The Pommy, loose head prop Alex Reid, arrived early last week and was to be eased in through the lower grades only for Blair Rush to roll his ankle at training on Tuesday night.

Instead, Reid helped steer the Two Blues to a gritty 19-13 win over Nelson Bay at No.2 Sportsground to retain the Hawthorne Cup and stretch their winning run to five games.

"Nelson Bay were really good," Beckett said. "They were desperate but our guys showed plenty of heart. We just had to hang in the fight. Chase Hicks was outstanding, Ben Ham was exceptional and the new Pommy did some special things. It was clear early he wasn't going to be going backwards at the scrum. We ended up getting the ascendancy on them. Dave Waller came off and said, the Pommy is good."

The Two Blues came from 5-0 down to lead 12-5 at half-time. Rhys Dombkins burrowed over to get the visitors back in it at 12-10.

Enter Fijian Nimilote Qio. After an initial burst from replacement Dan Kevill, the powerhouse centre ran over three defenders to score.

The Bay kicked a penalty to get within a converted try but the Two Blues held strong.

At Bernie Curran Oval, the boot of Uni fly-half Deon McNabb proved the difference as the Students edged out Southern Beaches 26-14. Both sides scored two tries but McNabb landed two conversions and four penalties.

Maitland flexed their muscles, running in nine tries, to overpower Singleton 53-24 at Rugby Park.

In the final game premiers Hamilton produced a classic display of wet-weather rugby to grind out a 15-0 win over Lake Macquarie at a sodden Passmore Oval and move to the top of the table.

READ MORE: HAWKS TALK DOWN RECORD FIFTH PREMIERSHIP BID

READ MORE: ROOS OUT TO PROVE POINT IN GRUDGE MATCH