Sydney University continued their late-season march as they strive for their sixth-straight premiership with a bonus point win over Eastwood at T.G. Millner Field. In a round which saw the top three teams all taste defeat, the Students moved closer to the top of the ladder along with Randwick and Eastern Suburbs who also recorded important wins. Manly returned to top spot despite going down to Gordon, Warringah scored 14 tries against Parramatta while Penrith held West Harbour to a draw.
Berrick Barnes scored 14 points for the Students against Eastwood.
Berrick Barnes scored 14 points for the Students against Eastwood. [2010 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 18 - Eastwood v Sydney University; T.G. Millner Field; 14/8/10]
Eastwood fullback Ben Batger.
Eastwood fullback Ben Batger. [2010 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 18 - Eastwood v Sydney University; T.G. Millner Field; 14/8/10]
Randwick's Test prop Sekope Kepu.
Randwick's Test prop Sekope Kepu. [2010 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 18 - Northern Suburbs v Randwick; North Sydney Oval; 14/8/10]
Norths centre Chris Moore.
Norths centre Chris Moore. [2010 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 18 - Northern Suburbs v Randwick; North Sydney Oval; 14/8/10]
Pirates lock Tom Hikila.
Pirates lock Tom Hikila. [2010 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 18 - West Harbour v Penrith; Concord Oval; 14/8/10]
Powerful Penrith utility Stan Tuionuku.
Powerful Penrith utility Stan Tuionuku. [2010 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 18 - West Harbour v Penrith; Concord Oval; 14/8/10]
Tooheys New Shute Shield - Round 18 Scores
Sydney University 38 d Eastwood 24 at T.G. Millner Field
Randwick 33 d Northern Suburbs 30 at North Sydney Oval
West Harbour 26 drew with Penrith 26 at Concord Oval
Gordon 22 d Manly 20 at Chatswood Oval
Warringah 90 d Parramatta 14 at Pittwater Rugby Park
Eastern Suburbs 38 d Southern Districts 26 at Forshaw Rugby Park
Eastwood v Sydney University at T.G. Millner Field
The second half injection of Berrick Barnes proved crucial in Sydney University's 38-24 victory over Eastwood at T.G. Millner Field.
While the Students went into half-time with a one-point lead, Eastwood pulled out an eight-point advantage early in the second stanza before Barnes's composure and superb goal-kicking helped drive Uni to their sixth bonus point win in as many games.
Sydney Uni were camped in the Eastwood 22 for the opening ten minutes after Tim Bennetts was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Tom Carter, however the closest they came to scoring with the one-man advantage was when Lachie Turner held Nathan Trist up over the line.
Dan Kelly piloted penalties in the 14th and 16th minutes, however from the following restart came one of the most opportunistic tries of the season. Sydney Uni let the deep kick-off bounce into the in-goal area where Lachie Turner steamed through and touched down just before the dead ball line.
From that point the match continued to swing from end to end with defence proving stronger than both sides' ambitious attack. Kelly nailed another penalty to open up a four-point advantage however Ben Batger kicked one of his own to ensure the home side trailed by just one at half-time, 9-8.
Eastwood had the first territorial advantage of the second stanza and James Foote made short work of it with a drop goal to put the Woodies in front for the first time. He then kicked a long range penalty to push the home side further ahead, 14-8.
The University forwards continued to ask questions of the Eastwood defence with Luke Burgess playing a leading role in driving his pack around the park. However despite a couple of periods of dominance from the defending champions, the competition leaders remained equal to the task and forced their way downfield for Batger to kick Eastwood to a 17-9 lead in the 57th minute.
Two minutes later Berrick Barnes brought the margin back inside a converted try with a penalty and shortly after found himself chasing through a Nathan Charles kick to touch down in the corner for Uni's first try. After consulting the touch judge James Leckie awarded the try without consulting the TMO, however replays showed Barnes' foot on the touchline before scoring.
Barnes then converted from the sideline to push Uni out to a 19-17 lead.
The strong Eastwood crowd's disappointment only got worse two minutes later when a flat ball from Jerry Yanuyanutawa put Nathan Trist across for Uni's second try. Barnes again converted from the sideline for a 26-17 advantage with 14 minutes remaining.
Paddy Ryan was shown the second yellow card of the match in the 70th minute when he was penalised for his second high tackle of the half. However despite being down a man Uni were able to put the game out of reach with Tom Carter crossing for the Students' third try.
Barnes was leading the orchestra as the Students continued to pile on the points late in the game with the HSBC Waratahs playmaker playing a crucial role in Peter Betham scoring the bonus point try.
A flurry of points in the final quarter of the match ended with Eastwood crossing through Tom Alexander however it was far too little, too late for the home side who drop to second on the competition ladder.
Sydney University remain in sixth despite the bonus point win, but with the top three teams going down the Students have moved closed the gap on their other premiership aspirants on.
Sydney University 38 (Berrick Barnes, Nathan Trist, Tom Carter, Peter Betham tries; Berrick Barnes 3 cons, pen, Dan Kelly 3 pens) d Eastwood 24 (Lachie Turner, Tom Alexander tries; Ben Batger 2 pens, con, James Foote pen, drop) at T.G. Millner Field. HT: Sydney University 9-8. Referee: James Leckie.
Northern Suburbs v Randwick at North Sydney Oval
Randwick produced a confidence-boosting second half comeback to record a 33-30 victory over Northern Suburbs at North Sydney Oval.
The visitors scored four tries to nil in the second forty to turn a 17-point deficit into a bonus point victory. The result keeps Randwick ahead of Sydney University on the competition ladder in fifth place.
Randwick has now recorded back-to-back wins four times this year and will be striving to earn three straight victories for the first time in 2010 when they host West Harbour next weekend.
Randwick 33 (Sekope Kepu, Dave Vizer, Josh Valentine, Nick Cummins, Seilala Lam tries; Danny Kroll 4 cons) d Northern Suburbs 30 (AJ Gilbert, Steve Evans, James Lew tries; Chris Burnett 3 cons, 3 pens) at North Sydney Oval. HT: Northern Suburbs 24-7. Referee: Angus Gardner.
West Harbour v Penrith at Concord Oval
Penrith have again proved they are one of the most-improved sides of the competition after holding West Harbour to a 26-all draw at Concord Oval.
It was the second draw of the year for both teams and ensures a bottleneck from eighth to eleventh on the competition ladder with just three points separating four teams.
The Pirates have now failed to record a win from their last nine starts, however this result is all the more disappointing given they went into half-time with a 21-7 lead.
The Emus then outscored their hosts by three tries to one in the second forty, with Penrith having now lost just one of their last five matches.
West Harbour 26 (Campese Ma'afu, Tom Hikila, Sione Tau, Tito Mua tries; David Fong 3 cons) drew with Penrith 26 (Chris Aho, Winnie Paulo, Luke Cross, Dave Alo tries; Gavin Duncan 3 cons) at Concord Oval. HT: West Harbour 21-7. Referee: Stuart Dickinson.
Gordon v Manly at Chatswood Oval
Gordon has pulled off the upset of the weekend with a 22-20 victory over Manly at Chatswood Oval.
Ironically, despite dropping back-to-back matches for the first time this season, Manly has returned to the top of the competition table after earning two bonus points in the two-point loss.
The Marlins scored two tries to one in the first half to hold a 10-7 lead at the break, however the Highlanders showed a lot more resilience than they have for much of 2010.
Gordon and Manly traded two tries apiece in the second half, however goal-kicking proved the difference in the end with the visitors failing to land a conversion.
The Highlanders have also moved back ahead of Penrith on points difference and could now finish the season as high as eighth.
How Manly fare over the next fortnight will be interesting with star fullback and the competition's leading pointscorer Adam D'Arcy heading to Ireland for a trial with Ulster.
Gordon 22 (Jared Barry, Paulie Tuala, Jason Peseta tries; Dave Harvey 2 cons, pen) d Manly 20 (Lui Siale 2, Adam D'Arcy, Dylan Sigg tries) at Chatswood Oval. HT: Manly 10-7. Referee: Nathan Pearce.
Warringah v Parramatta at Pittwater Rugby Park
Warringah have kept their slim semi-final hopes alive with a 90-14 victory over Parramatta at Pittwater Rugby Park.
The Rats scored 14 tries to two, with Josh Holmes scoring four, Pat McCabe notching a hat-trick and Dave Feltscheer crossing for a double.
The result keeps Warringah within striking distance of Randwick and Sydney University however their 2010 fate rests with their next two matches against Souths and Easts.
Warringah 90 (Josh Holmes 4, Pat McCabe 3, Dave Feltscheer 2, Luke Holmes, John Kennedy, Dylan Smouha, Sam Harris, Joelin Rapana tries; Sam Harris 10 cons) d Parramatta 14 (William Tuitupou, Jesse Leota tries; Tom Woods con, Pierre Hola con) at Pittwater Rugby Park. HT: Warringah 45-0. Referee: Andrew Lees.
Southern Districts v Eastern Suburbs at Forshaw Rugby Park
Eastern Suburbs are back within a bonus point win of the top two after today's 38-26 victory over Southern Districts at Forshaw Rugby Park.
The match was in the balance at half-time with the home-side holding a slender two-point advantage, however the Beasties scored four tries to one in the second half with Anton Lavin completing a hat-trick.
The result has closed up the top four on the competition ladder with Easts now just seven points adrift of competition leaders Manly.
Eastern Suburbs 38 (Anton Lavin 3, Pat Dellit, Damon Anderson, Will Brock tries; Brendan McKibbin 4 cons) d Southern Districts 26 (Ita Vaea, Ben Schreiber tries; Kurt Morath 4 pens, 2 cons) at Forshaw Rugby Park. HT: Southern Districts 16-14. Referee: Steve Hardy.
