Shute Shield· Season 2026
Warringah defeated Gordon 46-19 in the Shute Shield Preliminary Final to book their place in the 2026 Grand Final, outclassing the Stags on home soil.
Match Videos
Match Analysis
AI SummaryHow it unfolded
The defending champions wasted no time establishing control. Warringah — who finished the regular season second on the ladder with a 14-4 record and 72 points — ran in multiple first-half tries to build a lead that Gordon, despite a spirited third-quarter response, never threatened.
Gordon had entered the finals series in strong form, having claimed 13 wins from their 18 regular-season games to finish third (68 points), but found the Rats’ attacking structure too physical and too sharp. The Stags had beaten Warringah 35–24 in their most recent meeting on 8 August in Round 17, but this time the Rats reversed that result emphatically.
By full time, Warringah had hung 46 points on the scoreboard — their highest tally in any meeting between these sides since that remarkable 83-point match in 2018 — and held Gordon to just 19.
The turning point
Gordon had reason to believe early, having won the corresponding fixture three weeks earlier. But a sustained period of Warringah pressure in the opening quarter yielded tries that forced the Stags onto the back foot. Once the Rats’ forward pack established dominance at the set piece and at the breakdown, Gordon’s defensive line began to fracture. Warringah’s ability to convert pressure into points before half-time effectively took the contest away from the visitors.
Key performers
Warringah’s try-scorers shared the load across the backline and forwards, a hallmark of their season. The Rats’ back three caused Gordon persistent problems in broken field, while the midfield axis controlled territory with well-placed kicks and direct carries. The home pack’s work at the maul and at ruck time starved Gordon of quick ball, forcing the Stags into errors they could not recover from.
Player of the match: Not officially named at time of writing, but Warringah’s No. 10 and their loose forward trio were instrumental in the victory.
By the numbers
The 46–19 scoreline undersells the degree of control Warringah exerted. The Rats’ regular season saw them average 34.9 points per game and concede just 23.2 — and they exceeded both marks here at the offensive end while tightening up defensively against a Gordon side that had averaged 35.1 points across the regular campaign. The 27-point margin was the biggest between these two clubs since Warringah’s 46–5 win in 2022.
What it means
Warringah advance to the Grand Final on 5 September, where they will face the winner of the other Preliminary Final between Eastern Suburbs (1st, 81 points) and Sydney University (4th, 66 points), played on the same weekend. For Gordon, the season ends in the Preliminary Final — a strong campaign that saw them win 13 matches and push for a top-two finish, but ultimately fall short of the grand final stage.
The Rats, who ended a long premiership drought in 2025 with a Grand Final win over Easts, are now one win away from back-to-back titles.
Warringah and Gordon have met 20 times — Warringah won 14, Gordon won 6, with 0 draws. Their rivalry dates back to 2013. Warringah leads the head-to-head with 14 victories from 20 meetings. A combined 1071 goals have been scored across these fixtures, averaging 53.55 per match (578 for the home side, 493 for the visitors). Both teams scored in 20 matches (100%). Over 2.5 goals landed in 20 games (100%), making it a fixture that tends to produce goals. The highest-scoring encounter finished 14–83 in 2018.
Statistics are for informational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
API data: 30 Aug 2026