After finally grabbing top of the ladder with last week's win against St George, Penrith Rams surrendered it rather meekly when they were easily defeated by a resurgent Holroyd-Parramatta outfit at Henson Park on Saturday.
Reserve Grade however, posted their eight win of the season and could find themselves leading the comp at the end of this weeekend's round with a gritty 50 point victory whilst the Under 18's were no match for competition leader, East Coast at Bruce Purser Reserve.
1st Grade V Holroyd-Parramatta Goannas
With the Goanna's ground closure on Friday, the Rams were to travel an extra 30 minutes to Henson Park in Marrickville for the clash against third placed Holroyd-Parramatta with clear skies but a blustering wing that favoured the northern end of the field. Late withdrawals of John Spicer and Brad Redfern for the Rams saw some changes as the Goanna ran with the wind in the first term.
It took less than 25 seconds for the Rams to kick their first when James Denton swooped on a loose ball and pilot it through the posts. Parramatta responded quickly with one of their own as the ball travelled around the ground. Two Tim Cummins goals into the wind looked to be pivotal and at the half way mark of the quarter it was three goals apiece, but the Goanna's with deadly accuracy, put four goals on in the final seven minutes of the quarter to get to a 7.0 to 3.0 lead at the break.
There was no need for panic as it looked at least a five goal wind and the Rams were confident with the wind at their backs in the second session. However, they could not find their players and cintinual turnovers proved costly with just a Ben Robinson six pointer to their credit, whilst some undisciplined play saw the home side boot 4.3 to extenfd their lead to seven goals at the big break.
Penrith looked frustrated facing the big deficit with a half to go and the Goanna's extended their big lead in the thrird stanza with four more goals whilst Penrith struggled and looked far from being the competition leaders with just a Nathan Allison goal keeping their respectability.
Down by 10 goals with just 22 minutes to endure was tough for both players and officials alike. The loss of captain Dave Bradley early in the game with an ankle injury had taken the drive out of the Rams and they seemed to be just going through the motions in the final term with an inaccurate 1.5 with Cummins kicking his thrid for the game.
As the siren sounded for the last time, it was rather a humiliating loss for the team that has fought so well during the first half of the season to get to the top of the ladder only to meekly surrender it to Balmain, whose 1 point win over Nor-West later that night saw them again grab top spot.
Jay Edwards, Tim Cummins and James Denton again played well for the Rams whilst Nic Collimore and Daniel Schroot provided good opportunities for their teammates along with Mark Woodford. Tim Cummins topped the list in the kicking department with a treblle to be the Rams only multiple scorer.
The team now has to regroup and work hard on the training paddock to get back on track when they play Moorebank next Saturday at Rosedale Park. Moorebank, last years Div 3 premiers will be primed to avenge their big defeat at the hand of the Rams in Round 1.
Penrith Rams 3.0 4.2 5.3 6.9-45 def by Holroyd-Parramatta 7.0 11.1 15.4 17.5-107
Reserve Grade V Holroyd-Parramatta Goannas
Penrith reserves also made the trek to Henson Park on Saturday, confident of continuing their winning streak that sees them in second spot on the ladder with only a single loss to their name. Holroyd-parramatta wer fighting for a finals spot, being just a win outside the five and it was an all important match for the home side.
The very strong Rams squad, including Lachlan Smith and Blake Roberts, both resuming after lengthy layoffs, started the game impressively but off target as they attacked the Goanna's defensive line, posting a 4.7 quarter with the assisting wind and only allowing the Goanna's a single point. In recent games, Penrith had struggled somewhat in the opening half, but this was the start they had longed for. The second term, into a strong headwind, saw the Rams again attack but were only rewarded with one major and another five going through the smaller posts in an entertaining quarter in which Parramatta managed three goals (2 behinds) to trail at the big break by just 21 points.
The Rams needed to close the game down in the premiership quarter with the wind at their backs but relaxed somewhat to give the Goanna's a sniff. Just a single goal was the reward and another five missed shots saw the home side get a sniff of unlikely victory although they failed to improve on their half time tally.
The final quarter was probably the Rams best as they realised a five goal lead would be borderline. Four goals were the reward for their effort as the Goanna's saw their chances disappear only being able to post one major during the term which saw Penrith run away with a solid 50 point victory.
Blake Roberts showed that his 10 week layoff due to injury had not hampered his skills in a polished display and he gained more confidence as the game progressed. Nathan Gatt and Gorden Howell were real workhorses in the battle whilst Nathan Rowley continues to perform week-in, week-out. Mark Jackson was solid whilst last season's first grade captain, Lachlan Smith, resuming after a long layoff, performed well. Blake Roberts took the kicking honours with three, whilst Tayt Corless booted another two and Div 4's leading goalscorer, Jason Bradley, the centre of media attention on the day, chimed in with one.
Next week the team travels to Warwick Farm to take on Moorebank, who penrith defeated in the dying moments in round 1 in what is expected to be a tough battle.
Penrith Rams 4.7 5.12 6.17 10.20-80 def Holroyd-Parramatta 0.1 3.3 3.3 4.6-30
Goal Kickers: B. Roberts 3, T. Corless 2, C. Scanlon , J. Bradley , C. Knight , G. Howell , C. Butler
Best Players: B. Roberts, N. Gatt, G. Howell, N. Rowley, M. Jackson, L. Smith
Under 18's V East Coast Eagles
Following weeks of rain the Rams were greeted by a sunny winter day at Bruce Purser Reserve today. Their assignment was to take on the ladder leading East Coast Eagles and the Rams were ready for the challenge.
The Rams started well in the first quarter with the defence working hard to repel the Eagles and create opportunities. Tom Noble was rock solid in defence and continually spoiled the Eagles and created opportunities for the Rams smaller defenders. The Eagles peppered the goals early but did not make the most of their time in the forward line. The Rams defensive pressure was excellent and they restricted the Eagles to 3 goals for the quarter.
The second quarter was the Rams best with the boys working hard to get the ball forward and create scoring opportunities. The Rams got into their forward half several times thanks to some great work in the midfield and Rick Ooms was able to capitalise and kick the Rams only goal for the day. Their hard work in defence restricted the Eagles to 2 goals for the quarter and the Rams went into the long break 35 points adrift.
The last half saw the Eagles control the game with the ball in the Eagles forward line most of the time. The Rams let themselves down with basic skill errors and every turnover proved costly with the Eagles capitalising on every mistake. The Rams could not stop the Eagles swift ball movement. The Rams however did not stop trying with Matt Purse dominant all day in the ruck and at times forced to rove his own ruckwork to get the Rams moving forward. George Paneras and Harry Doyle ran themselves into the ground in their efforts to lift the Rams. Tom Noble was outstanding all day at full back and clearly the Rams best player for the day. Ben Mayer made the most of the space on the wings and his run and carry helped the Rams into the forward line on several occasions. Liam Murphy returned to the side today and his work in the defensive half was excellent. James Devlin ran all day in defence and also provided the Rams with a link into the forward line. Brayden Wilson spent most of the day in the midfield and was effective for the Rams.
The Rams started the game well but faded in the second half and allowed the Eagles to run away with the game. It was a tough day at the office for the boys and the coaching staff.
Penrith Rams 0.0 1.1 1.1 1.1-7 def by East Coast 3.8 5.12 14.13 23.17-155
Goal Kickers: R. Ooms
Best Players: T. Noble, M. Purse, B. Mayer, J. Devlin, B. Wilson, L. Murphy
Last Modified on 17/07/2011 11:17