Penrith Emus to be kicked out of Shute Shield one month into season

THIS could be the final photo of the Penrith Emus, who are set to be axed from the Shute Shield within days in a move club boss Jim Hook described as “the death of rugby in western Sydney”.

Penrith and Warringah players after their match at Nepean Rugby Park on Saturday. Picture: Karen Watson

THIS could be the final photo of the Penrith Emus, who are set to be axed from the Shute Shield within days in a move club boss Jim Hook described as “the death of rugby in western Sydney”.

Rumours are rife that Sydney Rugby Union will boot Penrith from the competition this week after another ugly round of results for the struggling club in which first grade was thumped 87-5 by Warringah last Saturday.

A meeting of NSW Rugby and Sydney Rugby Union officials is believed to be scheduled for Monday to determine if the Emus are withdrawn from the 2018 season in all grades.

“It would be the death of rugby in western Sydney, that would just be short-term thinking,” Penrith president Hook told the Daily Telegraph, having heard the rumours of his club’s demise for weeks.

Penrith and Warringah players after their match at Nepean Rugby Park on Saturday. Picture: Karen Watson

“It’s shortsighted and ill-informed. What do you want, just people close to the eastern seaboard playing rugby?”

After a month, Penrith have won just two games from 28 in seniors and colts but it’s also the size of the losses that has the SRU and NSWRU contemplating the drastic action.

The Emus’ first grade side has lost 62-7, 97-0, 43-10 and 87-5, and lower grades are worse. Second grade has conceded an average of 108 points per game and Penrith’s first-grade colts have also conceded an average of over 100 points.

After reviewing the club’s presence in the competition prior to the 2018 season, SRU gave Penrith a number of benchmarks to meet, which Hook argues his club has met.

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“We’ve had to put out four grade teams and three colts and we’ve done that, the health and safety stuff is a load of crock, we’ve got qualified staff who would not put anyone out on the field if they were at risk,” Hook said.

“Have a look at the AFL with the Giants, and soccer with the Wanderers. Penrith rugby has put together a strategic plan about how to develop rugby in western Sydney, an area that will soon have a population of two million people, and that plan is an initiative of ours.

“As part of that, Penrith is a very important part of it, one of the pieces of the puzzle.

“This is a pretty concerted campaign against the club. Players are coming up to me asking ‘What’s going on?’ We’re working week-to-week and it’s very difficult under these conditions.”

The Emus may have played their last ever Shute Shield clash.

SRU boss David Begg did not want to comment on the speculation.

Penrith has survived as a club in similar circumstances, however; notably when they were beaten by Eastwood by a collective 454-0 in all grades in 2015. The fact they were beaten 419-12 in round 2 this year escaped the same attention.

Shutting down the Penrith Emus would be a sad blow to rugby in western Sydney, a region that has been neglected for decades by rugby officialdom. The Emus have had, and continue to have, many good people involved in their club.

But it is believed a majority of club rugby powerbrokers see Penrith’s sustained inability to be competitive as doing more harm than good for the game in the west, and that alternative options in western Sydney need to be pursued.

Emus president Jim Hook.

There is reported interest in a University of Western Sydney-based club.

There have been many reviews into how to fix rugby’s problems in western Sydney. In 2015, a NSWRU review proposed closing down Penrith and Parramatta and relaunching a “Western Two Blues” in Blacktown. The idea was not popularly received, however, and it was firmly rejected by Parramatta, who have been steadily rebuilding their fortunes on and off the field in the last decade.

The Two Blues recently secured funding to redevelop Granville Park, Merrylands and have produced a steady number of Waratahs.

If the NSWRU and SRU elect to bring down the curtain on Penrith, they must accompany the decision with concrete plans for the future about rugby in western Sydney that give all players hope and opportunity to continue playing rugby at the top level.

If Penrith is axed, the teams who have already played them would have their points differential amended to 28-0, while those who are set to play them will have bye weekends.

Originally published as Penrith Emus to be kicked out of Shute Shield one month into season