Eastern Suburbs will have the chance to do something no Sydney Club side has managed in the history of Shute Shield as they prepare for a special day at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday.
No team has ever won all four grades on a single day in the Shute Shield competition stretching back to the introduction of fourth grade in 1932, with Easts in all four finals after taking out the respective minor premierships.
Tickets to the Shute Shield Grand Final are available here.
Sydney Uni were the last team to have all four teams competing for titles on grand final day, with third grade going down to Gordon in 2019.
Last year's champions Randwick took out first, third and fourth but missed the second-grade final.
Easts lost just three games in the lower grades during the regular season and will also contest the first and third grade colts final a day later.
However, first grade has been the major revelation for the 'Beasties', climbing from a disappointing tenth-place finish in 2023 to be in the hunt for a first title since 1969.
"We had a big thing at the start of the year on changing the perception of Easts," Shute Shield coach Ben Batger said.
"Easts has always been a glamourous side known for their attacking flair but we just wanted to earn some respect to the rest of the competition.
"Everyone talks about us being party boys as well but we want to earn the respect and that comes down to being immensely tough. I think that's being mentally tough to be able to hang into games and win in the last minutes which we have.
"...The reality is none of our boys were born in 1969 so we don't know much about (the last title) but we do want to create our own history and the bonus will be we're going to make a lot of old boys and Easts supporters happy.
"It's a massive achievement for the club and our club should be extremely proud of what we've been able to achieve but I don't think any result before we kick off is going to deepen our emotion towards our game," captain Joshua Bokser added.
"Building off last year, we needed to gain our respect back so it's been a big one for us around nailing our basics and doing the hard work."
Easts have had to deal with a player points scandal that saw them docked points in first grade, but their success across the grades has come from steady investment and a potential golden generation of talent coming through.
Halves Teddy Wilson and Jack Bowen have played together since juniors in the Easts system, with Wallabies debutant Darby Lancaster coming through the ranks later, whilst the likes of returning Waratah Fergus Lee-Warner have added depth in the forwards.
"The reality is a lot of those guys have come through our colts program," Batger argued.
"Sydney Uni copped in when they were dominant, Gordon in 2020 and Randwick last year when they brought in European players. It goes with the territory, if you're on top, you're going to cap some criticism and people are going to ask questions.
"...We've been lucky this year there was no Australia A program or anything like that so the cards have fallen really good for me as a coach and they're available and wanting to play."
