Shute Shield 2021 Rd 5: Hunter Wildfire’s season high score, stars, standouts, results
UPDATED: It’s one way to break a drought – go on a 13 try rampage. Stars, standouts and all the results from round five of the Shute Shield rugby competition.
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If you have been waiting five weeks for your first win of the season you want it to be memorable and that’s exactly what the Hunter Wildfire’s win over Penrith was.
In an absolute shellacking, the Hunter club defeated the Penrith Emus 86–10 on Saturday at Newcastle.
It was the highest total amassed this season by any club in the Shute Shield with eight different men diving over for the Hunter side in the game.
After the weekend games Northern Suburbs and Sydney University remain the only teams with five wins from five outings this season.
Following in their wake are Eastwood with a 3–2 win/loss record, Warringah 3–1, Gordon 3–1, Easts 3–2, Randwick 3-2, Manly 2–2, Wildfires 1–4, Souths 1–4, West Harbour 1–4, Penrith 1–3 and Two Blues 0 – 5.
SHUTE SHIELD ROUND FIVE STARS AND STANDOUTS
#Hard to go past the men from the Hunter Wildfires courtesy of their massive win.
Michael Saili Moro scored four with Jayden Wright and Tiueti Asi scoring two each
James Mac Gaw, Hamish McKie, Thomas Watson, Christopher Ali and Leon Fukofuka.
#Gordon survived a tough encounter against Souths to take this meeting 26–23.
Jacob Abel scored twice early in the match with Manasa Rokosuka and Mike Pavlakis also diving over.
#Easts scored a thundering 50–8 win over the Two Blues, the only club in the competition yet to score a victory.
Blake Rixon scored four tries to star in this encounter. Archie King also went over as did Richard Woolfe and James Donato.
#The undefeated Norths side had an unexpectedly tough time against West Pirates at Drummoyne Oval.
Reece Mau’u scored twice with Nick Duffy and Angus Sinclair also notching tries.
Justin Marsters scored twice for West Harbour.
#In another close encounter, Warringah just prevailed against Eastwood 40–37.
Ben Marr scored twice as did Charlie McKill to help Warringah to the victory.
#In a blowout at Sydney University, the Students smashed Manly 48–13. Declan Moore scored twice while Connor O’Shea wracked up the points with four conversions and a try.
SHUTE SHIELD ROUND FIVE RESULTS, TOP TRY SCORERS, CONVERSIONS
Gordon 26 beat Souths 23
Easts 50 Two Blues 8
West Harbour 15 lost to Northern Suburrbs 22
Eastwood 37 lost to Warringah 40
Hunter Wildfires 86 beat Penrith 10
Sydney University 48 beat Manly 13.
Leading try scorers: Declan Moore 11, Michael Icely 7, Christian Yassmin 5, Blake Rixon
5, Jacob Abel 5, Tim Clements 5, Charlie Jeavons-Fellows 5.
Leading conversion: Ben Hughes 14, Connor O’Shea 14, Chris Bell 14, Reece Macdonald 13, Angus Sinclair 13, Rohan Saifoloi 13, Nathan De Thierry 11, Ben Marr 8.
SHUTE SHIELD ROUND FOUR: TWO TEAMS BOLT FROM THE PACK
Just four weeks in and only two teams have a perfect scorecard in the Shute Shield competition and conversely – only two have failed to take a win.
After another round of tough games, a blowout and returns to form, Sydney University and Northern Suburbs top the competition ladder ahead of Eastwood, Warringah, and Gordon who had the bye.
Next is Randwick, followed by Eastern Suburbs, Manly, Souths, West Harbour, Penrith, Hunter and the Two Blues.
Hunter and Two Blues are the only winless teams in the comp.
SHUTE SHIELD ROUND FOUR STARS AND STANDOUTS
# Hooker Declan Moore went over twice for Sydney University in their emphatic 50-0 win over the Penrith Emus.
#Eastwood’s Michael Icely proved a shining light against Easts with three sensational early tries. Waratah Tane Edmed was back doing the kicking and converted three of Eastwood’s six tries while Charlie Gamble scored twice for Easts in their loss.
#Dan O’Brien went over twice for Randwick as they returned to the winners circle in their 30 point victory over Newcastle. Zac Carr converted four from six.
#Angus Sinclair nailed three penalty goals in the tough and feisty encounter between Northern Suburbs and Southern Districts with James Turner and Max Burey going over for tries.
#Warringah shared the scoring around in the 47–24 win over the Pirates.
Ratu Apolosi Kuitakeivuravura put first points on the board with Wesley Thomas then following suit and Ben Marr, Alexander O’Dell, Charlie McGill, Charlie Tupu and Jack Nettleton also scoring tries.
#James Hilterbrand scored twice in Manly’s 10 point win over the Two Blues.
Manly ran in six tries in the match.
SHUTE SHIELD ROUND FOUR RESULTS, TOP TRY SCORERS, CONVERSIONS
Eastern Suburbs 28 lost to Eastwood 42
Manly 38 beat the Two Blues 27
Northern Suburbs 23 beat Southern Districts 13
Warringah 47 beat West Harbour 24
Penrith 0 lost to Sydney University 50
Hunter Wildfires 8 lost to Randwick 38
Bye – Gordon
Top try scorers: Declan Moore 9, Christian Yassmin, Charlie Jeavons-Fellows 5, Tim Clements 4, Michael Icely 4, James Margan 4, Eddie Poolman 4.
Top converters: Ben Hughes 14, Chris Bell 13, Reece Macdonald 13, Angus Sinclair 11, Rohan Saifoloi 10, Connor O’Shea, 10, Ben Marr 8, Zac Carr 6, Christian Kagiassis 6, Harley Attwater 5.
SHUTE SHIELD ROUND THREE: PENRITH EMUS END LONG DROUGHT
Former Parramatta Eels and State of Origin gun John Muggleton has steered the Penrith Emus to the clubs first Shute Shield win in seven years as he ups the ante in a push to a create a team western Sydney youngsters can be proud of and will aspire to represent.
After a two-year absence, Penrith rejoined the Shute Shield last year but went through the shortened season without a single win.
Now, in just round three of the premier club competition, the Emus have ended a seven-year drought to post a win in the competition.
The Emus took down the Two Blues 11-7 victory in the battle of the Wests – Penrith’s first victory since round 17 of the Shute Shield way back in 2014.
Struggling for numbers this season, Muggleton approached competition organisers to request he field just a first grade team rather than another in seconds grade as well.
With permission granted, this has improved and bolstered his pool of available talent and crucially puts fresh men on his bench, not those exhausted from an earlier game.
“Yesterday we could have lost that game in the last 15 minutes but this time our reserves were fresh and held on which is proof positive we have done the right thing,’’ Muggleton said.
Muggleton, who has also spent time as a Super Ruby defence coach in the past, said there were muted celebrations out of respect for a Two Blues player who was taken to hospital with a health issue.
Sydney University and Northern Suburbs are the only two undefeated teams in the competition with three wins each.
Eastwood is third on the ladder followed by Gordon and Eastern Suburbs, all with two wins and one loss each.
SHUTE SHIELD ROUND THREE STARS AND STANDOUTS
#The Penrith team as a whole. Nice work.
#Rohan Saifoloi had his eye in against Randwick. He nailed four penalty goals for Easts along with two conversions.
#It was a try fest in Sydney Uni’s 49–44 victory over Eastwood. Declan Moore scored twice for Uni.
#Reece Mau’u scored two tries in the second half of Norths win against Gordon.
#Christian Kagiassis kicked four penalty goals for Southern Districts in their win over Warringah with Andrew Tuala crossing the line twice.
SHUTE SHIELD ROUND THREE RESULTS, TOP TRY SCORERS, CONVERSIONS
Randwick 22 lost to Eastern Suburbs 31
Southern Districts 31 beat Warringah 25
West Harbour 15 beat Hunter Wildfires 9
Two Blues 7 lost to Penrith Emus 11
Sydney University 49 beat Eastwood 44
Northern Suburbs 33 beat Gordon 17
Top try scorers after three rounds: Declan Moore 7, Charlie Jeavons-Fellows 5, Tim Clements 4, Christian Yassmin 4,
James Margan 4, Michael Icely 4, Andrew Tuala 3, Alesana Pohla 3, Ben Pollack 3, Mike Pavlakis 3, Lachlan Shelley 3, Jacob Abel 3.
Top converters after three rounds: Ben Hughes 14, Chris Bell 13, Reece Macdonald 13, Angus Sinclair 9, Rohan Saifoloi 6, Christian Kagiassis 5, Connor O’Shea 5, Ben Donaldson 4, Connor Winchester 3, Ben Marr 3
SHUTE SHIELD ROUND TWO WRAP
There were heartbreakers, thrillers and last minute upsets in round two action of the Shute Shield club rugby competition
After just two weeks of competition in the NSW league, just four teams remain undefeated.
Gordon, Sydney University, Norths and Eastwood all have unblemished scorecards.
Warringah, who had a bye in round one, are also undefeated after their win on Saturday.
SHUTE SHIELD STARS AND STANDOUTS IN ROUND TWO
#Milan Basson and Mike Pavlakis were both on point for Gordon in their 50–5 thumping of the Western Sydney Two Blues.
The pair scored two tries each with Reece McDonald knocking over four conversions for the Highlanders.
#In a match boasting the biggest score line of the round, Sydney University defeated West Harbour with nine tries to two.
Declan Moore and Ben Hughes were both two-try heroes in this match with Ben Hughes converting six and also going over the line.
#Harley Attwater played a mitigating role in Manly‘s 24–20 to win over Easts. He nailed three penalty goals to help secure the thrilling win.
#James Margan started the match against the Hunter Wildfires with two sensational tries as Norths took the points 23-3.
#Eastwood’s Michael Icely has continued his top form in the competition with two tries in Eastwood’s 28-25 win over Southern Districts.
Chris Bell was also accurate with the boot with three penalty goals and to conversions.
#After sitting out with the bye a week ago Warringah came out with intent and shared the scoring around in their 29–12 win over Randwick.
Jack Nettelton scored first, followed by Ratu Apolosi Kuitakeivuravura and then Charlie Tupu and Dean Blore.
SHUTE SHIELD ROUND TWO RESULTS, TOP TRY SCORERS, CONVERSIONS
Gorden 50 beat Two Blues 5
Sydney University 57 beat West Harbour 15
Eastern Suburbs 22 lost to Manly 24
Hunter Wildfires 3 lost to Norths 23
Souths 25 lost to Eastwood 28
Warringah 29 beat Randwick 12
TRYSCORERS
Declan Moore 5, Michael Icely 4, Charlie Jeavons-Fellows 4, Mike Pavlakis 3, Tim Clements
3, James Margan 3, Ben Pollack 3, Christian Yassmin 3, Alesana Pohla 3, Jacob Abel 3
CONVERSIONS
Ben Hughes 13, Reece Macdonald 12, Chris Bell 9, Angus Sinclair 7 Rohan Saifoloi 4, Ben Donaldson 4, Connor Winchester 3, Christian Kagiassis 3, Ben Marr 3.
SHUTE SHIELD 2021 ROUND ONE WRAP, SCORERS, BEST PLAYERS
It was an opening round which had it all – blowouts, close calls and some exciting club rugby.
The 2021 competition kicked off with some extraordinary scorelines – the biggest of which was Norths 73-0 trouncing of Penrith.
Defending Shute Shield champions Gordon also started the season with a bang – beating Manly 78-10 in a surprising blowout.
Eastwood took on the Two Blues for another 50 plus win, taking down the Western Sydney side 59-19.
Sydney Uni also racked up in excess of 50 points with their 56-24 victory over the Hunter Wildfire.
The closest game of the round was Eastern Suburbs 17-14 defeat of Southern Districts, a club that last season produced some major upset.
The final match was Randwick’s 47-17 victory over West Harbour at a picture perfect Drummoyne Oval.
STARS AND STANDOUT OF SHUTE SHIELD ROUND ONE
#Gordon halfback Jake Abel scored three tries in game one in an impressive display.
Fullback Ben Pollack was equally lethal with a hat-trick of his own.
Fly half Reece MacDonald was deadly accurate for Gordon as they ran riot over Manly, with eight conversions in the match.
#In Eastern Suburbs win over Souths, Jack Grant returned from the Waratahs and contributed a try along with Clay Uyen
#At Eastwood, Chris Bell was accurate with seven conversions in the match against the Two Blues.
Eastwood shared the scoring around in this game with seven different try scorers and Michael Icely going over twice.
#Charlie Jeavons-Fellows starred for Norths in their rollicking 73-0 win over Penrith.
The open side flanker produced three tries in the game.
#In Randwick’s defeat of the Pirates, Christopher Eves crashed over for tries while Ben Donaldson, back from the Waratahs, was accurate with the boot.
SHUTE SHIELD 2021 ROUND ONE RESULTS
Sydney University 56 Hunter Wildfires 24
Eastern Suburbs 17 Southern Districts 14
West Harbour 17 Randwick 47
Penrith 0 Northern Suburbs 73
Eastwood 59 Two Blues 19
Manly 10 Gordon 78
Bye: Warringah Rate
EASTWOOD SHUTE SHIELD SEASON PREVIEW
Coach Ben Batger said Eastwood’s goals for the 2021 season aren’t complicated but the way they go about them could surprise.
Batger said the club’s motto for the season is to “go one better ” after falling just short against Gordon in the competition decider at Leichhardt Oval last year.
And doing something different in attack could serve them well.
WHAT THE EASTWOOD COACH SAYS
“We are tweaking our attack. We felt we were a little predictable last year,’’ the Woodies coach said.
“We will be changing our attacking philosophy.
“The attack was good but predictable.
“We want to use our strike force better in attack.’’
PLAYER MOVEMENT: TEAM SIGNINGS AND LOSSES
Batger said the fact Eastwood has retained the majority of its talent from the 2020 season has bolstered the club’s confidence ahead of this year’s campaign.
But Batger said he is forward planning to be without a number of his stars now playing in Super Rugby, including super boot Tane Edmed and Mark Nawanqanitwaswe, both with the Waratahs, Lachie Anderson who is with the Rebels, Tim Anstee with Western Force and Ed Craig with the Rebels.
“We have managed to retain most of our young rugby players which is great,” he said.
“The goal is to go better than last season. They have had a year together now and cohesion can be a decisive factor. That should play to our advantage.”
EASTWOOD INJURIES, RETIREMENT
Jed Gillespie, who retired at the end of last season, will be a big loss to the club. But Batger said the ranks will swell with the return of numerous players coming back from injury.
These include Michael Icely, who broke his arm against Randwick last season, and Lachie Shelley, who also broke bones during the 2020 season.
“Lachie was leading the competition in line breaks before injury and Michael is super fast for a back row up,” he said.
EASTWOOD PLAYERS TO WATCH
Batger said Eastwood are looking to promote from within with a player to watch in 2021 if he gets time in first grade Max Stewart.
“He was the second grade hooker last year and we’re expecting him to have a big season,’’ Batger said.
“He was behind Ed Craig so should get a go this year.’’
EASTWOOD’S 2021 SHUTE SHIELD DRAW
ROUND ONE April 21: Manly v Gordon, Sydney Uni v Newcastle, Easts v Souths, Wests v Randwick, Penrith v Norths, Eastwood v Two Blues. Warringah Bye
ROUND TWO April 17: Gordon v Two Blues, Sydney Uni v Wests, Easts v Manly, Warringah v Randwick, Newcastle v Norths, Souths v Eastwood. Penrith Bye
ROUND THREE April 24: Norths v Gordon, Sydney Uni v Eastwood, Randwick v Easts, Souths v Warringah, Wests v Newcastle, Two Blues v Penrith, Manly Bye.
ROUND FOUR May 1: Penrith v Sydney Uni, Easts v Eastwood, Newcastle v Randwick, Norths v Souths, Warringah v Wests, Manly v Two Blues, Gordon Bye.
ROUND FIVE May 8: Gordon v Souths, Sydney Uni v Manly, Easts v Two Blues, Wests v Norths, Eastwood v Warringah, Newcastle v Penrith, Randwick Bye.
ROUND SIX May 15: Randwick v Gordon, Sydney Uni v Easts, Norths v Eastwood, Warringah v Penrith, Manly v Wests, Souths v Newcastle. Two Blues Bye
ROUND 7 May 22: Wests v Gordon, Sydney Uni v Warringah, Newcastle v Easts, Penrith v Randwick, Norths v Two Blues, Souths v Manly. Eastwood Bye
ROUND EIGHT May 29: Gordon v Warringah, Penrith v Easts, Randwick v Souths, Manly v Norths, Eastwood v Newcastle, Two Blues v Wests, Sydney Uni Bye.
ROUND NINE June 5: Gordon v Eastwood, Randwick v Sydney Uni, Easts v Norths, Warringah v Manly, Souths v Penrith, Newcastle v Two Blues, Wests Bye/
ROUND 10 June 19: Sydney Uni v Gordon, Wests v Easts, Two Blues v Randwick, Norths v Warringah, Penrith v Eastwood, Manly v Newcastle, Souths Bye.
ROUND 11 June 26: Gordon v Newcastle, Sydney Uni v Souths, Randwick v Norths, Eastwood v Manly, Warringah v Two Blues, Penrith v Wests, Easts Bye.
ROUND 12 July 3: Easts v Gordon, Two Blues v Sydney Uni, Eastwood v Randwick, Newcastle v Warringah, Manly v Penrith, Souths v Wests, Norths Bye
ROUND 13 July 10: Gordon v Penrith, Norths v Sydney Uni, Warringah v Easts, Randwick v Manly, Wests v Eastwood, Two Blues v Souths, Newcastle Bye.
ROUND 14 July 17:Eastwood v Gordon, Sydney Uni v Randwick, Easts v Newcastle, Souths v Norths, Wests v Manly, Penrith v Two Blues, Warringah Bye.
ROUND 15 July 24: Gordon v Wests, Manly v Sydney Uni, Norths v Easts, Randwick v Warringah, Two Blues v Eastwood, Newcastle v Souths, Penrith Bye.
ROUND 16: July 31: Gordon v Norths, Sydney Uni v Easts, Randwick v Penrith, Newcastle v Eastwood, Warringah v Souths, Wests v Two Blues, Manly Bye
ROUND 17 August 8: Warringah v Gordon, Souths v Sydney Uni, Easts v Randwick, Eastwood v Norths, Two Blues v Manly, Penrith v Newcastle, Wests Bye
ROUND 18 August 14: Two Blues v Gordon, Eastwood v Sydney Uni, Manly v Easts
Randwick v Wests, Norths v Newcastle, Penrith v Warringah, Souths Bye
ROUND 19 August 21: Gordon v Randwick, Newcastle v Sydney Uni, Two Blues v Easts
Norths v Penrith, Manly v Warringah, Wests v Souths, Eastwood Bye
FINALS 2021
Week 1 Finals: August 28
Week 2 Finals: September 4
Grand Final: September 11
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