All three Rams grades came away from Gipps Road Oval with wins against Holroyd-Parramatta.
The Under 18s started the day in fine form, with a massive 154 point win.
The Reserves then took advantage of a dominant second quarter to record a comfortable 103 point win.
Senior Grade then took stage and whilst patchy at times, managed to keep the Goannas at bay early and then run away to win by 84 points.
Well done to all sides!!
First Grade V Holroyd Parramatta at Gipps Rd.
The Rams travelled to Gipps Rd on Saturday to tackle Holroyd-Parramatta Goannas in a match that would see Penrith equal the number of wins by the senior side for the last three years. With the Goanna's languishing at the low end of the ladder, it was probably difficult for the team to focus entirely at the job on hand.
The Rams quickly got into stride with early goals but the Goanna's found plenty of holes in Penrith defence to stay in touch in the first term, with the teals taking a fifteen point advantage. There was a better defensive effort in the second session but the Rams still could not dominate with a thirty six point lead.
Players were reminded at the break to play to their strengths and to think about their options. With a slight breeze to their advantage in the third quarter, it was time to prove to themselves if they were to be finals contenders this year.
The Rams went on to record their best quarter of the game with a 7.5 session whilst keeping their opponents scoreless. The final quarter saw a frustrating period for Penrith as they continued to dominate without reward, winning the quarter by just one point in scoring 8 consecutive behinds whilst HP put 1.1 on the board. The 84 point win keeps the team in second spot on the ladder.
After cheering on his beloved Saint Kilda in their win on Friday night, Ben Robinson came out with the intentions of doing a similar job to the Goanna's as the Saints did to the Cats. With a brilliant across the park performance including a personal best six goal haul, Robbo won the "IGA" Award for the second consecutive week. The "Red Cow Inn" Award was taken out by Adam West, who again showed what a tough competitor he is week in week out, knowing that his Sundays are reserved for recovery sessions every week.
Alex Henry easily had his best game of the season with the 18 year old looking to secure his future in the senior side with a great display whilst a week wouldn't go by without Lachie Smith, Dave Bradley and Nathan Allison being mentioned amongst the best.
Along with Robbo's haul of six, Dave Cummings (4) Blake Roberts (2) and Tim Cummins (2) were the other multiple scorers.
Next Saturday sees a run of home games with the team playing UTS, who proved unstoppable at their home ground earlier in the year but have to face the Rams at home, hopefully providing a different result.
Penrith 15.21 (111) d Holroyd-Parramatta 4.3 (27)
Goals: B. Robinson 6, D. Cummings 4, B. Roberts 2, T. Cummins 2, B. Pathuis
Best: B. Robinson, A. West, A. Henry, L. Smith, D. Bradley, N. Allison
Reserve Grade V Holroyd Parramatta at Gipps Rd.
The Reserves kept themselves in finals contention on Saturday with a comprehensive 103 point win over the Goanna's at Gipps Rd. The win takes their record to 8-3 and whilst sharing second spot on the ladder, are clinging on to fourth spot on percentages.
Playing with a depleted squad of 20, the Rams called on three 18's players. Gordon "Wombat" Howel, Brendan Reed and Harley Stibbard all backed up ufter their earlier win whilst Aidan Cook and former Baulkham Hills junior, Nathan Rowley both made their 2010 debuts with Penrith.
The Rams got off to a solid start kicking 4.4 and keeping the Goanna's stagnant in the first term. With a 7.7 term against the home side in the second quarter against 1.1 to their opponents, the Rams had well and truly put the result without doubt. All the players were sharing the ball around, something that had been missing in previous outings.
Penrith failed to take advantage in the third session when their roll was halted somewhat by a dtronger effort by the Goanna's and they only managed to edge another point in front but the floodgates opened again in the final term with another five goals scored with HP unable to add to their three quarter time tally.
The 103 point win was their biggest win of the season over the winless Goanna's and keeps their hopes alive for a finals berth.
Christian Triffitt quickly returned to form after a three week layoff and was named "IGA" Player of the Match whilst Justin Weller returned from a one week spell to grab the "Red Cow Inn" Award. Seltene Yohannes electrified the crowd with his searching runs whilst Reece Johnson and Gordon Howeel put in solid performances. Jason Makin was the major scorer with four whilst Johnson (4) and Weller (3) both kept the scoreboard ticking over. New recruit, Nathan Rowley, proved a headache for his opponents in his first game for four years along with former Emu Plains junior, Aidan Cook who played hard in his comeback match.
The team faces a harder task this Saturday when they face finals hopefuls, UTS at Greygums in the 12:00 PM Match
Penrith 18.15 (123) d Holroyd-Parramatta 3.2 (20)
Goals: J. Makin 4, R. Johnson 3, J. Weller 2, N. Rowley 2, H. Stibbard, B. Reed, A. Cook, M. Jackson, T. Hall, B. Venables, S. Yohannes
Best: C. Triffitt, J. Weller, R. Johnson, S. Yohannes, G. Howell, J. Makin
![IGA Man of the Match Christian Triffitt](https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs090.snc4/35871_133789316649709_100000559249727_264634_6854461_n.jpg)
Under 18's V Holroyd Parramatta at Gipps Rd.
The Under 18's had their second clash of the season with Holroyd-Parramatta on Saturday at Gipps Rd in wintery conditions in the 8:30 AM match.
In their previous game at Greygums, despite it being Round 6 of the competition, it was only the second match of the season for Penrith and the won a scrappy game by 75 points. After a big win the previous week against Manly, the team were keen to keep their unbeaten record alive and it wasn't long before they dominated play against the Goanna's full squad of 22.
With nine scoring shots in the first session, the Rams were able to convert six of them into majors whilst restricting their opponents to 1.1. The floodgates opened in term two with a nassive eight goals (4 behinds) with the Goanna's again able to land 1.1 with Penrith retiring to the sheds with a 74 point lead playing inspiring and unselfish football.
Piling on another 7 goals in the third quarter had the opposing coach pulling out his hair and the mayhem continued with another five goals in the last term to record a 150 point victory.
Amazingly, the win was exactly double the score of the previous victory against the Goanna's as Penrith continue their run to the finals with an eight from eight winning record and just a kick away from passing the thousand point barrier for the season.
Former Emu Plains/Glenmore Park Lions juniors and first year 18's, Ben McGovern and Hayden Strong both put in awesome displays and were rewarded with the "IceBreak" and "Goulburn Valley" awards. Veterans Adam Sharp and aspiring model, Matt Reardon, also ran amok in fine efforts whilst Penrith Swans duo Jack Ponton and Nathan Walker gave further proof that the Rams are in great hands in the future with their skilful displays. It was pleasing to see 15 year old Pioneers player Chris Nolan and 16 year old James Devlin join the team from the Emu Plains club for the match. Both had exceptional games when called upon and racked up a double when their junior club recorded a win later in the day against Hawkebury.
It was one of the teams best performances of the year with coaches Sharp and Payne happy with their structured and skilful performance as the team is now starting to play week in/week out.
The Rams now face up to their acid test on Saturday when they take on 2008/2009 Grand Finalists, Southern Power at Greygums. The 1 V 2 clash at 10:00 AM will be one worth getting down to the ground early to support the future of the club.
Penrith 27.16 (178) d Holroyd-Parramatta 4.4 (28)
Goals: B. McGovern 5, J. Ponton 3, D. Schroot 3, J. Spicer 3, J. Devlin 2, G. Howell 2, L. Murphy 2, J. Colquhoun 2, J. Heath, N. Walker, M. Payne, M. Reardon, A. Sharp
Best: B. McGovern, H. Strong, M. Reardon, A. Sharp, J. Ponton, N. Walker
Next weekend all three grades play at home (Greygums):
10.00 am - Under 18s v Southern Power
12.00 noon - Reserves v UTS
2.10 pm - Seniors v UTS
Last Modified on 05/07/2010 13:06