Image: 11,000 fans watch the 116th clash between Iggies and Joeys at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday.  Riverview bounced back from last week’s tight loss to Kings to beat Joeys 26-21 in a thrilling derby at Leichhardt Oval in round four.  Elsewhere, Kings extended their unbeaten start to the season with an impressive win over Scots and Newington were too good for Shore.  Catch up on all the action from round four of the 2023 GPS competition. Riverview 26-21 Joeys Riverview held off a fast finishing Joeys outfit to claim a thrilling 26-21 victory in front of a big crowd at ..read more

Manly and Hunter produced dominant performances in round 10 to claim equal competition favouritism as the second half of the regular season begins. Elsewhere, a red card spoiled West Harbour’s chances of an upset over Norths, while Western Sydney, Randwick and Sydney Uni all impressed with victories over the weekend. Manly 46-5 Gordon Manly have sent a warning shot to the remainder of the competition with a dominant 46-5 victory over Gordon at Chatswood Oval.  The Manly forwards dominated the Stags at maul time and limited the home sides’ attacking opportunities by holding the ball for ..read more

By Liam Cook A GPS’ junior with storied pedigree, Sebastian ‘Bas’ Ward recently made his premier grade debut at flyhalf, reigniting his team’s season in the process. The humble Ashgrovian’s instant impact stems from years of zealous dedication to his club and playmaking craft. Now reaping the rewards as a top-grade player in recent weeks, the No.10 has seen his footballing journey come full circle. “I’d always go down every Saturday to watch the Premier Grade… back in the day I thought they were superstars and being around it now you’re just a regular bloke,” Ward told Rugby News. Affectio ..read more

By Mark Cashman It’s the little things that are the measure of a man and Around The Traps heard a touching story this week about Michael Hooper as he heads towards what looks like his final couple of games in Australia. My ShuteCast boss Anthony Bergelin has known the Hooper family for many, many years and he recently fielded a call from a dad of a young Manly junior. The youngster was keen to get some feedback and information about the best way to go about leading a side with the NSW State Championship just around the corner. Bergelin said he would ask Hooper if he could do that, no promi ..read more

By Jon Geddes MANLY assistant coach Damien “Turtle”  Cummins has described Saturday’s crucial showdown with competition leaders Gordon at Chatswood Oval as his side’s biggest test of the season so far in what will be a brutal round for some Shute Shield teams. Rugby News has done the sums and can reveal this Saturday’s six clashes carry big ramifications for every club’s finals hopes and each result will be crucial in what will be an intriguing game of snakes and ladders. That includes the Highlanders and Marlins, who currently sit in first and third spots respectively on the Shute Shield ..read more

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Reigning GPS first XV premiers Joeys have been luckless in the opening three rounds of the 2023 season and remain winless heading into Saturday’s derby against Riverview at Leichhardt Oval. Despite that, coach Greg Thompson remains confident his side has what it takes to return to the winner’s circle this weekend and challenge for the premiership this season.  “It’s been unusual to start the season with back to back draws and then a tight loss,” Thompson told Rugby News.  “But we’ve just got to keep working hard and hope that the bounce of the ball will start to go our way.  ..read more

Under new coach Jack Gooding, Aloys are looking to play a new style of rugby this season to get the most out of their playing group. But it won’t be easy in round one on Saturday, when they face defending premiers Barker. Overview with Jack Gooding:  “We’ve been building as a squad really well through the trials and while you might not see that from some of our results, we’re really positive heading into round one,” new first XV coach Jack Gooding told Rugby News. “This is a really important year for us at St Aloysius’. We’re looking to change our mindset on how we approach the CAS seas ..read more

A star-studded Barker outfit were the dominant side of the CAS competition in 2022 and led the school to their third premiership in five years. Coach Dean Hargreaves knows how difficult it will be to win back to back premierships this season, but seems confident his young group are capable of filling the big shoes left for them. Overview with Dean Hargreaves:  “We’ve been happy with how we’ve been progressing. I think we’ve been improving week to week, which is what you’re after at this point of the season, so I think we’re in pretty good shape,” coach Dean Hargreaves told Rugby News ..read more

On the back of a preseason tour of Japan and some impressive trial form, Waverley assistant coach Lachlan Drew-Morris is confident his side is in good shape heading into round one against Cranbrook this weekend. Overview with Lachlan Drew-Morris:  “Things are looking good ahead of round one. We’ve had a busy and eventful preseason with our tour to Japan and off the back of that, we think we’ve produced some good performances in our trials which should put us in good stead for the season,” assistant coach Drew-Morris told Rugby News.  “We’ve played a lot of rugby though and ..read more