After a slow first
term in which the Rams trailed by 11 points, they began to click into
gear with three unanswered goals in the second, going into half time
holding a narrow 7 point advantage. The third quarter was Penrith's best
of the day with their slick running football taking charge of the
contest, the Rams extending their lead to a match winning 32 points.
Penrith were now clearly in the ascendancy, with a further four goals in
the final term showing the benefits of an arduous pre-season campaign
under coach Kevin Tate.
Final scores were
Penrith 14-12-96 to Macquarie University 6-7-43.
For Penrith, Mitchell
Reinhard and Harley Stibbard were best afield, and they received fine
support from Lachlan Gippel, Reece Johnson and Adam Sharp. John Spicer
proved that he will be a strong focal point for the Rams attack with
three goals, whilst Jack Ponton showed his
silky skills throughout to finish with two.
Match Report Round 2 V Macquarie Uni
After a false start to the season with the washed out game against Moorebank postponed until June, The young Rams were keen to get off to a flying start against the 2008 second placed team, Macquarie Uni. The last met in the final game last year at Greygums and suffered a narrow loss. The Rams were close to full strength but were missing a few key players in Matt Payne (Playing Swans Reserves), Hamish Mulligan (Injured), Matt Stevens and Nic Edwards.
Uni won the toss and elected to run with the breeze at their backs but the Rams dominated the early minutes and posted three behinds before Uni kicked the opening goal. The Rams responded with one of their own but the visitors landed another double before the break to lead by that margin. It was taking a while for the local team to find their feet.
The second quarter saw a slight improvement in the teams performance with a three goal quarter but more importantly, keeping the Warriors to a single point as the result of some good defence. The Rams went to the major break with a seven point lead and all was set for an enthralling second half.
Again running into the breeze in the third quarter, Penrith were required to lift their game to contain their opponents. However, the attack gelled and produced a classic stanza of controlled footy and showed complete domination with the locals putting the ball between the big sticks six times. The Warriors, although scoring two of their own, looked to have no answer and found themselves with a 32 point deficit with twenty minutes of football left to play.
The final quarter saw the Rams extend their lead with another four goals and it was only some innacurate kicking coupled with some great defence by the Uni fullback that the boys didn't reach the 100 mark. When the final siren sounded, the Rams gave a muddling rendition of the club song with their 53 point victory which propelled them to the top of the ladder on percentages.
There were many fine performances by the Rams. Mitch Reinhard was a standout whilst Co-captain Lachie Gippel franked his pre-season training regime along with fellow Blue Mountains residents Reece Johnson and Ben Robinson. Former Kangaroo's player, Harley Stibbard was sensational and transferred the skills he exhibited at training to match day. Pioneer and Swans 16's, Jack Ponton (2 goals), was superb in attack and was easy to identify on the field despite his recent trip to the barber whist Adam Sharp was solid all day. Rugby recruits, Hayden McTaggart and Nathan Sajowitz grew in confidence throughout the match with Hayden kicking his first AFL competition goal along with Matt Reardon who took a screaming mark in the goalsquare to also kick his maiden AFL goal. John Spicer found his treasured kicking boot with three whilst Alex Rogers and Aidan Cook both chimed in with a couple.
Next week is the team travel to Bensons Lane to take on old foes, East Coast Eagles, a team the Rams have defeated in their last five meetings with the game starting at 10:00 AM.
Penrith Rams 14.12-96 def Macquarie University Warriors 6.7-43
Goals: J. Spicer (3) A. Rogers (2) A. Cook (2) J. Ponton (2) K. McDonagh, R. Johnson, H. Stibbard, M. Reardon, H. McTaggart
Best: M. Reinhard, H. Stibbard, L Gippel, R. Johnson, A. Sharp, J. Ponton.
Last Modified on 23/04/2010 12:31