Penrith Rams completed the daily double against Manly Wolves on Saturday when they travelled to Weldon Oval and returned with a rare perfect record. No-one can remember if both senior teams have ever collected the double at the Northern Beaches venue and it was looking a million to one chance at the three -quarter break in reserves with Penrith staging a remarkable comeback to take the spoils.
First grade never looked in danger as they cruised to a 38 point win whilst the Under 18's put up a good effort but went down to heavyweights North Shore at Gore Hill.
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First Grade V Manly Wolves
After dishing out a hiding to Manly at Dukes Oval in Round 3, it was always going to be a tough assignment to complete the double on their home turf at Weldon Oval, a ground that has become a graveyard in the history of the club.
After two convincing wins at home, Penrith were full of confidence despite missing some key players with Jake Clarke stepping up to make his debut along with Tom Hall and Hamish Mulligan.
The Wolves came out pumped and secured the first two majors but their was no panic in the squad as the rookies of the team proved evasive. Ben Robinson dominating his similar sized but older opposite number booting two with cohort Harley Stibbard and Daniel Schroot both adding one for the Rams to go to a 16 point lead at the first break.
It was a tight second term as Manly responded on their official opening day of the semi-refurbished ground with the home side adding another two to their total, but Penrith were controlling the midfield and only through some innacurate shooting (5 behinds) could have started dancing away with the spoils. Dale Chivas opened up his account and Robbo chimed in with his third to see Penrith go into the long break with a 20 point buffer.
It certainly wasn't a match winning lead, especially after what had been witnessed in the Reserves game, but the visitors looked the fresher team at the start of the premiership quarter. Some costly misses from easy set shots went astray for the Wolves as they added 1.5 with scrambling defence by Jay Edwards, Nathan Wright and Bryce Roney denied Manly of getting back into the fray. At the other end, Dale Chivas added another and Ben Robinson continued on his merry way with another two which saw them extend their lead to 30 with the final 22 minutes left on the clock.
The game opened up with the Sherrin travelling all around the ground. Manly put in their best scoring quarter with 3.1 but it was Chivas who owned the forward line with some spectacular grabs which produced a treble and of course Robinson didn't want to record a "goalless" quarter and took his tally to six for the day with another as the Rams toughed it out for a 38 point win and retention of third spot on the ladder, but now stalking both teams above them who both were beaten in a day of upset results.
It wasn't soley Robbo's six goal haul that saw him take out the best on ground but the determination against the big pack that hunted him down was outstanding, never taking a backward step in the fray. Jake Shelley was also sensational and left many of the Manly team bruised and battered with some big hits. Tom Hall is looking to secure a permanent spot in the squad and his performance certainly had the coaching staff with grins on their face. Of the others, Adam Sharp, Harley Stibbard and Mitch Reinhart were all impressive with Dale Chivas general play and five goal haul a worthy reward.
Next week will be a "crunch game" against traditional foes, Nor-West Jets at the Past Players Day at Greygums. The Jets caused the upset of the round this week when they demolished the unbeaten Sydney Uni and with no love lost for many decades between the clubs, promises to be an event not to be missed.
Penrith Rams 4.4 6.9 9.12 13.15-93 def Manly Wolves 2.0 4.1 5.6 8.7-55
Goal Kickers: B. Robinson 6, D. Chivas 5, D. Schroot , J. Spicer
Best Players: B. Robinson, J. Shelley, T. Hall, A. Sharp, H. Stibbard, M. Reinhard
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Reserve Grade V Manly Wolves
It was an early start for the Reserves with the long haul out to Harbord for the 10:00 AM clash with the Wolves. Two late withdrawals saw the emergencies Brent Venables and assistant coach Micky Bottrill kit up for a game they were expected to have little difficulty in winning after a 91 point win at Dukes Oval in their first clash this season in Round 3.
Penrith got the ealy jump and it appeared that a repeat was on the cards as Penrith looked steady in the good conditions but could only manage a nine point lead at the first break. Although generally the commitment was there, they appeared to be taking things quite easy and the spark that has them in second spot on the ladder was becoming absent.
The second term saw the home team start to dominate, going hard into the packs which was rewarded as they kicked 4.4 against just 2.2 to the Rams to go to the big break full of confidence and resolve with a five point lead and some bruised and battered Penrith players wondering what the locals had for breakfast.
Still it seemed early days as the Rams were expected to come out on fire in the second half. Manly however, had a sniff of an upset and full credit to them for taking the opportunities in the third term as they cruised along to add another four goals to their tally against their opponents who converted the only two scoring shots of the quarter.
Down by almost four goals with just the final quarter remaing looked an impossible task for the lacklustre Rams, given that their previous three terms had produced just two goals apiece. A livid Kevin Tate ripped into the team at the final break telling them that they had forgotten everything they practice in the training paddock.
The Rams motto is "We are never out of the game" but after 10 minutes of the final term, most on the sideline were questioning that statement. All of a sudden, things clicked into place and pride and commitment kicked in as the team went on the attack. The reward was a stunning five goal haul whilst keeping the stunned Wolves to just two minor scores and it was grand final style jubilation at the final siren with the Rams recording a ten point win.
It was the "Day of the Triffo" with Rams veteran, Christian Triffitt easily securing best on ground honours, Chrish steadied the play throughout the match with surging runs and great decision-making. "Triffo" was the 2010 Best and Fairest and returned to his best form today. Nathan Rowley was exceptional and never took a backward step against his bigger rivals along with Gordie "Wombat" Howell who toughed it out for the entire match. Chris Manuel keeps improving every week in his first season and was amongst the best along with Tayt Corless and Christian Knight who stood up tall to the challenge of the day. Jason Bradley took the kicking honours with five including the important ones in the final term whilst Tayt Corless was the other multiple scorer with a treble. Both players now sit 1-2 in the Div 4 leading goalkickers for the Sydney AFL.
It's back to Greygums next week for the annual grudge day match against Nor-West Jets. Nor-West have struggled this season with just one win (against Manly) and were defeated on the weekend by Auburn who recorded their first win of the season. However, they grow another leg against Penrith and are expected to put in a huge showing. The 12:00 PM clash is not to be missed.
Penrith Rams 2.3 4.5 6.5 11.6-72 def Manly Wolves 1.0 5.4 9.6 9.8-62
Goal Kickers: J. Bradley 5, T. Corless 3, G. Howell , N. Gatt , C. Manuel
Best Players: C. Triffitt, N. Rowley, G. Howell, C. Manuel, T. Corless, C. Knight
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Under 18's V North Shore Bombers
The young Rams travelled to Gore Hill Oval to take on the North Shore Bombers this week. They were well aware of the challenge ahead of them against one of the top teams in the competition. In spite of this, the Rams were ready and started well from the first bounce.
The Rams defence was asked to work hard from the outset. To their credit the defence did a great job led by James Devlin and Tom Noble who continually repelled the North Shore attack. They managed to restrict the Bombers to 4 goals for the quarter while the Rams kicked 2 goals of their own. The second quarter saw the Rams working hard defensively against an enthusiastic Bombers attack. The Bombers small men were creating havoc running the ball into their forward line and making the Rams chase them. Harry Doyle and George Paneras did a mountain of work defensively but the Rams struggled to clear the ball and move it into their forward line. Hayden Strong and Greg Major also worked hard in defence for the Rams. It was a tough quarter for the Rams who could not kick a goal while the Bombers added 3 to go into the half time break with a comfortable 37 point lead.
The third quarter was always going to be an important one for the Rams and they needed to do well to get back into the game. North Shore had other ideas however and dominated the quarter to add 6 goals to their tally and open up a commanding lead by the end of the third quarter. The Rams worked hard however and made the most of their opportunities in the forward line kicking 2 goals for the quarter. Jack Ponton continued to work hard for the Rams and kicked a goal to give the Rams some hope. Ben Mayer worked himself into the game in the second half and provided plenty of run for the Rams. Liam Murphy played a great game continually backing up his teammates and collecting kicks at will to drive the Rams into attack. Liam really led by example this week and showed the boys what was required. As the game wore on the Rams could not match the Bombers running play and allowed them too much freedom in their forward line.
The Rams regrouped for the last quarter and while they played better around the ground they did not capitalise on their time in the forward line kicking only 1 from 5 shots at goal. Matt Purse played a strong game in the ruck all day and helped the Rams to win their share of clearances and Brayden Wilson played well for the Rams. Shaun Stevens made a welcome return to the team today and provided the Rams with a target up forward and also pushed back to help out in defence when required. Nick Adams also returned to the team this week and played strongly in defence and also provided the Rams with plenty of drive in the midfield. George Paneras was as busy as ever and continually handballed out to his teammates to get the Rams moving forward.
It was always going to be a tough day for the Rams and while they tried valiantly and worked hard all day they could not match the Bombers who went home with a comfortable 67 point win over the Rams.
Penrith Rams 2.0 2.2 4.2 5.6-36 def by North Shore Bombers 4.4 7.9 13.10 15.13-103
Goal Kickers: J. Ponton 2, J. Devlin , B. Wilson , B. McGovern
Best Players: L. Murphy, T. Noble, J. Ponton, J. Devlin, H. Doyle, S. Stevens
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Last Modified on 20/06/2011 18:24