Cummins try denies minor premiers Eastwood

A last-gasp try from Southern Districts centre Nic Cummins has denied the reigning Shute Shield premiers Eastwood from advancing straight into the preliminary finals. The victory ensures Souths' automatic qualification for the final four and means tournament favourites and minor premiers the Woodies will be forced to play again next weekend, needing a victory to keep their title hopes alive.

 

Sydney University's dominant 42-12 victory over Manly means the Students join Souths in booking automatic passage to week three of the Shute Shield finals series.  Like Eastwood, Manly will get another chance to make it to the final four next week.  

 

The Marlins will match up with Parramatta after the Two Blues kept their hopes alive with a thrilling fight-back against West Harbour saw them sneak an 18-17 win at Merrylands RSL Rugby Park.  The final team to progress to week two of the final series is Northern Suburbs, who will face Eastwood next week after thrashing Warringah 75-17.

 

Southern Districts 34 (Sam Latunipulu, Nic Cummins, Ben Volavola tries; Ben Volavola 2 cons, 5 pens) d Eastwood 28 (Miles McCaffrey, Hugh Perrett, Nick Reily tries; Ben Batger 2 cons, 3 pens)

 

Reigning Shute Shield premiers Eastwood will have to take the long road if they are to keep alive their hopes of a title defence after a 34-28 loss to Southern Districts at T.G. Millner Field.

 

The goal kicking of Rebels' fullback Ben Volavola kept his side in the match until the closing minutes, allowing a late try to Western Force representative Nic Cummins to seal victory for the Rebels in a match that saw the lead change hands nine times.

 

Eastwood opened their account though a blistering try from winger Nick Reily, converted by fullback Ben Batger. Both sides traded blows soon after with a try to Souths' flanker Sam Latunipulu and penalties each way to Volavola and Batger. Captain Hugh Perrett made an impressive individual run for a great try right on half time, allowing Eastwood to go into half time with a 15-10 lead.

 

Souths hit back early in the second period with a try from Volavola after some striking footwork but Eastwood quickly adding another five pointer, using their rolling maul to good effect as flanker Miles McCaffrey crashed over for the Woodies' third try of the match.

 

The rest of the second half was dominated by penalties, with Volavola and Batger testing each other with their boots, however it was the Honey Badger who would have the last laugh as he raced down the line to secure the win that gives the Rebels a week off in round two of the finals series and leaves the Woodies relying on a win over Northern Suburbs at Manly Oval on Saturday to progress to the final six.

 

Sydney University 42 (2 Michael Hodge, Trent Dyer, Nic Stirzaker, Tom Carter, Mitch Inman tries; Dan Kelly 3 cons, 2 pens) d Manly 12 (Chris Cottee, Jordy Reid tries; Scott Daruda con)

 

Sydney University have avenged their previous losses to Manly this season by picking up a dominant 42-12 victory in Saturday's qualifying final to advance to week three of the finals series.

 

The Students' forward-orientated attacking style took a back seat as they instead opted to rely on their backline to overcome the Marlins.  The tactic paid off, with the Students running in four first half tries with a noteworthy double to winger Michael Hodge, who will join the HSBC Waratahs next season.

 

On the back of some great defence, Sydney University held the Marlins out for the good part of 30 minutes whilst applying some great attacking pressure. Hodge grabbed the Students' first try of the match, while centre Mitch Inman picked up a try of his own soon after.

 

Marlins' captain and halfback Chris Cottee kept his side in the contest with a darting effort from the ruck resulting in the Marlins' first points on the match. But it was his opposite number Nic Stirzaker who looked more dangerous on the day, showing a good turn of pace for the Students' third try.

 

Hodge's second came right at the end of the first half and gave the Students a solid 18-point lead going into the sheds. The Marlins could only manage one more try in the match with a good rolling maul effort finished off by flanker Jordy Reid.

 

Tries to flanker Trent Dyer and centre Tom Carter emphasised the dominance that the Students had on the match, with their performance at Coogee Oval also sending a message of intent to the rest of the competition.

 

Sydney University will now enjoy a week off while Manly will play Parramatta at Manly Oval next week, after the Two Blues today defeated West Harbour at Merrylands RSL Rugby Park.

 

Northern Suburbs 75 (2 Corey Brown, Samu Wara, Chris Tuatara-Morrison, Mitch Walton, Cruz Ah Nau, Wil Brame, Peter Schuster, Lachlan Porteous, Pat Sio, Bill Meakes tries; Dave Harvey 10 cons) d Warringah 17 (Michael Adams, Edward Doyle tries; Hamish Angus 2 cons, pen)

 

Northern Suburbs put on one of the most dominating displays of the season on Saturday, defeating Warringah 75-17 at Woollahra Oval and recording their highest winning margin this season.

 

The Shoremen announced their intent early, with winger Samu Wara finishing off a great team try. But for the next 30 minutes, Warringah turned up the heat.  Despite dominating possession and territory, the Rats only managed three points through the boot of captain and flyhalf Hamish Angus.

 

Warringah will rue a number of missed opportunities, with the determined Northern Suburbs' defence denying the Rats on a number of occasions in the first half.

 

"I think we were disappointing around the ruck in the first half and we gave them too many opportunities to break the line," said Northern Suburbs coach Scott Fava.

 

"It was our scrambling defence that was really good today.  Without that, they (Warringah) could have gone in with a couple of tries - it would have changed the scope of this game." 

 

A try right on half time to centre Chris Tuatara-Morrison gave Northern Suburbs an 11-point lead heading into the sheds. But the second half was a different story, as the Shoremen ran in an impressive nine tries, with a notable double to winger Corey Brown and an impressive 40m running effort from prop Cruz Ah Nau.

 

But Warringah never stopped trying and showed some of the form that had got them to the finals series, with second half tries to replacement back Michael Adams and winger Edward Doyle.

 

Parramatta 18 (Daley Harper, Andrew Cox tries; Tom Woods con, 2 pens) d West Harbour 17 (2 Tito Mua tries; Henry Seavula 2 cons, pen)

 

A last minute penalty by Parramatta flyhalf Tom Woods has helped the Two Blues scrape into week two of the Shute Shield finals series, after they came out on top in a thrilling 18-17 victory over West Harbour at Merrylands RSL Rugby Park.

 

It was an even contest throughout the match, with both sides locked up at seven points apiece at halftime. An early second period sin bin to Parramatta lock Adam Coleman halted the Two Blues in their efforts to gain momentum in attack and allowed the Pirates to take the lead through a Henry Seavula penalty, and further extend it with a try to Tito Mua. But the tables turned when the Pirates went one down themselves, when centre Nua Alone was sin binned.  From there Parramatta took control of the match, with captain and No.8 Andrew Cox crashing over for a try before forcing a last minute penalty that allowed Tom Woods to land the shot that secured the Two Blues' progression into week two of the finals series where they will play Manly at Manly Oval.

 

Finals Week 1 Results (25/08 - 26/8/2012) 

Home Team			v	Away Team		Location	Time
Qualifying Final D
	Manly	12	v	Sydney University	42	Coogee Oval	SATURDAY 25 AUG 3:00pm
Qualifying Final B
	Northern Suburbs	75	v	Warringah	17	Woollahra Oval	SATURDAY 25 AUG 3:00pm
Qualifying Final C
	Eastwood	28	v	Southern Districts	34	T. G. Millner Field	SUNDAY 26 AUG 3:00pm
Qualifying Final A
	Parramatta	18	v	West Harbour	17	Merrylands RSL Rugby Park	SUNDAY 26 AUG 3:00pm

Fixtures - Finals Week 2 (1/09 - 2/9/2012)

Home Team			v	Away Team		Location	Time
Semi Final F
	Northern Suburbs		v	Eastwood		Manly Oval	SATURDAY 1 SEPT 3:00pm
Semi Final E
	Parramatta		v	Manly		Manly Oval	SUNDAY 2 SEPT 3:00pm

Fixtures - Finals Week 3 (8/09 - 9/9/2012)

Home Team			v	Away Team		Location	Time
Preliminary Final G
	Southern Districts		v	[Winner of Semi Final E]		T. G. Millner Field
Preliminary Final H
	Sydney University		v	[Winner of Semi Final F]		T. G. Millner Field

Grand Final - Week 4  15/09/2012

Home Team			v	Away Team		Location	Time
Grand Final
	[Winner of Preliminary Final G]		v	[Winner of Preliminary Final H]		Concord Oval