26 June 2023
By James Mullan
With only six rounds remaining in the 2023 Shute Shield season, the Northern Suburbs Shoremen are looking like the team to beat, sitting atop the ladder.
The Shoremen started the season on fire winning their first three games, starting in the deep end for round 1 facing defending premiers Sydney Uni away. The Shoremen rose to the occasion winning 37-20 thanks to a double from winger Ratu Tagive and 15 points from the boot of Jude Gibbs.
In their round 2 home opener Souths were no match as a 35-24 sent Norths fans home happy. Randwick are always a quality side, boasting the 2nd most premierships in Shute Shield history. When Norths travelled to Coogee Oval in round three it was a classic, grind it out contest between the two teams. The forwards led the try scoring with Michael Scott and Saxon Gillies joining winger Seb Cameron on the try scorers list. But it was another 15 point kicking performance by flyhalf Gibbs that lifted the Shoremen to a narrow 28-23 victory.
Unfortunately the tide changed in round 4 in the Spit Bridge derby, going down to Manly, 29-24. The Marlins have also been one of the top sides this season, sitting only two wins behind Norths on the ladder. The bounce back was on at North Sydney Oval against rivals Gordon where a big crowd saw James Margan and Reece Ma’u cross the white line to secure a 23-17 win. Margan is in his 7th season as part of Norths grade and is second in the try count with 5 so far this year.
The Shoremen have only dropped 3 games, 2 of which game in back to back weeks. In round 6 they went down to Eastwood in a 36-46 then Hunter 29-5. Despite the mini slump, Seb Cameron scored in both games and has been on fire all season with a team leading 9 tries, which is 2nd most in the competition. The winger is a true local talent, who went to high school at Riverview, played his junior footy with Norths Pirates and Mosman, before graduating to Colts, then first grade.
Norths’ form came roaring back in the next match ups, taking care of Eastern Suburbs 24-15 at home then West Harbour away with a narrow 21-29 win. The next week, the boys in red and black had a clinical win over Parramatta 27-19 at North Sydney Oval thanks to tries from Margan, Cameron, Luke Gersekowski and Nathan Russell. Russell is playing his 3rd season at Norths after joining the club from Brisbane, bringing his NRC experience to a talented back line.
A rematch with Gordon signalled to Shute Shield fans that the Shoremen were not just on a lucky streak, but a truly quality side. Seb Cameron was on fire as usual, bagging two tries, while fly half Jude Gibbs chipped in an impressive 18 points from conversions and penalties. This was more than enough to top Gordon in front of a packed Chatswood Oval crowd, 19-30. Jude Gibbs has been a reliable performer for Norths leading the league in penalty goals with 19 to go along with the 75 points he has booted off conversions. He is the son of former Rugby League player Nathan Gibbs, who played for Easts, Souths and Parramatta in the late 70s and early 80s. Jude also played rugby league for Manly-Warringah and previously played rugby union with Sydney Uni, joining Norths this season.
The run home to the finals is on and Norths will be happy with the position they are in. However, one concern is how they have performed against the other top Shute Shield sides namely Hunter and Manly who are both in the top 4. As much as you can’t read into two losses too much, how you perform against the top sides is a decent indicator of finals match ups and you don’t want to be a side that takes care of the easier games but fumbles the ones where your talent is matched. The Shoremen will be determined to take care of business next time around to avoid a similar fate to last season.