Manly were one win away from an unbeaten home season when they entertained reigning Premiers Sydney University Football Club at the Village Green at the weekend. And with Wycliff Palu and Phil Waugh locking horns at the breakdown, a classic encounter ensued.

With seventh playing eighth for a spot in the top six, and the return of Lote Tuqiri to a rugby field after a controversially enforced hiatus, the stage was set for an absorbing afternoon up on the peninsula at the weekend as the Warringah Rats hosted the Pirates of West Harbour.

It’s been a long time between drinks down at Woollahra Oval. This year sees the 40th anniversary of Eastern Suburbs’ last 1st Grade Premiership in 1969, and there’s no greater reminder of that than the club’s current head coach Murray Cox, whose father John was a part of that title-winning side.