After two big wins in the last fortnight, First Grade were looking for a spot in the top five at Gipps Rd. From the start it appeared that Parramatta were the much hungrier side with a lot more commitment and the trend continued throughout the match. Although only down by 27 at the end of the third term, the Goannas finished with a 7 goal final term to run away with the game. Jay Edwards and Jack Ponton stood out for Penrith whilst first grade debutant, Chris Withers, looked to secure his spot in the top team with a great display including a three goal haul.
Goal Kickers: C. Withers 3, J. Ponton , P. Pope , B. McGovern
Best Players: J. Edwards, J. Ponton, C. Withers, T. Cummins, A. Sharp, M. McNamara
Reserve Grade came up against the NSW/ACT Blacktown Magic and became another club to be demolished by the team playing hopelessly out of their true division. Blacktown put on an opening 7 goal to zip quarter and although The Rams fought hard in the second quarter to steady the ship, found the experience of the Magic was superior as the fell to a 94 point loss. Matt Cummins, Chris Manuel and captain Jake Sultans all put in good displays.
Goal Kickers: T. McNamara , J. Weller
Best Players: M. Cummins, C. Manuel, J. Sultana, L. Geeves, M. Brown, N. Collimore
Penrith Thirds provided the spark of the day with their second successive win when they downed Blacktown in the opening match at Blacktown. Errant accuracy by the Rams saw the Magic take a five point lead at half time but Penrith upped the intensity in the second half to slowly wear down their opponents with a 15 point win. The final result was in the balance until the final five minutes with the rams clinging to a two point lead but two late goals sealed the fate for Blacktown. Ben Shoebridge, Shane Scott and Marty Pope led the way for Penrith.
Goal Kickers: M. Purse 2, K. Kirk 2, J. Keane , J. Hyland , D. Fysh
Best Players: B. Shoebridge, S. Scott, M. Pope, M. Purse, D. Smyth, J. Keane
Third Grade Match report from "Anonymouse":
After a few nervous days prior wondering if the bad weather might have any football played at all the Rams Division 5 team were greeted with a glorious morning at Blacktown Olympic Park. A few new recruits saw the Rams run out with a much taller side that was primed for an upset against the Blacktown Magic in the first ever meeting of these two teams.
The first quarter showed that this would be a tight contest with the Rams blowing several chances to take the lead kicking 2.5 to Blacktown’s three goals straight. Neck massages were required in the crowd at halftime as the second quarter saw the ball yo-yo back and forth constantly. Accuracy again let the rams down kicking only three behinds for the quarter. A good defensive effort however kept the Rams in the game with the Magic only managing one major for the quarter.
Trailing by five points at the main break the Rams came out hard in the third quarter and started to take control of the match but couldn’t get the game winning break needed kicking 3.4 to Blacktown’s 1.1.
With an eight point lead going into the last quarter victory would come down to which team wanted it more. The Rams held back wave after wave of Magic attack with some fine marks taken by John Keane and Benny Boogerz in the backline. Blacktown managed the first goal however to bring the margin back to within a few points but in a tense final few minutes two Rams goals, including the match winner from John Keane who had a fantastic final term, saw the Rams take out a well deserved victory by fifteen points winning 7.14 (56) to 6.5 (41).
Coach John Rix was very happy with the Rams effort but may be putting the boys through some goal kicking drills over the week. Ben Shoebridge played a great game through the middle of the ground along with Shane “Mr Hollywood” Scott. Martin Pope again showed speed and talent to burn on the wing against another quick opponent while newcomer Dan Smyth and last year’s Under 18 Matthew Purse will hopefully stick around after fantastic 2013 debuts. The win puts Div 5 back in finals contention with the team travelling to UNSW on Sunday looking for revenge after their defeat in round one.
The Under 18's faced a tough task against competition leaders, Parramatta, at Gipps Rd and the young team, including many 16's players could not match the size and pace of the Goanna's. The loss dropped them out of the top four but they proved they will be a competitive squad during the season. Brad Camilleri was good all day whilst Under 16's players Eddy Steffen and Ethan Claxton both put their bodies on the line all game. Ethan, grandson of club founder Keth Claxton, booted two of Penrith's goals and was watched by Keith, who travelled up from the South Coast to proudly witness the match.
Under 18's Match Report - From the Horses Mouth
On Saturday the under 18s played ladder leaders and flag favorites the Holroyd Parramatta Goannas at the Goanna’s home ground Gipps Road Oval. The game was played in surprisingly good conditions considering all the rain that had fallen for the few days before.
With a number of regulars being rested due to niggling injuries several under 16 players were drafted into the team. Those inclusions reduced the average age of the team down to around 16. With such a young side and with so many changes in the one week it was always going to be a difficult assignment for the Rams. In the end that proved to be the case, with Holroyd Blacktown proving to be far too strong and experienced. The Goannas dominated every quarter to record a convincing win. It was a clinical display by the premiership favorites and their ability to win the contested ball and link up with their outside runners was a valuable lesson for the young Rams.
Despite the one sided affair, the Goannas did not have it all their own way with the Rams showing they could mix it with the best, putting together some great passages of play and also displaying great fighting qualities and tackling pressure. Penrith Swan’s U16 player Eddy Steffen was best afield with an outstanding display across half back and through the midfield. Brad Camilleri played a pivotal role in the first half at centre half forward before switching to full back in the second half where he starred. Another Under 16 player to shine was ST Clair Crows youngster Ethan Claxton who is the grandson of Penrith Rams cofounder and club legend Keith Claxton. Keith made the trip up from the South Coast to watch his grandson make a great debut for the club switching between the key forward posts and ruck. Ethan kicked 2 goals and produced a number of strong contested marks to be one of the Rams best.
Other players to shine included Josh Zolfel who did a great tagging job on one of Holroyd’s prime movers, Joel Fisher who was outstanding in defence and Joey Eskander who used his pace and growing confidence to great effect to be a winner for the Rams all over the ground. Special mention must also go to Jarrad Ryan from the ST Clair U16s and Jarrad Sherlock from the Emu Plains Lions who both did their clubs proud. The other U16 player to take the field, young Blue Mountain’s ruck-man James Monks, who is fast becoming a regular at U18 level, was again a solid contributor.
Final Scores: Holroyod Parramatta 17.21 – 123 to Penrith 6.3 – 39
Goals: Claxton 2, Eskander, Durham, Davey, Pianta
Best: Steffen, Camilleri, Claxton, Zolfel, Eskander, Fisher,
A big thank-you to the under 16s and their parents for helping us out, and to those who volunteered to umpire, run and carry water.
The Rams will welcome back a host of players for next week’s away game against Macquarie University.
On Sunday, the Ramettes travelled to Gwawley Park to take on Southern Power. In round one, the girls almost pulled off a major upset, leading the Shire girls till the final minutes, but were unable to repeat the feat, going down by 65 against a very good Power outfit. However, they still retain third spot on the ladder and will look to get back into the winners stall next week when they play Randwick Angels. Andrea Deighton played her best game to date and was outstanding, along with captain Jen Brown and rookie Justine Vella.
Best Players: A. Deighton, J. Brown, J. Vella, S. Kostic, L. Hazell, N. Perrett
Match report by "The Burch"
The Ramettes travelled to "The Shire" this week on a very hard assignment.Through a number of unavailability’s, the team were 3 down on the bench, but in true Ramettes fashion the team rose to the challenge.
The backline led by Andrea (Silvagni) Deighton and Jen (hey Michale I can kick goals) Brown, made the opposition earn every goal. There was many highlights in the backline, from Hayley Short's efforts namely a couple of spine rattling tackles, through to the shepherd of the year where she nailed a player's hide into the ground. As always Justine Vella was poetry in motion when running the ball out of defence, her ability to not only defend but also attack is catching many an eye. The midfield battled on like champions covering the long field from the backline to forward line. Special mentions for Nikki P, Lauren and Jasmine (who lifted a level when placed down back).
As with last week the team were rewarded for putting their head over the ball by some quality umpiring. Gun power forward Jessie B took a nasty knock early in the game which put her out of the game, not one to waste an opportunity she then took to sunning herself on the bench. Actually she was really doing it tough. OMG moment of game was when Kirstie had the ball and was being chased by two Power players, tried to tackle the two players at the same time whilst holding ball????
Next week see the club again on the road. First Grade, reserves and 18's head to University Oval at North Ryde on Saturday to take on Mac Uni, the Ramettes make the trek to Pioneers Park at Malabar to play Randwick Angels whilst on Sunday, Thrirds head to Village Green at Kensington to play Uni NSW.
Last Modified on 11/01/2014 09:23