Wildfires overpower Easts, assert finals credentials as leaders loom large

The match at Woollahra Oval on Saturday was Hunter's third in six weeks after a disrupted period leading into the second phase of competition, which has split into a top six and bottom five.

The Wildfires finished the 11-round first phase in third place and are now looking to lock down another top-four finals appearance with their five remaining games.

They led 19-0 before Easts scored two tries to close the gap to 19-10 by half-time.

"We came out of the blocks and were up 19-0 after about 15 minutes then we gave away a lot of penalties, made some errors and allowed Easts to have a lot of football so that put pressure on us," Joey de Dassel, who coached Hunter to finals in 2022 and is back on the coaching staff this year, said.

"We regrouped at half-time and the second half was close. There were some real signs of rust there for us but the fact that we could still put in a performance like that with a number of players away and injured and not available was very pleasing."

The Wildfires host unbeaten heavyweights Sydney University, who beat Hunter convincingly in round five, next.

De Dassel expected some selections headaches ahead of the tough test. Super W flanker Taj Heald produced a strong performance in her second outing for the Wildfires on Saturday.

"She's been rehabbing from a serious knee injury for some time," de Dassel said.

"She played 20 minutes against Manly and then about 45 minutes today, so she is making a strong comeback from injury and had a huge impact in that first 20 minutes of the game.

"Charlotte Maslen and Anika Butler had very strong games and our front row was very good as well, Leticia Betham and Georgia Chapple.

"We will have a couple of players back from injury next week so there's certainly some selection decisions to make, but they're good ones to be able to make."

In Hunter Rugby Women on Saturday, Merewether beat University 58-0, Hamilton were 87-7 winners over Southern Beaches and Maitland defeated Cooks Hill 74-0. Wanderers downed Nelson Bay 38-7 on Wednesday night.