Year of the Rat: Warringah repel Easts to claim second Shute Shield title

2 weeks ago 9

Warringah made it the “Year of the Rat” after repelling a second-half comeback from Eastern Suburbs and pushing away to claim a memorable Shute Shield crown at Leichhardt Oval.

The men from the Northern Beaches proved too strong for the defending champions in a tense grand final, and after the teams were separated by just three points in the last quarter, two late tries helped the Rats finish up 37-24 winners.

Warringah celebrate their win over Eastern Suburbs to be crowned the 2025 Charter Hall Shute Shield Premiers at Leichhardt Oval, Leichhardt

It was just the second Shute Shield title for the Rats, whose sole previous title came in 2017. Warringah coach Josh Holmes was in that side, and with victory on Saturday, he joined a rare group of men who have won premierships at the same club as both player and coach.

Players and coaches were mobbed by Warringah fans – known as the “Hillbillies” – who had filled up half of the Leichhardt Oval hill. Just three seasons ago, the Rats won only four games all year and finished 11th, but many of those players were still in the side who lifted the Shield on Saturday.

None were better than Warringah skipper Ben Marr, who was outstanding at fullback. Man-of-the-match No.8 Chlayton Frans was the pick of the Rats’ impressive forward pack, scoring his second try of the game to seal the victory. The Rats bench proved decisive late, also.

Warringah’s Bens – Woollett and Marr - celebrate their win over Eastern Suburbs.

Normally the benchmark for consistency and excellence, Easts were thrown way off their game by Warringah’s urgency and enthusiasm. But even with a scratchy performance, the Beasties clawed their way back from a 17-10 deficit and, using their set-piece dominance, fought their way back to a potentially winning position, trailing by 27-24 in the final quarter.

Easts have made a habit of being ruthless, and after cruelling the Rats with a try in the last 10 seconds to win in the semi-finals last year, the tricolours then won the 2024 decider by a single point.

This year, they again pipped Warringah by one point in round eight. But with a heaving fanbase behind them, the Rats were not to be denied in the big dance.

“It’s the proudest moment of my life, proudest moment of my rugby career,” Marr said. “I am a bit lost for words. I am so proud, we worked so hard for this over the last two years.

“We had a lot of belief in ourselves all year, but we came good at the right time. You saw how much it meant to us today. I reckon that was probably the difference. We wanted this really bad.

“Massive shout out to our bench. All year our bench has been unbelievable and we have come home strong. It has been one of our biggest weapons. The bomb squad, we call them.

“We just had to take it to them in the first half and if we were in the fight in the second half, our bench comes on and finishes the job for us.”

Carving up some passive Easts defence, Warringah spun the ball and jumped out to an early 14-3 lead, but tries to Darby Lancaster and Reon Lowrey on either side of the break saw Easts rally back to 17-all.

Coby Miln’s boot pushed Warringah back out to 20-17 and a try to reserve Malachi Ti’a saw the Rats restore a 10-point buffer.

Leicchhardt Oval was packed for the decider.

Missing many of the Waratahs stars who helped them win the title last year, and particularly Jack Bowen, Easts looked uncertain with the ball at times and coughed up too much possession.

But their forwards remained a go-to, and a close-range try to Archie Gavin got Easts back within three.

But the Rats weren’t done - they pushed downfield with disciplined phase footy and rising Brumbies prop Tevita Alatini scored to get one hand on the trophy. But a turnover in the dying minutes saw the ball swung wide and Frans ran 40 metres to score another - and remove doubt.

“That was awesome, we stuck to our game plan. It was a bit touchy in the second half, but the boys kept going, and our bench came on and gave impact,” Holmes said.

“We showed Rats spirit and when we got the ball, we talked about it all week, let’s play Rat footy and move the ball to space.

“This one is pretty special, this one means a lot. There are lot of boys in this group who have been there for the hard times in the last few years. To see them go and do that, it was pretty special.”

Already a favourite son at Warringah, Holmes elevated himself to icon status at Rat Park by coaching the side to a Shute Shield premiership – something not even Rod Macqueen could achieve in two visits to the grand final with the Rats.

Holmes only became a coach in 2022, and took the Rats to a first-grade colts premiership in 2023 before taking over first grade last year.