Northern Suburbs v Warringah - North Sydney Oval, 3:10pm
The highly anticipated Shute Shield Grand Final between reigning Premiers Northern Suburbs and Warringah will take place this Saturday at North Sydney Oval.
The last time these sides met in Round 18, Warringah defeated the Shoremen at North Sydney Oval 18-11 in a tight affair. Both sides have peaked in the finals period, teeing up one of the most anticipated Shute Shield Grand Finals ever.
Norths defeated a fast-finishing Eastwood last weekend 42-32 in a high scoring battle that they were always in control of. The North Sydney side will be looking to win back to back premierships after sneaking into this year’s finals series and storming their way into the Grand Final.
The Rats won a huge semi-final last weekend against cross-town rivals Manly 27-17, giving them a lot of confidence and momentum going into the decider. Warringah will be looking to end a Premiership drought and claim the Shute Shield this Saturday afternoon.
Both teams have dangers across the park, the battle between the backrowers will be great to watch as well as the flair and speed of the outside backs.
This Saturday’s match will heavily depend on the play makers, young Scrum Half Nick Duffy who has had a great season will be up against the in-form Josh Holmes. The ever-reliable Angus Sinclair will be steering Norths around the park against a very solid Warringah defensive line.
The team from the peninsula are yet to decide between Hamish Angus and Myles Dorrian to play at flyhalf for the decider, as Dorrian has created (good) headaches for the coaching staff after a very strong finals series.
Tickets can be bought before the matchat https://sydneyrugbyunion.iwannaticket.com.au/
If you plan on driving to the Grand Final, the Wilson Parking station in Ward Street, about a 4-minute walk from North Sydney Oval have a special weekend rate of $5 all-day parking for the 2017 Shute Shield Grand Final.
If you can’t make the game, you can catch all the action live on Channel 7 from 3pm. AS IT HAPPENED
Round 15:
Northern Suburbs 57 def. Gordon 22 // Warringah 35 def. Sydney University 20
Round 16:
Northern Suburbs 70 def. Parramatta 21 // Warringah 26 def. by Manly 35
Round 17:
Northern Suburbs 29 def. Eastwood 15 // Warringah 28 def. by Southern Districts 35
Round 18:
Northern Suburbs 11 def. by Warringah 18
Qualifying Finals:
Northern Suburbs 47 def. Southern Districts 18 // Warringah 49 def. Randwick 13
Semi Finals:
Northern Suburbs 42 def. Eastwood 32 // Warringah 27 def. Manly 17
Warringah
1 Rory O’Connor
2 Rob Kelly/ Luke Holmes
3 Sam Needs
4 Jack Tomkins/Cam Treloar
5 Sam Thomson
6 Maclean Jones
7 Tom Connor/ Tom Preece
8 Sam Ward
9 Josh Holmes
10 Myles Dorrian/Hamish Angus
11 Harry Jones
12 Josh Gillard
13 Seb Wileman
14 Sailosi Tagicakibau
15 Dave Feltscheer
16 Rob Kelly/ Luke Holmes
17 Alatasi Tuituohu
18 Mannasseh Alaga
19 Jack Tomkins/Cam Treloar
20 Tom Connor/ Tom Preece
21 Dave Smerdon
22 Myles Dorrian/Hamish Angus
23 Tyson Davis
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 Creigh
12 Harry Burey
13 Cameron Clark
14 Richard Woolf
15 Augustin Slowik
16 Evan Pritchard
17 Daniel Murray
18 Alain Miriallkis
19 James Brown
20 Leon Akopian
21 Harry Emery
22 Blake Murray
23 Kepu Lokotui
REST OF THE WEEKEND
Saturday 26th August - Grade Grand Finals - North Sydney Oval
4th Grade 9:05 Sydney University v Northern Suburbs
3rd Grade 10:50 Manly v Warringah
2nd Grade 12:50 Eastwood v Sydney University
1st Grade * 15:12 Warringah v Northern Suburbs
Sunday 27th August - Colts Grand Finals - Concord Oval
3rd Colts 11:15 Sydney University v Randwick
2nd Colts 13:00 Sydney University v Eastern Suburbs
1st Colts 15:00 Sydney University v Eastern Suburbs
