Penrith Rams maintained their lead in the 2011 Div 2 competition on Saturday with an 89 point win over Camden Cats at Greygums Oval. The result never looked in doubt as the Rams dominated each quarter as they recorded their tenth win of the season in a tightly packed leaderboard with the fifth team just two wins adrift of the lead.
In the earlier game, an undermanned 18's side fought hard against Pennant Hills Demons, eventually going down by 27 points.
Penrith Reserve Grade had their second and final bye of the season and remain in second spot on the ladder with just one loss.
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1st Grade V Camden Cats
Penrith Rams hosted Camden Cats for the first time in many years at Greygums Oval on Saturday with a win against the division's last placed side assuring Penrith of retaining top spot on the ladder.
The 2:10 PM match was played in sunny conditions with a swirling breeze picking up and slightly favouring the northern end with the Rams looking for their tenth win of the season. Penrith went into the match without the services of Blake Roberts, Gordon Howell, Jake Shelley and Adam West from last week's winning squad with worthy replacements Christian Triffitt, Luke O'Connor, Sam Lockhart and Alex Henry slotting into the team.
Penrith started the game brightly with a slight wind disadvantage but it was Luke O'Connor who quickly put the first two goals on the board with some accurate kicking. A couple of Cats chances went astray for behinds and it was a Ben Robinson six pointer that enabled the Rams to take first quarter honours with a 21 point buffer.
Penrith ramped up the commitment in the second term which saw good delivery to the forward line allowing Penrith to control the play. Tim Cummins took some great grabs and provided three goals whilst Robinson chimed in for his second. A good goal by Camden was their only reward and it was only some innacurate kicking by Penrith that enabled the Cats to be within 47 points adrift at the long break.
The third quarter was a more even affair as Camden tried to get back into the match. But their best quarter only produced two goals and with Dale Chivas adding a double and Cummins his fourth along with a Matt Lewis six pointer, the match was secure with the Rams holding a neat 10 goal lead.
The final quarter saw a niggling affair with some flared tempers. Sam Lockhart and his opposing number both ended their match with yellow cards whilst Chivas' jersey was the worse for wear after a Camden player took exception to a great tackle put on him. The Rams however repeated their second quarter effort with another 4.6 with more majors to Chivas, Cummins, Robinson along with Matty Payne's first for the day as the Cats were out on their feet recording just a single point with the home side recorded an 89 point victory and their third on the trot.
Although still not assured of a finals spot, Penrith are certainly on the springboard for their second successive finals series. The Division Two competition looks the most competitive group in the Sydney AFL with six teams fighting for a finals berth with only three wins separating the top six.
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Tim Cummins kept his Mt Riverview family in food for a while with an outstanding display up front and bagging a five goal haul in winning the IGA Player of the Match Award. Jay Edwards continued his stunning form oupacing his opposite number with incisive runs and took out the famed Red Cow Inn Award. Mitch Reinhard again did the tough work around the pack with no thoughts of self preservation whilst Daniel Schroot kept up his great record with another solid match. Matty Payne and Bryce Roney contributed well along with captain Dale Chivas and Ben Robinson who both collected three goals each.
Next week the team travels to Bensons Lane and are looking to retain the Riff-RAAF Cup against Nor-West Jets. Penrith embarrased the Jets at Dukes Oval earlier in the year at the Past Players Day and the Jets pride will ensure that they wont be at the end of their biggest loss of the year again. Nor-West are precariously placed in sixth spot on the ladder and a loss would be a huge blow to the 2010 Div 2 finalists chances of seeing a finals match this year. The Jets step up a couple of notches at Bensons Lane and a tough and physical battle is ensured.
Penrith Rams 3.5 7.11 11.14 15.20-110 def Camden Cats 0.2 1.2 3.3 3.3-21
Goal Kickers: T. Cummins 5, D. Chivas 3, B. Robinson 3, L. O''Connor 2, M. Payne , M. Lewis
Best Players: M. Reinhard, D. Schroot, J. Edwards, T. Cummins, M. Payne, B. Roney
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Under 18's V Pennant Hills Demons
The Rams returned to Greygums Oval today when they lined up against the Pennant Hills Demons. The Rams were again confident going into the game against the third placed Demons in spite of a couple of late withdrawals. The boys that did take the field were ready to go from the first bounce.
The Rams started well and matched the Demons for the first quarter. Jack Ponton led from the front today attacking the footy and giving the Rams drive from the centre. David Looyschelder again shouldered the ruck duties all day for the Rams and did an exceptional job. He gave the Rams midfielders first use of the footy and got them going forward. The Demons had several scoring opportunities but inaccurate kicking for goal left them only 4 points in front at quarter time.
The Rams came out in the second quarter and continued their good work. They began to run the ball with Ben Mayer making several telling runs and driving the Rams into the forward line. James Devlin was leading well in the front half and provided the Rams with a strong target up forward taking several contested marks. The Rams added 1 goal for the quarter but allowed the Demons to add 3 and open up an 18 point lead at half time.
The third quarter was an even affair with the Rams defence working hard and restricting the Demons to 1 goal for the quarter. Joe Hunt was marking everything across half back and Tom Noble was doing the same at full back. The Rams could not take advantage of the situation and only added one goal of their own for the quarter and found themselves 20 points behind at the end of the third quarter.
Going into the last quarter with a 20 point deficit a win for the Rams was not out of the question. Harry Doyle continued his great form this year, continually mopping up in defence and getting the Rams moving forward. George Paneras was at the bottom of every pack today and continually won the ball for the Rams. He even popped up in the forward line to kick the Rams only goal late in the quarter. Jeremy Rix played his first game for the Rams today after some outstanding form in the Emu Plains/Glenmore Park Lions Under 16 team. Jeremy showed plenty of promise and should be an important player for the Rams in years to come.
The Rams continued the fight right to the end today and while they played an outstanding game defensively they continually broke down through half forward and could not put a winning score on the board. The Demons outran the Rams today and finished with a comfortable 27 point win.
Next week the Rams travel to Picken Oval to tackle the Western Suburbs Magpies. The Rams took the points when these two teams met earlier in the year and another tough contest is guaranteed.
Penrith Rams 1.1 2.2 3.3 4.4-28 def by Pennant Hills Demons 1.5 4.8 5.11 7.13-55
Goal Kickers: J. Ponton , G. Paneras , R. Ooms , L. Jones
Best Players: J. Ponton, D. Looyschelder, J. Hunt, L. Jones, T. Noble, G. Major
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Last Modified on 20/07/2011 16:02