The East Coast Eagles and Kia Toa Tigers secured hard-fought victories at Kensington Oval on Saturday to help extend their positions as the top two sides in the competition.
The Eagles played the South Pacific Raiders in the first game, putting the Raiders to the sword with a stellar 44-10 performance.
The Raiders were under strength with injuries sidelining key players, including captain Sam Brame, who has been a dominant force so far this season.
The Eagles on the other hand, came into the match riding the momentum from their 22-22 draw against the competition-leading Tigers last weekend.
As could be expected given the situation, the Eagles were able to gain the upper hand early in the piece; the momentum starting to rise when Eagles fullback Kingi Hautapu managed to break through the Raiders' defensive line and run away to dot down under the posts.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, this was just the beginning of the Eagles' try-scoring blitz which would see Hautapu grab another.
Tama Apineru, Hyrum Martin, Jackson Harliwich, Terrence Reid, Sonny Mclean and Daez Mulipola also scored brilliant tries.
The Raiders' troubles worsened when Taikawa Tamati-Elliffe succumbed to an injury as a result of a strong tackle.
He was taken from the field by ambulance after being attended to by sideline physio Mike Wheeler, who has been rushed off his feet attending to the countless injured players so far this season.
The Eagles were just too strong in the forwards, gaining momentum from their strong runners through the middle of the park, allowing Tama Apineru and Hyrum Martin to show how dangerous they can be as they led their side to an impressive victory.
In the second game, the Kia Toa Tigers kept a determined University side at bay, winning 24-16.
The first half was eventful, with the Tigers' attack shining at times on the back of some exceptional playmaking from Vila Apuula.
Following some strong defensive sets, University opened the scoring through a brilliant intercept try to centre Jalan Wallace.
It was not long before the Tigers struck back, with Koben Katipa smashing through defenders to get over the line and put his side on the scoreboard.
Centre Joel Taniora kept the Tigers attack rolling, running the ball hard and showing some pace on his way to scoring two tries.
University looked to wrest the momentum back, Ricki Allan and Dominic Tola combining well to challenge the Tigers.
Tola scored a try and both men made breaks to give their side some great go-forward on the left edge.
However, the pressure being put on the University side caused them to commit some soft mistakes and handling errors that only helped the Tigers assert their dominance.
Shane Unahi and his team-mates were kept the upper hand, capitalising on University's mistakes to close out the game and further extend their lead at the top of the competition with yet another impressive performance.
