Four games on May 18th - three at Greygums Arena and one at Rosedale Park.
Three wins resulted - the Ramettes recorded their highest score and winning margin in their short history; Third Grade notched up their first win of the season in comprehensive fashion and Seniors walloped St George, who came to Greygums with four wins under their belt.
Only Ressies lost, going down in the replay of last year's Div 4 Grand Final by 21 points. When the rhythm returns, they will be a far better side.
All Games on Saturday, May 18th
At Rosedale Park
Div 5 (Third Grade) - Penrith 15.16 (106) d Moorebank 2.3 (15)
Coming off a heartbreaking loss to highly fancied Randwick Saints, the Rams were confident of their first win for the season against bottom of the ladder Moorebank.
Taking on the Magpies on their own turf, the Rams fronted with a full side, plus bench, plus extras, a great omen for the day. Moorebank on the other hand had the bare 18 players, meaning the game was played 16 a side - with Penrith having six on the bench as a result!
A dominant first quarter saw the Rams take charge of the match with a 28 point lead, from which point they were never seriously challenged. Although the second term was far more even, with two goals apiece, from then on it was all Penrith. Only poor kicking in front of goal cost the side an even bigger win than the final 91 point margin.
The game was marred by serious injuries to John Savill (back) and Aidan Cook (with a badly dislocated finger). In a very even display, Dane Fysh put on a BOG performance, adding five goals in the process. Fresh off his 7 out of 9 effort, Kevin Kirk backed up with another four today.
Others to impress were veterans Prowse, Donoghue and Simington, with young Martin Pope continuing with his great form in his first year of senior footy.
A great result all round for a side which is developing nicely after a slow start to the season.
At Greygums Oval
Sydney Womens' AFL - Ramettes 9.9 (63) d UTS 4.2 (26)
Match Report (courtesy the Sideline Guru):
Well the hard training over the past 5 weeks has started to pay off. We have
worked hard on game sense drills, to fast track our new players into the
great game of Women's AFL. It was a testament to the whole team effort,
that we saw 12 different players poll in the Players Player award.
This week we set ourselves to start more intense than we have in the past
weeks. This saw us in front each quarter throughout the game. The presence
of 2 more tall's in Leanne Gordon and Lauren Hazell, allowed us to rotate
with Kayla Badger constantly throughout the game, allowing great marking options
in midfield and the forward line.
The other team goals we set were better tackling pressure, this was evident
across the whole park, with the forward line being led by Eve Pamer, Jen
Brown and Kate Easthope causing many turnovers which led to some great team
goals. Jess Burnham was a revelation in front of a goal line on fire, well
done Jen, Jess and Lauren. The other goal was to put our head over the ball, which with
some great umpiring saw the players rewarded for doing that, putting their head over
the ball, getting slick disposals onto runners.
We cant forget the work put in by the backline which locked down many a forward
entry, didn't give an inch which saw only a hand full of goals kicked against
the Ramettes. The work put in by midfielders such as Jasmine Payne and Ashley
Grosas to name a few, to get back in defence set a standard we hope to see
in coming weeks.
The way the song was sung at the end of the game was most enjoyable.
Div 3 (Reserve Grade) - Penrith 6.10 (46) lost to Gosford 9.13 (67)
Gosford travelled to Greygums Oval to take on the Rams in the much anticipated rematch of the 2012 Division 4 Grand Final. In a game which never reached any great heights, it was Gosford which was able to reverse the 2012 result.
After an even opening term, things looked ominous for the Rams when Gosford had the better of the second quarter, with only wasted opportunities in front of goal meaning the 11 point difference at half-time wasn't greater.
The third term sealed the result. Gosford kicked a match winning five goals to two and looked much the better side in the process. A five goal lead at three-quarter time couldn't be whittled down to any great degree in the final term by Penrith, despite having much of the play.
In the end, the 21 point result probably flattered the Rams, as Gosford proved themselves the better side on the day and Penrith simply couldn't click at all.
The highlight of the day was a "Withering" run by Chris Withers from the backline, taking numerous bounces and leaving many opponents in his wake, resulting in a shot for goal. Unfortunately the fairy tale couldn't be completed, with the shot going wide.
Chris Manuel and Jake Sultana were the Rams' best, supported by Lachlan Geeves, Nathan Rowley, Mitch Reinhard and the ever improving Michael Brown.
Div 1 (Senior Grade) - Penrith 19.6 (120) d St George 5.7 (37)
Senior Grade expected a real fight against St George, which sat in the top three on the ladder, two games ahead of the Rams.
What transpired was the exact opposite. Early in the second quarter Penrith had six goals on the board without reply and the game was all over for all intents and purposes by half-time.
After a relatively even third quarter, the Rams ran riot in the final quarter with 7 goals to seal a whopping 83 point win. A feature of the Penrith performace was the accurate kicking - 19.6. It was also the first time for quite a while that the side had managed 100 points in a game.
Tim Cummins dominated, kicking six goals in a best on ground display. Ben McGovern hit form in the forward line also, with four. Josh Shephard showed his class, while George Paneras was in the best until unfortunately suffering a recurrence of his hamstring curse.
A bit of a story regarding the final scoreline from the club's Facebook page:
In 2002 the Rams were coming off three very competitive years in the old First Division - where they were playing the best sides of Manly, Sydney Uni, Wollongong, Mac Uni, Southern Power, etc. They finished just out of the five in 99 & 01, and made the five in 00.
But the club lost many Senior Grade players coming into 2002. Over a dozen in fact. No mass exodus, just injury, players moving out of the area, unable to play because of work etc - a combination of factors.
Round 1 in 2002 saw the Rams travel to Wollongong. And Senior Grade got thrashed, losing by 162 points (189 - 27). A long season loomed and you couldn't blame the boys for being well, er, dispirited.
The very next week saw the Rams host Holroyd-Parramatta at Greygums Arena. Parra obviously pencilled up a win in advance, seeing the result at the Gong in Round 1 plus the fact that Penrith had NEVER beaten them in First Grade at 15 attempts. Many of them were one-sided affairs as well.
Well, the Rams turned it on. Not only did they defeat the Goannas for the first time, they handed them their orrrrrrse on a plate (as the late Tony Greig would say).
Last Modified on 05/06/2013 23:52