Last chance for Eastwood and Manly in elimination semi-final

Despite proving themselves the form teams in the pool stages and qualifying in the top two spots, both teams posted losses in the first round of the finals last week and must now rely on a sudden death victory to secure one of the last two remaining places in next week's preliminary finals.

 

Reigning champions and this year's minor premiers Eastwood will now face Northern Suburbs, after last Sunday's unexpected loss to up-and-comers Southern Districts.  The two sides last met in round 16, when the Woodies came out on top by a single point, a late try by replacement prop Jed Gillespie sealing the win and sealing the minor premiership for Eastwood. But with Norths buoyed by an unbelievable 75-17 victory against Warringah last Saturday, an upset could be on the cards if they can put their spectacular try scoring ability to full effect to knock out the holders.

 

The last place in the final four will be determined on Sunday, when second place finishers Manly will battle Parramatta.  While the Marlins went down 42-12 to Sydney University, their Western Sydney opponents just managed to scrape into the semi finals this weekend, courtesy of a last-minute penalty from flyhalf Tom Woods that sealed victory over West the Pirates last weekend.

 

Round nine was the last time Manly and Parramatta did battle, with the Marlins winning the match by only seven points at Merrylands RSL Rugby Park. The pre-determined finals venues have played into Manly's hands, giving them home ground advantage this weekend.  But they will need to overcome a Parramatta side that has come on in leaps and bounds in the two months since, with Glen Christini's side showing proving they have the ability and the mental toughness to close out the tight matches to seal a place in their first finals series for 21 years.

 

The winner of Saturday's match will go on to play Sydney University next weekend for a place in the Grand Final on Saturday, September 15, with the other grand finalist coming from the match between the winner in the Manly-Parramatta encounter and Southern Districts.

 

With the finals now underway, viewers in NSW and ACT can catch the best of the Shute Shield action on ABC1 across the weekend.

 

In a new addition to viewing rugby in 2012, Club Rugby TV provides rugby viewers with the option to watch additional Shute Shield games in HD quality each week including commentary, highlights and interviews, all for free. A big plus for club rugby fans, the Club Rugby TV service is now FREE and its flexibility supports viewing on computer, Iphone, Ipad and IPTV, all in full HD.
 


 

You can also stay in touch with the Shute Shield on Facebook via http://www.facebook.com/shuteshield or on http://www.facebook.com/abcshuteshield where you can catch game highlights and a preview of the upcoming ABC TV match.

 

Alternatively, follow the Shute Shield on Twitter via @shuteshield or @abcshuteshield where you can send your thoughts through the week and receive live updates during games. You can also catch highlights of every round on the new ShuteShieldTV channel on YouTube.

 

You can catch up on all the Shute Shield action via digital radio with ABC Grandstands new rugby show The Clubhouse. Hosted by Patrick Foulkes and Niav Owens the program will be on-air for half an hour every Monday evening from 6:05pm. To tune in go to the ABC website and click "listen live" or download the show on the blog any time here

 

 

 

Eastwood make two changes to the side that lost to Southern Districts in their qualifying final last week, with hooker Todd Pearce grabbing his maiden first grade start of 2012 and Perth-bound flanker Chris Alcock returning to the first grade side. Northern Suburbs make only the one change to the side that defeated Warringah last week, with centre Bill Meakes returning to the first grade line up after an impressive performance off the bench against the Rats.

 

Eastwood: 1. Marty Plokstys, 2. Todd Pearce, 3. Barry Fa'amausili; 4. Tom Alexander, 5. Mitch Lees; 6. Gareth Palamo, 7. Chris Alcock, 8. Hugh Perrett [c]; 9. Mick Snowden, 10. Barney Wood; 11. Nick Reily, 12. Jimmy Hilgendorf, 13. Cam Mitchell, 14. Mark Frost; 15. Ben Batger.

 

Northern Suburbs: 1. Cruz Ah Nau, 2. Scott Podmore, 3. Nick Lah; 4. Rory Walton, 5. Ben Matwijow; 6. Pat Sio, 7. Wil Brame, 8. AJ Gilbert [c]; 9. Dave Hardisty, 10. Dave Harvey; 11. Corey Brown. 12. Chris Tuatara-Morrison, 13. Bill Meakes 14. Peter Schuster; 15. Mitch Walton.

 

Referee: Andrew Lees

 

 

Manly name an unchanged side to the one that lost to Sydney University in last Saturday's qualifying final, while Parramatta make just one change to the side that defeated West Harbour on Sunday, with centre Dan Yakopo returning to the first grade side.

Manly: 1. Dane Maraki, 2. Elvis Taione, 3. Jono Owen; 4 Ed Gower, 5. Greg Peterson; 6. Cadeyrn Neville, 7. Kotoni Ale, 8. Tevita Metuisela; 9. Chris Cottee [c], 10. Scott Daruda; 11. Lui Siale, 12. Peter Gilmore, 13. Brian Sefanaia, 14. Richard Hooper; 15. Jacob Woodhouse.

 

Parramatta: 1. Nicholas Blacklock, 2. Trent Hosher, 3. Chris Seuteni; 4. Evan Olmstead, 5. Adam Coleman; 6. Ryan Aniseko, 7. Rodney Ma'a, 8. Andrew Cox [c]; 9. Kaleb Rech, 10. Tom Woods; 11. Daley Harper, 12. Dan Yakopo, 13. Iese Leota, 14. Sosene Anesi, 15. Moses Tavola.

 

Referee: Angus Gardner

 

Last Round Played:  Finals - Week 1 - starting - 25/08/2012

Home Team			v	Away Team		Location	Time
Qualifying Final D:  (Ladder Pos 2 v. Ladder Pos 3)
	Manly	12	v	Sydney University	42	Coogee Oval	SATURDAY 25 AUG 3:00pm
Qualifying Final B:  (Ladder Pos 6 v. Ladder Pos 7)
	Northern Suburbs	75	v	Warringah	17	Woollahra Oval	SATURDAY 25 AUG 3:00pm
Qualifying Final C:  (Ladder Pos 1 v. Ladder Pos 4)
	Eastwood	28	v	Southern Districts	34	T. G. Millner Field	SUNDAY 26 AUG 3:00pm
Qualifying Final A:  (Ladder Pos 5 v. Ladder Pos 8)
	Parramatta	18	v	West Harbour	17	Merrylands RSL Rugby Park	SUNDAY 26 AUG 3:00pm

Next Round:  Finals - Week 2 - starting - 1/09/2012

Home Team			v	Away Team		Location	Time
Semi Final F:  (Winner of Qualifying Final B v. Loser of Qualifying Final C)
	Northern Suburbs		v	Eastwood		Manly Oval	SATURDAY 1 SEPT 3:00pm
Semi Final E:  (Winner of Qualifying Final A v. Loser of Qualifying Final D)
	Parramatta		v	Manly		Manly Oval	SUNDAY 2 SEPT 3:00pm