In our first club round up of the year, we go through the weekend results and what stood out for us in each state premier club rugby competition.
There were surprises aplenty in the week that was, with droughts breaking and smaller clubs having upset wins.
QUEENSLAND PREMIER GRADE - ROUND THREE
The Hospital Challenge Cup delivered some outstanding games, with challenges aplenty coming from many of the underdog teams in the competition. GPS pulled off a surprise win over Easts, who slumped to their third win on the trot. Bond University continued their solid run with a hard fought win over Sunnybank, while the Red Heavies got back to business as usual with a dominant display over Norths.
RUGBY.com.au Highlight Of The Round:
Souths finally back in the winners circle: after a very disappointing 2020, Souths finally have something to smile about! Wests were favourites to take the ANZAC Day clash following their win over Brothers, however a double to Sean Farrell and a steady boot from Luke Samoa saw the Magpies finally break their losing streak.
Other fixtures:
Easts 19 - 25 GPS
Sunnybank 15 - 28 Bond University
University of Queensland 47 - 10 Norths
Wests 24 - 33 Souths
Brothers - BYE
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SHUTE SHIELD - ROUND THREE
Many have been concerned over the opening fortnight of the Shute Shield about the comparison of quality, as both rounds saw several fifty points or more drubbings of the weaker sides. It was not the case this weekend, as the derbies saw several close matches. Eastern Suburbs took the battle of the East with a positive win over Randwick, Souths and West Harbour got their first wins over the season in good contests against the Rats and Wildfires, Sydney University and Eastwood put on a brilliant exhibition of running rugby in Mudgee, and Norths put on an impressive display over current premiers Gordon to take the battle of the North.
RUGBY.com.au Highlight Of The Round:
The Battle Of The West: while the quality of the rugby between Sydney Uni and the Woodies was absolutely high calibre, the moment of the weekend came in Sydney’s Battle of the West. In a close, brutal encounter that saw both teams sling the ball around like no tomorrow, the ultimate underdogs of Aussie rugby the Penrith Emus won their first Shute Shield match since 2014 over the Two Blues.
A win that has been a long time coming, the struggle the Emus have had over the last seven years have been well documented, from players exiting on-mass to back room troubles, to finally being kicked out of the Shute Shield in 2018. However, their performance in the back half of this match was nothing short of miraculous, as the Two Blues threw everything at them. It was a game played in the best spirit rugby had to offer, and will be long remembered in Emu history. Hopefully it leads to more success for both teams for the rest of the season!
Other fixtures:
Randwick 22 - 31 Eastern Suburbs
Souths 31 - 25 Warringah
Western Sydney 7 - 11 Penrith
West Harbour 15 - 9 Hunter Wildfires
Sydney University 49 - 44 Eastwood
Northern Suburbs 33 - 17 Gordon
Manly - BYE
Watch every minute of the Shute Shield on Stan Sport. Start your Free Sport Trial Now
JOHN I DENT CUP - ROUND TWO
The surprises continued into the latest round of the John I Dent Cup, with all teams putting on a great display of footy. Uni-Norths had to work for their win against a much improved Whites outfit, while Wests also fired a warning shot to the rest of the competition, knocking off Tuggeranong at the death of their game.
RUGBY.com.au Highlight Of The Round:
Gungahlin ran over the Royals: after a disappointing opening round for both sides, we predicted a close contest in this replay of last year's grand final. The Eagles had other ideas however, and put fifty on the current premiers to run away with the contest 57-15. The Royals now find themselves at the bottom of the ladder, and will have a lot of work to do when they face the in-form Wests next week.
Other fixtures:
Queanbeyan 33 - 45 Uni-Norths
Gungahlin 57 - 15 Canberra Royals
Wests 32 - 26 Tuggeranong
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FORTESCUE PREMIER GRADE - ROUND THREE
The planned round of the Fortescue Premier Grade unfortunately was cancelled due to the COVID lock down. We hope all in the West are staying safe and healthy. We will post an update in regards to rugby for the following rounds in our upcoming preview article.
DEWAR SHIELD - ROUND TWO
The Dewar Shield saw a really entertaining round of matches, with nearly all teams bouncing back and producing stronger performances compared to the opening round. Box Hill overcame an improved Footscray team, the Unicorns kept their perfect season in tact with a win over the Rams, and the Harlequins made up for their lacklustre round one performance with a win over an improved Melbourne Uni side.
RUGBY.com.au Match of The Round
Power House v Endeavour Hills: we anticipated a close match, and this didn’t disappoint. In the best match of the year so far, Power House managed to hold on at the death over the Hills, winning 21-19. The quality of rugby on display was particularly encouraging, which bodes well for both sides going into the rest of the season.
Other Fixtures:
Footscray 20 - 36 Box Hill
Power House 21 - 19 Endeavour Hills
Morrabbin 13 - 21 Melbourne
Harlequins 27 - 17 Melbourne University
COOPERS PREMIER GRADE - ROUND THREE
Adelaide’s Premier competition saw surprise after surprise. Onkaparinga got back to winning ways but had to earn it over a resurgent Uni side, Brighton won a close contest against Old Collegians, and the Wasps were put to the sword for the second week running, as Southern Suburbs racked up sixty.
The highlight of the round however was the surprise win of Elizabeth over heavyweights Burnside. The win sees the men from Adelaide’s north starting with two wins on the trot, a marked improvement from last year’s season.
All fixtures:
Onkaparinga 39 - 29 Adelaide University
Brighton 26 - 16 Old Collegians
Southern Suburbs 61 - 5 Woodville
Elizabeth 37 - 24 Burnside
Port Adelaide - BYE
We hope you enjoyed this ANZAC weekend’s club rugby. Lest we forget.
