We finally got it. Rat Park hosted the grand final rematch and it delivered everything it promised. Elsewhere, the ladder would like to speak to a manager - just 10 points separate Uni in fourth from Manly in tenth, and one bad weekend could send half the comp tumbling. Easts keep striding towards the minor premiership, but Gordon are lurking - nine points off the top and five behind the Rats. Throw in a nail-biter at Manly Oval, an upset at TG Millner and international stars scattered across every team sheet, and you'd swear this comp was scripted. It isn't. It's just the Shute Shield. #DRAMA

Southern Districts v West Harbour
Pirates def Rebels 29-14

Still hunting for that illustrious first win, it was a dream start for the Rebels. Eight minutes in and Isaac Kneepkens streamed down the edge, some tidy catch pass and Jacob Prlja went in. Blaise Barnes converted. Both teams heading into the final stages of the half looked dangerous. Seven the difference and 10 to play, Pirates went back on the charge. The ball went out to Pete Samu with a one-on-one and well, yeah, obviously he scored. Hunter Hannaford converted. Clock in the red, Pirates were dominating possession. A line-break led to an eventual try for Jack Bennet. Hannaford converted. Halftime.

Souths were asking a lot of questions of Harbour's defence but, as has been the story all year, were unable to capitalise in those key moments. The tide had flipped however, and the Rebels continued to press on. With 15 to go their forward pack went to work, heads in dark places. Finally, Isikeli Fukofuka burrowed in next to the pointy things. To add insult to injury, Harbour's Aidan Wearne was shown the Brie for offside. naughty boy. Barnes converted. All square. 10 to go and Pirates had a maul, five out from Souths' line. Good composure, sucked in the defenders and Matt Whelan dove over. NAUGHTY BOY ALERT! Souths' Jonty Ravenhill received the Camembert for collapsing the maul, whatever that entails… Tut, tut. Five the difference with six to go and you could feel the momentum swing. Tails up and Harbour on the prowl, Hannaford went through, offloaded to Samu and over he went. It's just unfair at this point. In the dying minutes, Hannaford slotted a long-range three to seal the game. Fulltime.

Eastwood v Northern Suburbs
Norths def Woods 48-26

Norths set the tone straight away, a dominant maul gave Sifa Amone the opener. 10 minutes later Woods hit back - expansive footy to the edges - Isaac Crowe slid in. Lachie Shelley converted. Norths' Shane Wilcox finished off a dubious pass to put the Shoremen back in front - muscling his way over. Was it forward? Really hard to say (yes). Big men doing little men things really gives me the fizz. Benji Hoppe hit the gap, stepped the cover defence, no-look flick out the back to Wilcox for his double. Randy stuff. Robbie McIntosh converted. The Norths backs came to play - flick pass after flick pass, support play was awesome, and with 10 to go Seb Cameron finished off a stellar try. Another dominant Norths scrum gave us our naughty boy. Ben Rosada sent for scrum technicals - we've been over this, I am a back, I don't know either, sue me. Right on the bell, Seamus Smith dodged, ducked, dipped, dived and dodged to give Norths another. McIntosh converted. Halftime.

That halftime spray must have worked. Dylan Nelson finished off a dominant Eastwood attack to narrow the gap. Crowe nearly bagged his second but came up shy. Immanuel Opetaia wasn't being stopped. Shelley converted. A sexy chip kick from Smith was regathered, offloaded to Hoppe and the big man raced home. Offt. McIntosh converted. A desperate Eastwood ploughed on and Max Stewart crossed over. Brad Roderick-Evans converted. 10 the difference with six to go, Norths were back inside Woods' 22. Flying around the corner forced Woods' defence to shoot in, ball over the top and Sam Kitchen plopped down. Last play, Nathan Russell scored under the sticks. Matt Minogue converted. Fulltime. Norths jump to one point outside the top six, Woods fall to fifth.

Randwick v Gordon
Stags def Wicks 43-19

It was a red-hot start for Wicks. Playing with serious speed, Gage Phillips raced over the line. Felix Turinui converted. Five minutes later, against the run of play, Cole Spinks snatched the ball and took off. Phillips ran him down but an offload to Harry Snook and Gordon were in. Wind in their sails and Gordon were on. A quick tap from Lachie Albert put Wicks on the back foot. Shifted out wide, the ball found itself in Connor Hickey’s hands and Stags had another. Continuing to dominate, Gordon went to an attacking maul. Siketi Tevao strolled over. Spinks converted. Things got worse for Randwick, a dangerous tip tackle from Max Moore earned him the Gruyere. Time out for you naughty boy. Gordon’s Jack Hardy went through off a tidy short ball moments later to increase the lead. Halftime.

Four minutes into the second and Gordon were hungry. “Looks like meat (pies) is back on the menu boys,” as Oli Arcus flew into the corner. Spinks converted. Gordon’s Ronan Kelly found himself going to the naughty step for collapsing the maul and Randwick finally found themselves with an advantage. To the maul they went and the Bobcat, Oniti Finau, went over. Three minutes later Jonny Chan, in a carbon copy of last week, bashed his way through the defence and raced home. Turinui converted. 10 the difference, the momentum hath swung. Wicks raced out of their half, Gordon were scrambling like mad. But, against the run of play, AGAIN, Spinks plucked the ball and this time, there was no one to catch him. Spinks converted. With two to play, Spinks went through again, offloaded to Harry Emery and try time Gordon. Spinks converted. Fulltime.

Manly v Western Sydney
Marlins def Two Blues 34-32

Brad Henderson got us underway at Manly Oval - a barnstorming run from 20 out, taking one with him as he crossed the chalk. Reece Suesue converted. Minutes later, Manasa Mataele snatched the ball out of the air and raced home 70 metres. Suesue converted. Manly's poor discipline let Two Blues dominate possession inside the first 20 and a costly penalty gave Suesue a long-range three. 25 in, Manly's maul went to work and Ben Chapman crossed the line. Ollie Horne converted. A carbon copy try minutes later and Chapman had a double. With 20 seconds left in the half, Manly were down by five. Right as the bell went, Stuart Tualima bashed over. Halftime.

Two Blues had a maul of their own and Mesu Dolokoto showed he's just as clinical at the back of the pack. Try time. Both kickers were leaving valuable points out there, five the difference within the final quarter. Charlie Poynton levelled the scoring with his best attempt at acrobatics. Horne converted. Manly up by two but still giving away countless penalties. Suesue knocked over another three with 15 to go. Seb Visinia increased the advantage, racing down the sideline. Suesue converted. 12 to go and Manly returned to their maul. Chaos ensued as the pack crashed over. Lulu (Lemon) Paea, the recipient. Horne converted. Back to one the difference with five to play. Horne slotted three to take the lead by two. Two Blues tried to run out of their half but Manly were too good at the breakdown and turned it over. Fulltime.

Sydney University v Hunter
Uni def Wildfires 32-22

Another theme of the week was points inside five minutes and the Students opened the scoring on this day. A bounce pass works 100 percent of the time and the Northman Tom Curtis scooped it up and streamed home. Curtis converted. Minutes later, Uni had a lineout on halfway. A beautiful pass put Boston Fakafanua through a hole, offload to Tom Morrison then to Benjy Joseland and much to my dismay, he was always going to score. Hunter hit back with their own beauty of a pass. Sitiveni Vahai, who’s always found a way when needed, hit a lovely gap and raced in. Uni almost had another when oh captain, my captain, Eamon Doyle barged over but not to be. Held up. Uni found great success from their lineout and this time Doyle couldn’t be denied. Curtis converted. With 10 to go, Love’s quick thinking put Hunter back in the fight. Logan Love converted. Five on the clock and Vahai got a double. Love converted. All square, halftime.

Hunter were first to strike in the second. Continual high tackles from Uni gave Love an easy three points. Uni hit back through the beef of the forward pack, Oliver Harvey on debut and over the line. Curtis converted. Jack Daly was naughty boy number one for the game. A dangerous tackle earned him the Swiss. Hunter’s discipline continued to prove costly, repeated penalties in their 22 gave Uni’s Curtis an easy three. Uni were unlucky not to score a screamer through a cross-field kick, offside was the call, allegedly. Brought back under advantage and Curtis slotted a long-range three. Another high tackle from Hunter sent naughty boy Jon Morris to the bin. Tut, tut. Fulltime.

Warringah v Eastern Suburbs
Easts def Rats 28-19

Well, well, well. The game we’ve all been waiting for. Rat Park hosted the grand final rematch. JEE WIZZ BANG. Easts regathered the kick-off, rolled around the corner. Jack Bowen clicked the heels together and put the boosters on. Big fend, TRY TIME. 50 seconds on the clock. Bowen converted. It was a real nail biter for the next 20 or so. Both teams bashing the bejesus out of each other. We really love to see it. Seven the difference with 17 to play, Rats’ maul went to work and Zac Barnabas dotted down for his 11th try of the year. With eight to go, Easts found themselves knocking on the door. This time a metre out and right in front of the pointy things. Rob (corn on the) Cobb burrowed in. Bowen converted. Easts were on top and looking to score again. A wayward pass from Bowen gave Tristan Leffers a tasty intercept. Fresh off the bench and straight over the tryline. What a play. Seb Zaridze converted. The clock in the red, Rats had a penalty on halfway. Zaridze stepped up for a monstrous attempt at goal to edge them ahead by one. No bueno. Halftime.

Teddy Wilson almost went over for Beasties after 17 minutes. A quick tap was somehow held up by Warringah, a great show of ticker from the Rats. In what can only be described as freakish flair, Ilaisa Droasese, the Fijian international, chipped, chased - got a bounce from the gods - and scored. Zaridze converted. Rats by five with 14 on the clock, Easts’ piggies were carrying hard at the line. A desperate Rats defence proved costly as Sateki Latu was shown the Colby for cynical behaviour at the ruck. Tut, tut. Easts went to the quick tap. Beautifully brutal was their attack. Nathaniel Tiitii bashed over. Bowen converted. Seven to go and two points between them. Another Easts maul went to work and Jack Nelson-Murray went over. Bowen converted. Clock in the red and Rats were hunting hard. Easts managed a turnover and that’s all she wrote. Oh baby, what a game. Fulltime. Game of the round.