Saturday 19th of August
Warringah vs Manly- Pittwater Rugby Park, 3:10pm
Cross-town rivals Warringah and Manly will fight for a ticket to the 2017 Shute Shield Grand Final this Saturday afternoon. The stage has been set for the 3rd and final ‘Battle of the Beaches’ for the season being held at what is expected to be a packed Rat park.
Last time these sides met, Manly rose to the occasion and were victorious 35-26. At the start of the season, Warringah beat Manly 17-16 with Hamish Angus kicking a memorable side-line conversion in the dying minutes of the game.
The final, deciding episode of the ‘Battle of the Beaches’ is expected to the biggest and best. Both clubs will be looking to take the bragging rights over their neighbours as well as book themselves in the Shute Shield Grand Final.
Both forward packs will decide the outcome of this game; Warringah forwards dominated the Randwick pack last week giving their lethal backline plenty of front-foot ball. The Marlins forwards have been the cornerstone of their success all year, but will need to improve from last week’s performance to match the Rat’s dominant set-piece.
This Saturday will be the biggest match of the Shute Shield season to date and with a spot in the big dance up for grabs, it will be an outstanding afternoon of club rugby.
Catch all the action live on Channel 7TWO at 3:10pm this Saturday 19th of August.
Warringah
1 Rory O’Connor
2 Rob Kelly
3 Sam Needs
4 Jack Tomkins
5 Cam Treloar
6 Maclean Jones
7 Tom Connor
8 Sam Ward
9 Josh Holmes
10 Myles Dorrian
11 Harry Jones
12 Josh Gillard
13 Seb Wileman
14 Sailosi Tagicakibau
15 Dave Feltscheer
Manly
1 Sio Tatola/Mitch Lewis
2 James Hilterbrand
3 Gunnz Fuavao
4 Ryan Melrose/Ed Gower
5 Adrian Hall
6 Sam Shires
7 Kotoni Ale
8 Dan Alley
9 Tim Donlan
10 Sam Lane
11 Tom Chesters
12 Kevin Fuavao/Nick Holton
13 Dennis Pili-Gaitau
14 Cam Bailey
15 Josh Turner
Sunday 20th of August
Northern Suburbs v Eastwood – North Sydney Oval, 3:10pm
After dismantling a momentous Southern Districts side in the qualifiers, defending Premiers Norths are set to host Eastwood for their chance to enter their second grand final in just as many years.
Eastwood will also enter the fray backed full of confidence after defeating Minor Premiers the Marlins at Manly Oval last weekend.
Both sides possess a handful of Super Rugby-capped players including the likes of Michael Wells, Cam Clark, Will Miller and Hugh Roach all set to put their best feet forward.
The battle up front will prove to be a key matchup in this semi-final given the enormous performances put in by both front rows in each of their qualifiers last weekend. Eastwood skipper Jed Gillespie and his partner-in-crime Rob Lagudi were among the most notable of performers in their victory on the Village Green, who will no doubt be asking questions of the Norths pack.
Crucial to success too is the containment of the Shoremen’s outside backs in Lachlan Creagh, Cam Clark, Richard Woolf and Augustin Slowik. Their ability to shift the ball into space combined with their strong intent to win kick-chase makes them a force to be reckoned with.
You can watch the second Shute Shield semi-final live this Sunday on 7TWO, with coverage starting from 3pm AEST.
Northern Suburbs
1 Ezra Luxton
2 Sam Kitchen
3 Lawrence Hunting
4 Hugh Sinclair
5 Conor Vest
6 Gary Bautz
7 Will Miller
8 Michael Wells
9 Nick Duffy
10 Angus Sinclair
11 Lachlan Creagh
12 Harry Burey
13 Cameron Clark
14 Richard Woolf
15 Augustin Slowik
Eastwood
1 Jed Gillespie
2 Hugh Roach
3 Rob Lagudi
4 James Neale
5 Lachie Cannell
6 Michael Kovacic
7 Tevita Piukala
8 George Kent
9 Matt Gonzalez
10 Blake Sutton
11 Zac Mackay
12 Tom Hill
13 Mike McDougall
14 Fabian Goodall
15 Liam Windon
