to 1969.
But in their way is a Northern Suburbs side who produced their best performance of the season to beat last year’s premiers Randwick at North Sydney Oval on Saturday.
The stage is set for one of the most enticing Shute Shield deciders we’ve seen in recent times.
Here are a few things to keep an eye on:
Northern Suburbs fullback Max Burey was outstanding for the Shoremen in their 34-17 victory over Randwick but he could be heading back to Perth this week to join a training camp with the Western Force ahead of off-season matches to be played in October.
It’s as ridiculous as it sounds, but Norths coach Zak Beer is still waiting to hear if he’ll have his star fullback, who missed last year’s decider for the same reason.
If Burey played in last year’s grand final, some think Norths would have beaten Randwick, as is his game-turning impact.
Let’s hope both sides are full strength for Saturday’s decider.
Regardless of how things end up this weekend, Eastern Suburbs have had a season to remember, with six teams set to contest the seven grade and colts grand finals over the weekend.
Easts have been strong across lower grades and colts for a number of years, but they’ve never combined that with success in first grade.
New club coach Ben Batger deserves plenty of credit for cracking the code at Woollahra, as do the many, many coaches and officials who have worked tirelessly at the club over a number of years to set up this weekend.
The bar staff at Easts’ fantastic clubhouse - The Field - could be in for a few long shifts!
It’s easy to forget that Teddy Wilson and Jack Bowen are 21 and 20 respectively.
Both young halves have played Super Rugby and have several seasons of Shute Shield experience under their belts already.
They were both brilliant in last weekend’s preliminary final win and have different roles to play this weekend.
Wilson is an out and out game breaker. It’s not the traditional role of a No.9, but somehow Teddy finds a way to break open contests week after week, while directing his team around the park.
Bowen also has plenty of spark but will need to manage Saturday’s decider better than his opponent Jude Gibbs. If Bowen can keep his side playing in the right parts of the field, Easts’ may have too much firepower for Norths.
On Sunday, Easts will also contest two of the three colts deciders at Coogee Oval. The Beasties take on Gordon in first colts and Sydney Uni in third colts.
Uni and Randwick will contest second grade colts in between.
If you’re looking for a way to spoil dad on Father’s Day, why not head down to Coogee for the day and watch three games of rugby back-to-back on the first day of spring.
The Shute Shield decider kicks off slightly earlier than usual at 2:45pm this year.
But with plenty of sun forecast for Saturday, it’s worth heading over to Leichhardt early to get your spot on the hill.
With plenty of room for the kids to run around, fans can watch four grand finals back-to-back from 8:30am on Saturday.
Easts face Norths in fourth grade, Randwick in third grade and Manly in second grade ahead of the big one at 2:45pm.
