0°C | Tuesday October 21, 2025 
18 August 2025
Norths Rugby
The Shute Shield Finals are here, and after a late season run, Norths were positioned to make a serious tilt at the premiership. After finishing 3rd on the ladder, the Shoremen secured a home semi-final against Eastwood. On 19 July, Norths had beaten Eastwood at North Sydney Oval in a high-scoring affair. This semi-final followed a similar pattern.
On a beautiful sunny day, the home side was the first to cross the line off a signature play, driving the maul off a line-out, leading to James Margan diving over for his 16th try of the year. In the 15th minute, Norths were over again, this time spreading the ball from the line-out to put Benji Hoppe through a gap in the line and over. The perfect start continued when the deadly duo of Callum Sirker and Reece Mau’u burst down the left flank in the 24th minute, playing a two-man passing game to set up Sirker for his first of the afternoon. Eastwood would finally get on the scoreboard just before half-time to make it a 21-7 margin at the break.
Norths continued their clinical play just 2 minutes into the second half when Sirker again outgunned the defence to score in the corner. Eastwood would respond in the 45th minute and again in the 53rd. With the score narrowing to 26-19, the Shoremen drove over for another try off a line-out, this time Sam Kitchen claiming the try. Déjà vu struck in the 67th minute when yet again Kitchen dived over from a line-out maul. In the 74th, Eastwood grabbed a try with a quick tap penalty. Ultimately, it was too little, too late as Norths put the nail in the coffin in the 77th minute when Josh Barr scored a try. The final score was 43-26, as the boys in red and black punched their way to the Preliminary Final. They will face Warringah next week at Rat Park, while Eastwood will return to North Sydney Oval to face minor premiers Easts.
If Norths win the preliminary final, they will advance to a 3rd straight appearance in the Shute Shield Grand Final.
North Sydney Bears
It was a packed schedule at North Sydney Oval, with the Bears facing the Sydney Roosters on Sunday. With their finals hopes hanging by a thread, Norths desperately needed a win. Things couldn’t have started better, as Coby Thomas dived over for a try just a minute into the game. However, the Roosters would respond in the 14th and 22nd minutes with tries of their own. Sean Vaivelata got the Bears faithful back on their feet bulldozing his way to the try line in the 29th minute. At 12-12 at the half-time break, it was clear this was going to be a back-and-forth kind of affair.
Just a minute into the second half, the Roosters took the lead with a try, only to have Matt Komolafe respond with a miraculous intercept try to pull the Bears back within 2 points. Aitasi James charged over the line in the 56th minute to give Norths the lead, only to have the score tied up again in the 67th minute after a Roosters try. The full-time hooter sounded when Easts tried a long-range field goal which was charged down by Norths. In a scramble, the Roosters pounced on the ball, and as Norths scrambled defensively, the away side ran in a lucky try to break the hearts of Bears fans and grab the win. The final score was 24-28, leaving the Bears with an uphill battle to make the top 8 with only two rounds left in the season.
However, they stand a decent chance to win next week against local rivals Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at North Sydney Oval.
North Shore Bombers
It was a strange weekend for the Bombers’ Premier Division sides, not just the results but heading to Blacktown to face UNSW Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs. The women were up first and went down in the first quarter 2.2.14 to 4.0.24 before fighting back in the second quarter, not only narrowing the margin with a goal and 3 behinds, but holding UNSW to just 2 points in the period. Unfortunately, that was the goal scoring for the Bombers, only managing 3 behinds in the 3rd quarter and no points in the 4th, while UNSW ran away to the 6.4.40 to 3.8.26 victory. It was a seriously uncharacteristic performance from North Shore, who have put up triple-figure margins several times this season. Adrienne Keefe and Amelia Rainbow were the only two goal scorers for the Bombers, with Kiera Yerbury, Charlotte Tidemann, Emily Bliss, Ella Daniel, Heidi de Saxe and Cassidy McArthur receiving best-on-ground points. With the loss, they also fall out of the top spot on the competition ladder, as Manly leapfrogged them with a win of their own.
The men came into their match-up sitting at the top of the ladder too, but had a similarly uncharacteristic performance. There were bad signs from the start as UNSW jumped out to a 20-7 lead in the first quarter. North Shore managed to boot 3 goals in the second quarter but struggled to contain UNSW who booted 4 goals and 5 behinds. Things got worse in the third, when the Bombers couldn’t keep up with the Bulldogs who would run away with the game 15.13.103 to 9.9.63. Unfortunately, the men’s side are now also off the top of the table, as Manly claimed the top spot too with a win. This week could be considered a rare lapse in form for two squads that have been phenomenal all season.
In the last round of the regular season, the Bombers will be back home at Gore Hill to face UTS.
Norths Basketball
The NBL1 East season has finished, but Norths’ Youth League Women did qualify for the semi finals coming up this weekend, just one win away from the Grand Final. They have won the last two Youth League Championships and hope to make it three.