First Grade
With a multitude of injuries and unavailabilties, a weakened senior side travelled to Trumper Park to take on second placed UTS. Despite this, Penrith showed their fighting spirit to play their best football of the season in the first half, taking a surprise one point lead into half time. After the long break, the Bats were able to get on top, taking the lead and stretching it to three goals at three quarter time before eventually running out 42 point victors in a match where the final score didn’t reflect the excellent effort of the Rams side.
Coach Lachlan Smith played his best game of the year, whilst John Keane and Bryce Roney both did terrific jobs in the key defensive posts. Rob Low, Justin Brock and Shane Turner were others to stand out.
This week sees Penrith travel to tackle Macquarie Uni in all grades. Hopefully the return of some key players should see the seniors put in a competitive performance, whilst the U/18’s look to maintain their position on top of the ladder.
Penrith Rams 9.6-60 def by UTS Bats 15.12-102
PENRITH
Goal Kickers: D. Cummings 2, S. Turner 2, L. Smith, M. Jackson, T. Corless, B. Cooke, S. Fort
Best Players: L. Smith, J. Brock, S. Turner, J. Keane, R. Low, R. Allen
Under 18 Grade
The Penrith Rams moved to the top of the Sydney AFL U/18’s ladder with a comprehensive 72 point win over Pennant Hills at Ern Holmes Oval last Saturday.
After a keenly fought first term which saw Penrith take a handy 13 point advantage, the young Rams broke away with a seven goal second quarter to take a commanding 57 point lead into the long break. To the Demons credit they fought back in the third term and outscored the visitors, but were assisted by a Penrith side who had gone away from the approach that had served them so well in recent weeks. A three quarter time blast from coach Kevin Tate had the desired effect, and they responded accordingly, booting clear again to win well.
Final scores were Penrith 16-9-105 to Pennant Hills 5-3-33.
It was notable yet again the even spread of talent from across the spectrum of local junior clubs, with Daniel Schroot (Penrith Swans), Harley Stibbard (Blue Mountains Kangaroos), Matthew Payne (Emu Plains/Glenmore Park Lions) and Jakeman King-Smith (St.Clair Crows) amongst Penrith’s best, whilst Kyle McDonagh again proved a handful up forward in booting four goals.
Coach Tate was happy to notch up another win away from home. "Having won 5 from 5 away from home is a pretty special achievement as we enter the second half of the season" he said. "There were some disappointing aspects of today’s match which we will be working on during training, but generally it was another solid effort."
Under 18's Match Report
The Rams had to endure an early start as they headed from the West in darkness to Pennant Hills for the unusually early game time of 8:30 AM against the fourth placed Demons. The match was an important one for Penrith where they were again pitted against another finals contender for the third consecutive week. Pennant Hills, however, were going into the game undermanned and had to call on some of their Premier Cup players who were also required for their latter game, in order to field a sixteen man squad.
The game commenced in very cool conditions with a slight breeze favouring to home team and play went from end to end in the opening minutes. A Kyle McDonagh opening goal was quickly negated by a Demons major. Shortly after, McDonagh kicked another and a Ben Robinson goal saw the team go to the break with a thirteen point lead.
The second quarter saw the structure of the team click better with McDonagh adding another double, Matt Reardon showing outstanding commitment to also add a double along with six-pointers to Nick Edwards, Reece Johnson and Alex Henry. More importantly, the defence was rock solid in not allowing the Demons to add to their quarter time score.
With a fifty seven point lead at the major break it appeared that a huge win was in order. The third quarter produced a display of lack of commitment and desire by the team and was probably their worst twenty minutes of football played by them all season. A lone goal to Alex Henry was the only piece of joy as Pennant Hills were allowed to run riot and add three soft goals to their tally. The disappointed coaching staff relayed their concerns at the break and asked the boys to start playing with the enthusiasm and toughness that they were capable of.
The final twenty minutes saw the workrate and intensity lift. John Spicer opened his account for the day with a double whilst Nick Edwards chimed in with another whilst star youngsters Jack Ponton and Harley Stibbard were rewarded for their relentless efforts with a goal apiece. At the end of the eighty minutes, it was the victorious Rams singing the club song for the seventh time this season with a well earnt 72 point victory.
The win saw the team jump to top position on the ladder after the Southern Power lost their first game of the season to the Sydney Uni outfit. All three of these teams have now only tasted defeat once each this year and an interesting race to the finals is now on the agenda.
Coach Kevin Tate was happy to come away with another win away from home. "Having won 5 from 5 away from home is a pretty special achievement as we enter the second half of the season" he said. "There were some disappointing aspects of todays match which we will be working on during training, but generally it was another solid effort. The two Lions Under 16's players, Jackson and Brayden were outstanding in the time they spent on the field. They showed maturity and poise beyond their years
Again it was difficult to chose the best for the week. Former Swans player and first year 18's player, Daniel Schroot, was outstanding all over the park. The experience of Mitch Reinhard and Jakeman King-Smith again settled the team into a good rhythm whilst Harley Stibbard and Matty Payne again dominated play. Ben Robinson showed that a dose of the flu wasn't going to affect his commitment as he ran all day and continually outsmarted his opponents. The "Red Cow Inn" dinner award was taken out by Full Forward, John Spicer, who continues to always take the best options whilst Alex Henry will be behind the wheel of the "Green Car" as the recipient of that award in his best display of the year. The Rams would like to thank young Sydney West umpire, Luke Hall, for making the early trek to Pennant Hills to officiate ithe match. Luke is a member of the Umpires Academy and did a fine job as Penrith's club umpire for the match. We wish him all the best as he commences his career in senior football.
It is another early start for the boys next week when they take the M4/M7/M2 route to North Ryde to take on Macquarie Uni at 8:30 AM. The Rams posted a decisive 51 point victory against the students in the opening game of the season in April and are expected to repeat the dose. However, Mac Uni are coming off a win and are expected to offer strong resistance as all teams do when they play the ladder leaders.
Penrith Rams 16.9-105 def Pennant Hills Demons 5.3-33
Goal Kickers: K. McDonagh 4, A. Henry 2, N. Edwards 2, M. Reardon 2, J. Spicer 2, B. Robinson, R. Johnson, J. Ponton, H. Stibbard
Best Players: D. Schroot, H. Stibbard, M. Payne, J. King-Smith, A. Henry, M. Reinhard
Last Modified on 23/04/2010 15:06