Penrith District Rugby League: Latest round eight Don Feltis Cup talking points

There’s a great divide on the ladder, while the one-on-one strip is turning into a popular scoring play, as for the officials – they’re done with backchat. That and more in local talking points.

Jaxon Savage will look to lead a Brothers late season charge. Picture: Julian Andrews.

There’s a great divide on the ladder, while the one-on-one strip is turning into a popular scoring play, as for the officials – they’re done with backchat.

That and more in Don Feltis Cup talking points.

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HEAVY PRICE FOR BACK-CHAT

As the finals race intensifies players have been put on notice that backchat directed towards match officials will not be tolerated.

Riverstone’s Jumon Siulai learned the hard way in the Razorbacks’ loss to Colyton. Penalised while in possession, a few choice words saw the five-eighth ordered to the sin bin, before he doubled down and was sent off.

It follows a series of incidents last season that contributed to derailing several teams at the pointy end of the competition.

MID-SEASON MOVES

Evidence of the mid-season trade window was on full show at Parker Street last Saturday.

As players jostle for spots, the fallout has seen a stack of players move between competitions in the metropolitan area.

Cambridge Park was one team to win out following the late arrival of Michael Tuavao. Having transferred from Blacktown’s Ron Massey Cup team, the five-eighth promptly settled in, scoring a hat-trick in his maiden appearance.

Michael Tuavao made a statement for Cambridge Park. Picture: Julian Andrews.

THIEF IN THE NIGHT

A couple of freakish plays caught the eye in the night games last Saturday.

Upon review, you can bet the names Blake Mindipi and Kaylem Falaniko are sure to feature on coaching cheat sheets after the pair initiated scoring plays with sneaky one-on-one steels.

Leading a Cambo kick chase, Mindipi simply hit and ripped, before strolling away to score under the posts. In the Colyton game, after leaving his Riverstone opponent empty-handed, Kaylem Falaniko sent Damon Finn away for the simplest of four-pointers.

GREAT DIVIDE

As we near the season midpoint the gap between the top six sides and the lower part of the table continues to grow.

Brothers and Minchinbury sit in seventh and eighth spot respectively – six points behind Colyton. It’s a familiar scenario for Brothers, who kicked late last season to lock down a finals spot.

That said, at the top of the ladder the minor premiership race is wide open. St Clair lead the way on 14 points, one clear of Windsor and four ahead of Colyton is sixth.

TRY KINGS

Colts fullback Jesse Poulsen and St Clair winger Liam Pearce are among the tries once again in 2025.

After round eight the reliable Colyton speedster leads the way with nine, one clear of Pearce.

In another fine season, Poulsen is just four shy of last year’s total, while Peace remains on track to better his 2024 tally of 15.

LiamPearce is once again among the tries in 2025. Picture: Warren Gannon Photography

SHIRE ARRIVAL

This Saturday shapes as a big one on the local footy calendar following the expansion of the Luke Lewis Cup format.

In an undercard featuring six of the best junior teams from the Cronulla and Penrith competitions, fans at Windsor will be treated to more than six hours of action across four games starting from 10:30am.

In the feature event, the senior rep side includes plenty of new faces as Panthers Juniors look to defend their title.

ROUND NINE (SATURDAY, JUNE 14)

Cambridge Park v Colyton, Allsopp Patterson Oval

St Marys v Minchinbury, St Marys Leagues Stadium

Windsor v St Clair, Windsor Sporting Complex

Riverstone v Brothers, Basil Andrews

Bye: Emu Plains