Beaten but not disgraced" was the theme for Round 2. All senior grades made the trip to Gwawley Park only to fall to strong Southern Power teams, the 18's won their opening match, albeit by forfeit against Randwick whilst the Ramettes almost pulled off a huge upset to go down by just 7 points to top-seeded side, Southern Power.
Third grade started off the day’s proceedings at the much maligned Gwawley Park, Taren Point. A few unavailabities saw the club weakened which flowed down through all grades which was a disappointment. On the other hand, Power fielded a young, strong team, with some Under 18’s playing as they had the bye in that competition.
Power controlled the match from the outset, knocking up 19 points in the first term and extending it to 48 at the long break, with Penrith unable to register a major in that time. The Rams, to their credit, woke up in the second half, only conceding the home side two more points than themselves with Power taking the points with a 50 point win.
Shane Scott, in just his 2nd AFL game, took out the OD’s dinner award, Nathan Rowley showed good form in his comeback which will see him promoted to higher grades in the next few weeks, Jeremy Rix was outstanding in his first seniors match whilst Joe Masters, fitness guru Theo Paneras and Michael “50 metre” Brown all impressed. Jason Makin, Joe Masters, John Savill and Hugh Arnold were the scorers for the Rams.
Penrith 0.2 0.2 1.5 4.6-30 def by Southern Power 3.4 7.8 8.8 12.8-80
Reserve Grade was to play the following match. The newly promoted Div 3 side faced another strong Power outfit . It was a slow start by the Rams, with their opponents having all the play in the first quarter, taking an 18 point lead with 9 scoring shots to 1. They extended the lead to 25 by half time and by 55 at the end of the third term. Penrith rallied in the final quarter to reduce the score back to under 50 in favour of the Shire boys.
Captain Jake Sultana, after making his umpiring debut in the previous match, led from the front with a polished display. Last year’s premiership players Lachie “G-Train” Geeves and tough backman, Scott “Maverick” Randall both played hard, Returnee Nathan Gatt showed his year long European holiday took no shine off his game, whilst newcomers Chris Withers and Lucas Jerzyna both showed they have a big future with the club. Tayt Corless took the kicking honours with four, whilst Chris Withers and Jake Shelley added one each against their name.
Penrith 1.0 1.1 2.3 6.5-41 def by Southern Power 3.6 6.6 10.10 13.11-89
First Grade took to the field in the final match against premiership favourites, Southern Power in the 2:10 clash. Tom Waterhouse would have had the home side at very skinny odds with Penrith slowly working up to their full strength. The rams came out of the block flying, knocking up a 3.4 quarter with Power only able to register 1.1 on the board. However, it was a tougher second quarter with the home team coming back strongly to reduce the deficit to just two at the long break. A five goal to one third term saw the southern boys take a hold of the match eventually running away with a 42 point victory to keep their unbeaten status intact. After round 2, Penrith remain in fourth spot with a 1-1 record.
Adam Sharp took out the OD’s Award with another tireless display with the leadership boys, captain Nato Wright and his deputies Jay Edwards and Josh Shephard close behind. Jimmy Denton and Jake Pianta rounded off the top 6 for Penrith. Ben McGovern was to take kicking honours with a double with Edwards, Wright, Pianta and Ben Robinson adding one each.
Penrith 3.4 3.7 4.7 6.8-44 def by Southern Power 1.1 3.5 8.11 12.14-86
With the Under 18’s disappointment of not being able to run on the field for the second week in a row (Week 1 being a bye) with the late forfeit by Randwick City Saints, the good news is that they registered a win with a 77-0 win via Sydney AFL rules.
Over at Pioneers Park, The Ramettes took on the might of top side, Southern Power in the opening round of the Army Sydney Womens AFL competition. Last year the sides met twice, with Power registering big wins on both occassions. The Ramettes were to welcome nine first year players making their debut for the club and AFL. The first quarter, with some wind assistance, saw a great tussle and despite no goals being scored, saw Penrith just three points in arrears at the first break. The second term saw a great tussle with the Ramettes scoring the only goal with debutante Justine Vella opening her account and the teams going to the sheds locked together on the scoreboard. Jen Brown and Kate Easthope both added majors in the third term which put the girls in the lead with a nine point lead, but facing a tough task to hang on into the wind in the final quarter. Despite some brutal play in the final twenty minutes, Southern Power edged their way to level the scores with five minutes on the clock and a behind saw them finally regain the lead with a couple of minutes to go, adding a late goal just before the final siren sounded to take a great match by seven points.
It was a sensational start of the season by the Ramettes, who stood tall and sent out a message to all teams in the competition. First time AFL player, Nikki Perrett gained the OD’s best on ground Award with a striking start to her career which looks to have a huge upside. Andrea Deighton and Justine Vella also made stunning debuts whilst 14 year old Jasmine Payne, a Penrith Swans junior, put the league at ease after gaining a special exemption to play in open competition with a tough display, taking on her bigger and more experienced opponents with ease. Sydney Women’s Team of the Year inductee, Nat Camilleri, sporting her “Shave for a Cure” hairstyle, again was all over the ground with Zeaona McDonagh doing the hard yards in the middle.
Penrith Ramettes 0.3 1.4 3.4 3.4-22 def by Southern Power 0.6 0.10 1.13 2.17-29
Last Modified on 23/04/2013 00:06