0°C | Tuesday October 21, 2025 
25 August 2025
North Shore Bombers
Both Bombers squads were eager to recover from last week’s unexpected losses to UNSW as they sought to hit peak form heading into the upcoming finals. This round, UTS was in town with the women’s premier division kicking off the action.
After a quiet first quarter, the Bombers exploded in the second, scoring four unanswered goals to establish a 31-point lead by half-time. North Shore maintained their dominance in the second half, adding five more goals while restricting UTS to just two behinds and no goals.
North Shore ultimately defeated UTS by 66 points, with a final score of North Shore 10.8.68 to UTS 0.2.2.
Captain Tilly Eder led North Shore’s goal-kickers with three, while Adrienne Keefe contributed two. Liz Yates, Liv Edwards, Emily Cleghorn, Cassidy McArthur, and Luci Watson each added a goal.
Lila Micheletti, Grace Hill, Grace Parsons, Kiera Yerbury, Heidi de Saxe, and Emily Bliss were North Shore’s best players. The team is set to face Sydney University next week in the qualifying final at Blacktown.
The Premier Men followed with a similarly commanding performance. Despite a slow start to their goal-scoring in the first quarter, the Bombers surged with 15 goals over the final three quarters. By the final siren, North Shore had thrashed UTS by 80 points, with a final score of 17.14.116 to 5.6.36.
Matt Buskariol was a standout for the Bombers with four goals, Max Thomas booted three, and Patrick Bolger and Tom Gillis each added two. Nicholas Pavlou, Buskariol, Matthew Wilson, Christian Loone, James Tidemann, and captain Jake Veale were named North Shore’s best players. This victory secured North Shore a qualifying final berth, offering them a chance for revenge against UNSW.
Norths Rugby
Riding a winning streak into the finals and grabbing a win against Eastwood in week one, Norths were one win away from their third straight Shute Shield Grand Final. Standing in their way were the Warringah Rats, who also had home-ground advantage.
Just 11 minutes into the game, Warringah scored their first try before the game slowed down into a defensive battle. In the 25th minute, Norths would break the arm wrestle when Reece Mau’u broke the line and set up Tom Bacon. With the conversion, scores were tied at 7-7 until the Rats scored again in the 28th minute. Norths’ signature line-out maul got them back on the score sheet in the 33rd minute, when they pushed the Rats for 26 metres before Baden Godfrey dived over. At the half-time break, Warringah held on to a narrow 14-12 lead.
An impressive solo effort from Callum Sirker broke the Rats’ line just a minute into the second half. He then kicked it ahead to have Carrick McDonough dive on it to score a try. Warringah then grabbed momentum back, kicking a penalty goal followed shortly by a try in the 53rd minute. Not long after, in the 59th minute, Norths went back to their rolling maul, leading to a try for Sam Kitchen. The Shoremen were within touch, 24-22, until Warringah scored yet again in the 62nd minute and then again in the 79th minute to put the game beyond doubt. A heartbreaking loss for Norths, 38-22, ending their season and sending Warringah through to the grand final. Despite the disappointment of yet another season falling just short of the title, Norths can hold their head high, finishing the season with an impressive winning streak and making it through to the final four.
North Sydney Bears
Nothing beats a local derby, and they don’t get much more fiery than Norths vs Manly. The host Bears desperately needed a win to keep their slim finals hopes alive. Things did not get off to a great start, conceding just 7 minutes into the game. Norths would respond in the 15th minute thanks to a Jake Toby cut-out pass to set up Israel Ogden in the corner. This was a minor bright spot in the half, as Manly went on to score three more tries for a 6-22 lead at the half-time break.
It got worse for the Bears when the Sea Eagles scored two heartbreaking tries off intercepts in the 55th and 59th minute. Manly were over yet again in the 65th minute before the Bears finally responded in the 64th minute thanks to Sean Vaivelata and again from Kieran Hayman in the 70th minute. Ultimately, it was too little too late as the Sea Eagles claimed an 18-38 victory and put the nail in the coffin of the Bears’ finals hopes. The less said about this result, the better for Bears fans. Next week, they will finish their season hosting Parramatta at North Sydney Oval.