Warringah, Easts, Gordon, Randwick, Norths and Eastwood all claimed wins in round 10 after returning from a break over the long weekend.
With eight rounds remaining in the regular season, the top teams showed they’ll be tough to chase down in the weeks ahead, but that won’t stop the teams below them trying.
Easts tight win over Manly and Eastwood’s victory over Sydney Uni could both prove to be very important towards the back end of the season.
Both sides defended a lead in the final minutes and came away with the points. Easts consolidated their spot in the top two as a result, while Eastwood are now just one win outside of the top six and take momentum into Saturday’s crucial clash against Randwick.
After a mixed run of form, Randwick were back to the ruthless attacking best against Southern Districts on a wet afternoon at Coogee Oval.
Kurtley Beale made an appearance off the bench, but it was his teammates that did most of the damage in the seven try victory.
All 12 teams are still capable of playing finals footy this year but some need to start winning sooner rather than later.
Souths and West Harbour play three of their next four matches against sides in the top six and need to win a few of those to stay in the hunt for the playoffs.
Sydney Uni, Western Sydney and Hunter still have time to play their way into form, but it’s only going to get harder for those sides to move up the ladder as the weeks go on.
Eastwood are five competition points behind Norths in sixth and Hunter are five competition points behind Eastwood in seventh. It’s tight, but that could all change over the coming weeks.
Gordon are flying under the radar a little despite sitting third on the Shute Shield ladder and will take plenty of confidence into Saturday’s North Shore derby at North Sydney Oval.
The Stags have won seven of their last eight games and only lost to competition leaders Warringah by five points earlier this month.
Norths on the other hand, have one just one of their last five matches, albeit with a draw against the Rats thrown in their.
Gordon can secure their spot at the pointy end of the ladder with a win on Saturday. Norths sit on the edge of the playoff positions and will be eager to push up the ladder before pressure begins to build on last year’s grand finalists.
More representative players are expected to filter in to their respective club sides over the coming weeks. Last week, Tane Edmed and Tim Anstee returned for Eastwood while Henry Robertson and James Kane were back for Uni.
Teddy Wilson and Jack Bowen played well in Easts win over Manly, while Jed Holloway and Kurtley Beale both made appearances in the Randwick and Souths clash.
Expect to see more big names when the team lists for round 11 are released later this week.
