Penrith Rams commence the second half of the season with all grades playing away. The 18's tackle top of the ladder side, East Coast at Bruce Purser at 12:00 PM whilst the senior sides take on Holroyd-Parramatta Goannas at Henson Park with the Reserves at 12:30 PM and the Firsts at 2:30 PM.
Match Preview
It's back on the road again for the Rams as the second half of the season gets into swing. The 18's face a difficult task when they head to Bruce Purser reserve on Saturday for their midday clash with East Coast Eagles. The ladder leaders leave no stone unturned in their quest for an 18's flag skirting the pathway policy and have built up an impressive record again this year. Last week they failed to maintain their winning record with a draw against North Shore at Gore Hill following eight straight wins. The Rams have been inconsistent in recent weeks. A good win against Western Suburbs was soured by last week's meek effort when they were easily accounted by the Dragons at Olds Park. The return of captain Liam Murphy from a European sojourn will be welcomed but the loss of Jack Ponton under dubious circumstances will take some drive out of the midfield. At their best, the side would be competitive against the Eagles and will need to get into the East Coast side's faces for this to happen.
The reserves kick off proceedings atHenson Park against Holroyd-Parramatta at 12:30 PM. Penrith currently sit in second place on the ladder with only the Macquarie Uni Round 5 defeat to their name. Since that loss, they have put four wins together, starting with the narrow Round 6 win against the Goannas at Greygums Oval. Penrith stormed to an early lead that day but the Goanna's never stopped trying before going down by 23 points. They currently sit just one spot out of the five and will be desperate to stay in touch for a finals berth on their home turf. Penrith looksed solid in their win against Nor-West last start after a shaky start which was similar to their effort the week before against Manly, where they trailed for most part of the game before recording a stunning win. A strong side has been selected this week including the return of Blake Roberts, Aaron Goodwin and Lachlan Smith who will infuse some extra excitement in the team. A suntanned coach, Kevin Tate, back after a tough Queensland fishing expedition, is expecting a good showing by the side.
First Grade end off the round with the re-match against the Goanna's. The side has been on fire and sit on top of the ladder after last week's demolition of St George. The team welscomes back former Goanna, Brad Redfern along with youngster Harley Stibbard who missed last week through injury. The two teams last met on May 14 at Greygums in a match that was a real arm-wrestle in the first half before the Rams gained ascendency to record a 52 point win due to a nine goal to two goal second half. The Goanna's have bounced back since that loss with three consecutive wins including a massive win over the Rams only conqueror, Sydney Uni by 69 points last week at Gipps Rd to see them jump to third spot on the congested ladder. With the Goanna's being prominent in last years Div 2 finals series, the newly promoted Rams certainly have a job on their hands to keep their top spot in the competition.
First Grade V Holroyd - Parramatta at 2:30 PM at Henson Park, Marrickville
**Players to wear white shorts and be at ground by 1:15 PM.
Nathan Allison |
Josh Anasis |
Dave Bradley (c) |
Dale Chivas (vc) |
Tom Hall |
Jay Edwards |
Brad Redfern |
Tim Cummins |
Luke O'Connor |
Mitch Reinhard |
James Denton |
Ben Robinson |
Bryce Roney |
Daniel Schroot |
Adam Sharp |
John Keane |
Nic Collimore |
Jake Shelley |
Harley Stibbard |
Adam West |
Mark Woodford |
Nathan Wright |
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Reserve Grade V Holroyd-Parramatta Goannas at 12:30 PM Henson Park, Marrickville
**Players to be at ground by 11:30 AM - Teal Shorts
Cameron Butler |
Matthew Lewis |
Jason Bradley |
Jake Clark |
Aaron Goodwin |
Tayt Corless |
Nathan Gatt |
Brad Pathuis |
Gordon Howell |
Alan Prowse |
Josh Hall |
Mark Jackson |
Jason Jackson |
Blake Roberts |
Lachlan Smith |
Chris Scanlon |
Nathan Rowley |
Jake Sultana |
Christian Triffitt |
Christian Knight |
Nathan White (c) |
Steve Hull |
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Emergencies: Baron Savanah, Seltene Yohannes, Alex Rogers, Josh Chapple
Under 18's V East Coast Eagles at 12:00 PM at Bruce Purser Reserve
**Players to be at ground by 11:00 AM White Shorts
Ben Priest |
Ben Mayer |
Ben McGovern |
Liam Murphy (c) |
Harrison Doyle |
Brayden Wilson |
David Looyschelder |
Greg Major |
George Paneras |
Luke Jones |
Billy Nicholson |
Brendan Reed |
James Devlin |
Shaun Stevens |
Luke Simmons |
Jackson Swarbrick |
Tom Noble |
Hayden Strong |
Matthew Purse |
Joe Hunt |
Rick Ooms |
Nick Adams |
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Emergencies: Will Taylor, Cameron Forrest, Josh Jenner.
Last Modified on 17/07/2011 11:11