The Under 18s broke a horror four game losing streak on Saturday when they defeated the East Coast Eagles.
Clearly down on confidence after so long since recording a win, the boys struggled with their rhythm in the first half and found themselves 13 points down at half-time.
With the spectre of another loss on the horizon, the team came out firing and kicked seven goals in the "premiership quarter" to turn the game - and possibly their season - around.
Continuing their good work into the final term, the end result was a comfortable 34 point win.
Final scores were: Penrith 14.14 (98) d East Coast Eagles 9.10 (64).
Welcome back to Greg Corless, recovering from illness, who provides his report on the match below:>
Penrith Rams Under 18’s ended their horror run on Saturday at Charles McLaughlin Reserve when they overpowered Easy Coast Eagles with a comprehensive thirty four point victory. After suffering four successive losses during May, the team rallied on the last day of the month in superb style which enabled them to return into the top four as the competition heads towards the half way mark.
The game commenced at a furious pace with the early ascendency going to the Eagles with two early goals before the Rams could post their first major for the day. Some erratic kicking saw the visitors kick 1.5 in the opening stanza as they went to the break with a two goal deficit.
Despite a promising start to the second quarter, Penrith were unable to make any inroads into the Eagles lead but showed much more intent and commitment than they had in the previous month. At the half time break, coaches Kevin and Baz stressed the need for the boys to cut down the midfield and made some positional changes. There was self-belief in the shed that had been missing in previous games as the team ran on the field for the final forty minutes.
The following twenty minutes was an absolute joy to watch with the Rams dominating in all aspects of the game. With three goals in the opening five minutes, the Rams converted their true potential into reality in a display that would have caused nightmares for any team in the competition. It was a quarter of football that proved to the team that they are real premiership contenders in 2008. With another four goals added to the tally, Penrith rocketed to a four goal lead coming into the final quarter.
The final quarter saw more dominance with East Coast looking stunned and defeated as play resumed and it was only courtesy of some unusual decisions that kept them in the game, but the bird had flown and the young Rams added another three goals to run out 34 point victors over the home side.
One of the most pleasing aspects of the match was to watch the first year 18’s throw their bodies on the line. Andy Simankowicz (3 goals), Jakeman King-Smith, Kirk Perkins and Alex Rogers were sensational, whilst former St Clair Crows players Anthony Lewis (3 goals), Hamish Mulligan (1 goal), “Magic” Morgo, Daen Lomas (2 goals) and evergreen Brendan Cooke all put in sensational displays. Under 16’s Lions player, Matty Payne was brilliant at fullback.
The Rams now have a week break before going into battle against premiership leaders, UNSW/Eastern Suburbs at Greygums on June 14.
Goal Kickers: Andy Simankowicz 3, Anthony Lewis 3, Daen Lomas 2, Kyle McDonagh 2, Hamish Mulligan, Dean Siljanoski, Michael Morgan, Alex Henry
Best Players: Max Roberts, Tayt Corless, Jesse Begley, Matthew Payne, Cameron Jaworski, Andy Simankowicz
Last Modified on 23/04/2010 22:22