Despite a last minute venue change due to wet weather, Penrith Rams gave plenty of enjoyment to the good crowd of past players on Saturday at Dukes Oval with all teams recording comprehensive wins.
The 18's, after a sluggish start, kicked into gear against a fired up Western Suburbs team to record a 36 point win. Second place Rams Reserves had a struggle in an even first half against traditional rivals, Nor-West Jets before running out 38 point winners whilst First Grade ended the rout with a sensational 97 point demolition of the Jets in front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd.
Under 18's V Western Suburbs Magpies
Dukes Oval was the venue for the battle between the Penrith Rams and Western Suburbs Magpies today. With both teams in the lower half of the ladder with 2 wins each it was always going to be a close affair with both teams desperate to take home the points.
The Rams were again slow to start and were held goalless by the Magpies in the first quarter. By contrast the Magpies were ready to play and dominated the play from the first bounce and kicked 3 goals for the quarter. The Rams were playing particularly poorly and this prompted coach Rob Murie to become quite animated in his address to the players at the quarter time break. The young Rams seemed to understand the message and turned the game around to kick 5 goals from 12 shots at goal in the second quarter to go into the half time break with a 6 point lead. Matt Purse was dominating in the ruck and giving the mid fielders first use of the footy. Ben Mayer started to use the space on the wings and really opened up the game for the Rams. Jack Ponton was strong at the stoppages winning numerous clearances for the Rams and continually driving them into attack.
The third quarter saw the Rams continue the battle kicking a further 4 goals to the Magpies 1 and extend their lead to 23 points at the final break. Greg Major was working hard in the backline and continually thwarted the Magpies attack. Aaron McGee was effective in driving the Rams into attack. The excitement was building at the final break with the Rams sensing a victory was theirs if they could hold on for another 20 minutes. The Magpies put in a big effort in the last quarter and kicked 2 goals but the Rams finished full of running and managed to add a further 4 goals of their own.
Ben McGovern made the most of his opportunities and kicked 4 goals for the day. Brayden Wilson played well for the full 4 quarters and finished with 3 goals for the day. James Devlin was consistent throughout the day providing the Rams with a link into the forward line. David Looyschelder played strongly today and made his presence felt in the forward line kicking a goal and assisting in several others. Cameron Forrest was dependable in the backline today saving several goals and Billy Nicholson played strongly in the forward line. George Paneras was again busy at the bottom of the packs winning the hard ball and Harry Doyle was dominant in the midfield for the Rams.
It was a tough battle for the full 4 quarters with the Magpies making the boys work hard for every possession. It was a great team effort from the Rams who played the game right to the final siren and walked off the ground with a comfortable 6 goal win.
Penrith Rams 0.2 5.9 9.12 13.15-93 def Western Suburbs Magpies 3.3 5.3 6.7 8.9-57
Goal Kickers: B. McGovern 4, B. Wilson 3, J. Ponton 2, J. Devlin , G. Paneras , W. Nicholson-Bragg , D. Looyschelder
Best Players: M. Purse, H. Doyle, B. Mayer, J. Ponton, A. McGee, B. Wilson
Reserve Grade V Nor-West Jets
At the Penrith Rams post match function at the Red Cow on Saturday night, no-one could remember the last time that Penrith beat the Jets in Reserve Grade but it was unanimously agreed that it was a long time ago. Of course, club historian Mark Spooner will come up with the statistics in due course.
There is no lost love between the two clubs seperated by the short drive along Castlereagh Rd and the game at Dukes Oval was no exception as both sides were primed for the big match with the Rams going into the game as short priced favourites.
The price assessors looked to be on the mark as Penrith opened up their tally with two quick Tayt Corless goals but the Jets hit back in an enthralling first term with the scores locked together as the siren sounded.
Another three goals apiece saw a battle for supremecy in the second session and it was only the courtesy of some behinds that saw the home side take a two point lead at the big break.
With Mick Bottrill and Brendan Roberts controlling the board, in coach Kevin Tate's absence with interstate commitments, they calmly addressed the team at the break, asking the team to control the play better. Penrith were looking the stronger side but it wasn't reflected on the scoreboard and they would be rewarded if they stuck to the basics.
The game certainly opened up in the third quarter with good attacking football with the Rams putting in a 5.3 reward with their effort. The backline again was solid allowing just two single pointers to the Jets whose frustration was starting to show with some undisciplined play and backchat. Penrith shot away in the premiership quarter to what was to be a match-winning 33 point lead with the final 22 minutes on the clock.
To their credit, the Jets tried hard in the final term and posted a couple of early goals to get a sniff, but Penrith, urged on by the enthusistic crowd were not to be denied and loaded up with four more to run away with a 38 point victory and retention of second spot on the Sydney AFL Div 4 ladder.
Christian Triffitt again was instrumental in the win and gained best on ground for the second consecutive week. Despite an ankle injury, the ever popular Triffo attacked the ball with venom and gave great deliveries to his team. Nathan Rowley certainly relished playing on the ball and backs himself 100% against his opponents with pace and evasive skills that left his opposing number floundering. Tayt Corless again proved excellent value with a five goal haul and good disposals to the forward line along with veteran Jason Bradley who continues his rampage as leading scorer in the competition, this week topping the count with a half dozen majors. Christian Knight was sensational in both attack and defence along with Luke O'Connor who is playing with renewed confidence. Congratulations to Cameron Butler in his AFL debut with a solid all round game scoring a goal in an impressive display.
With the long weekend a match free weekend for the team, they now have time to recover from niggling injuries as the second half of the season commences with the match against Holroyd-Parramatta on June 17. In their previous meeting at Greygums Oval, Penrith scored a narrow 23 point win against the sixth placed Goanna's and with a few players expected to be returning from injury, are looking to improve on that performance.
Penrith Rams 3.3 6.6 11.9 15.12-102 def Nor-West Jets 3.3 6.4 6.6 9.10-64
Goal Kickers: J. Bradley 6, T. Corless 5, C. Knight , J. Chapple , M. Lewis , C. Butler
Best Players: C. Triffitt, N. Rowley, T. Corless, L. O''Connor, C. Knight, J. Bradley
First Grade V Nor-West Jets
It was the first clash of the bitter rivals, Nor-West Jets and the Rams since 2009 when the Jets easily outgunned the local side in both rounds. Whilst Nor-West went on to promotion to Div 2 last season, making the finals, it was always going to be a tough encounter for the newly promoted Rams. Despite both teams going into the match on a three match einning streak, it was the Jets who had the better formguide after their big win over previously undefeated Sydney the week before.
The Rams with renewed depth this season selected a strong side, despite missing a handful of players including 2010 McFarlane Medal/Walker Medal winner Lachlan Smith, Hart Medallist Matty Payne and last years first grade leading kicker Blake Roberts amongst others.
The match commenced under calm conditions at Dukes Oval with a strong and vocal crowd including many past players on hand to look for the treble on the day after earlier wins in both previous matches. The Rams dominated the first quarter with slick movement through the midfield and Tim Cummins finished off two of their six scoring shots whist keeping the Jets to just two behinds.
The bigger pack of the Jets put some bone-crunching hits on the home side in the second quarter, but the Rams refused to be intimidated. Tim Cummins added another two whilst Daniel Schroot, playing the game of his life, added another. Meanwhile, the defence was outstanding when the ball travelled to the Western end and restricted the Jets to just a single point. The visitors looked frustrated at the big break with Penrith extending their lead to 35. Their was not a lot of instructions handed out at the major break, the Rams looked focussed and relaxed and were well aware that previous lapses in big games this year had been costly.
The match turned very physical in the third term as Nor-West tried to restore their pride, but it was the Rams finest quarter as they completely dominated all over the ground. Cummins booted another three, John Spicer a double whilst James Denton and Ben Robinson added one each. It was only some innacuracy that cost the side going to treble figures with another eight behinds with the flag waver keeping busy with the 50 points added by the Rams in just 22 minutes a brilliant effort. Just as important was the fact that the dejected visitors could not add a sigle point to their tally of three in the match.
Tough, physical football was the order of the day in the final term as the Jets tried hard to restore some pride but again had no answer. The frontline trio of Dale Chivas, Ben Robinson and Tim Cummins each added another to the Rams score whilst the Jets doubled their score with another three behinds. With only a couple of minutes remaining, Ruckman Mark Woodford was awarded a fifty metre penalty after an opposing high tackle which was likely to see him kick his first. Woody, however, appeared to brush with his offending opponent that saw the player have a taste of the Dukes Oval wicket and the umpire decided to reverse the penalty and the fifty which saw Nor-West kick their first goal of the day. With the final siren sounding to the cheers of the packed balcony, it was the Rams showing that they are definate finals contenders this season with a 97 point demolition.
The past players present, led by Penrith founder Keith Claxton who witnessed all three wins, would have felt immense pride that their club was again on the victory wagon. The team shot to the top of the ladder with the victory and although relegated to second with Balmain's win on Sunday, will retain top spot should they overcome St George next week in the washout round.
Youngster Daniel Schroot was a sensation all over the ground with great speed and poise against his bigger rivals. Dave Bradley again gave more then 100% and his toughness saw him recover quickly from the many hits he received and caused nightmares for his foes. Mitch Reinhard, Nathan Allison and Jay Edwards were also very impressive whilst John Spicer, who put some huge hits on his opponents and chimed in with a double had his best game for the season. Vice Captain Dale Chivas was a real general up front and enjoyed the challenge of having two and three players on him whilst Tim Cummins, back after a two week spell, was able to run riot with an eight goal haul.
The 20 minute drive home by the Jets would have seemed like an eternity, with their loss leaving them outside the five in sixth spot.
With most teams having the bye next week, the Rams get the opportunity to regain top spot on the ladder when the face up to St George at Olds Park in the midday fixture.
Penrith Rams 2.4 5.8 12.15 15.19-109 def Nor-West Jets 0.2 0.3 0.3 1.6-12
Goal Kickers: T. Cummins 8, J. Spicer 2, B. Robinson 2, D. Chivas , D. Schroot , J. Denton
Best Players: D. Schroot, D. Bradley, M. Reinhard, J. Edwards, N. Allison, J. Spicer
Last Modified on 27/06/2011 21:33