Penrith District Rugby League: Suspension fight, round 15 talking points
On the doorstep of the finals, Emu Plains are set to fight for one of their star players at the judiciary. That and more, round 15 Don Feltis Cup talking points.
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The finalists in local Penrith footy have been decided, but there’s plenty to talk about with one round remaining.
Emu Plains are sweating on the outcome of an upcoming judiciary hearing, while a key individual award is up for grabs.
Don Feltis Cup, round 15 talking points.
EMU TO FIGHT CHARGE
Cameron Williams was sent from the field for an alleged elbow to the head of a St Clair opponent in Emu Plains’ 40-22 victory at Peppertree on Sunday.
With one round remaining before the finals, the reigning premiers are set to fight for the gun halfback, and have decided to contest the charge at a hearing with the NSWRL on Thursday night.
On a brighter note, Emu Plains welcome back skipper Thomas Romer from suspension this week against St Marys.
WINDSOR GIFT
Tyrone Shelley bagged consecutive hat-tricks for Windsor during the Wolves’ big win over St Marys, but without an unselfish teammate the stunning achievement may never have eventuated.
After crossing for his first to start the second half, the No.9 then watched on in the 65th minute as Brad Hoogenboom seemed certain to score his second in the space of four minutes.
Untouched and one metre from the try line, Hoogenboom had a four-pointer at his mercy until strangely handing Shelley an early Christmas gift. Up and running, the hooker backed up several minutes later to complete an extraordinary second triple.
LUCK OF THE BOUNCE
His teammates constantly mock his age, but Emu Plains are grateful for the offseason arrival of Greg Alderson.
A genuine Mr Fixit in the centres or in the pack, Alderson had no issue calling the shots as playmaker against St Clair, and finished the day with a kick-chase try against his name.
“It wasn’t for me, I just thought I’d chip it up in the middle,” said Alderson. “But it ended up in no-man's-land, it was the luck of the bounce really.”
EYE ON THE FUTURE
We’ll never know if Harrison Reid-Porter’s final minute drop kick for Brothers split the posts or not.
Thankfully it wasn’t a final. But in the end, we all know the referee’s decision is final.
Makes you wonder though. Will future generations of A-graders have access to a bunker?
TWO-HORSE RACE
The race to become first grade leading try scorer could have an interesting twist.
Emu Plains five-eighth Isaac Thompson and teammate Daniel Warren are four clear at the top of the list on 16. But with rumours Thompson could be rested in the final round clash with St Marys, Warren is sure to demand even more ball.
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
The under-19 finals series is set to be a cracker with numerous sides in the mix to hoist the shield in September.
Ladder leaders St Marys came unstuck against a strong Windsor outfit last weekend, while on their day, the third placed Comets have proven their title credentials.
ROUND 16
Cambridge Park v Glenmore Park, Allsopp Patterson Oval
Colyton v Windsor, Cec Blinkhorn Oval
Minchinbury v St Clair, Federation Forest
St Marys v Emu Plains, St Marys Leagues Stadium
ROUND 15 WRAP
The top six sides have been decided with one round remaining ahead of the finals in local Penrith footy.
At St Clair, a send off marred Emu Plains’ victory which could have ramifications in the big games coming up.
Don Feltis Cup, round 15 wrap.
VICTORY MARRED BY SEND OFF
Emu Plains have one hand on the minor premiership after outclassing St Clair 40-22. But with Cameron Williams sent off for an alleged elbow to the head of an opponent, the star halfback faces a nervous wait just one round shy of the finals.
After weathering the Comets’ opening onslaught the visitors rebounded to lead by 12 points at halftime, and at 34-10 were well in control when Williams was marched in the 58th minute after an incident that saw both sides come together and St Clair hooker Bryson Demanuele sent to the sin bin.
With St Clair’s hold on third spot already secured and Emu guaranteed a top two finish, both coaches took the opportunity to rest key players.
Despite the absence of St Clair’s Tinirau Arona and Isaac Thompson for Emu Plains, both sides came out all guns blazing in a physical contest. Demanuele showed his class from dummy-half, paving the way for Todd Hooper to open the scoring in the 15th minute.
After St Clair enjoyed the better of the opening 25 minutes, Emu Plains counted in spectacular fashion posting four consecutive tries in a stunning 12 minutes that put the result beyond doubt.
Blake McDermott charged onto a Williams pass for the first. And when the St Clair restart sailed out on the full, Sam Cookson raced over in the next set.
The busy lock continued to punch holes in the defence, and created the necessary space for backrower Alex Myles to add another before prop Enosh Maloinato crashed over for the first of his double either side of the interval.
Winger Liam Pearce pegged one back for St Clair as the halftime siren sounded, and they added further tries late in the contest to Hooper and Kobe King.
Covering for Thompson in the halves, towering centre Greg Alderson had a day to remember. Among a host of punishing tackles, the 33-year-old also scored a clever kick-chase try and landed a booming sideline conversion.
“It was a grind early, and we knew St Clair would be up for it,” said Alderson following Emu Plains’ 13th win of the season.
“But we’re a fit side. We conceded four tries but there’s nothing to worry about there, as we were missing a few blokes and had four C-graders back up.
“Our defence has been good all year and that’s what wins comps. If we can build on what we’ve done and tidy up the one-percenters then that will go a long way to getting what we want.”
CAMBO FINALS BOUND
Cambridge Park continued its late season revival with a comfortable 26-0 victory over Minchinbury on home turf.
Needing a win to lock down a finals berth after a confidence boosting win over Brothers, Cambo were still no certainty of rolling an upbeat Jets combination hellbent on climbing off the bottom of the ladder.
On the back of several damaging individual efforts from Aisea Fainga’Anuku, the home side dominated through the middle and opened an unassailable 16-point advantage just after the interval.
Fainga’Anuku bumped away from several defenders to cross in the second minute, and prop Dwayne Lemafa followed a similar path to double the advantage midway through the opening half.
Fainga’Anuku showed there’s more to his game than raw power. Freshened by the halftime interval, rather than charge at the line the big man stepped off his left foot before clapping on the pace to bag his second in the 47th minute.
With the result locked down, five-eighth Marli Sini kept the scoreboard ticking over with a couple of classy tries in the final 15 minutes.
CONTROVERSIAL DRAW
It was a contest that didn’t reach any great heights, but it all changed in the final minute when Brothers thought they’d kicked a field goal to sink Glenmore Park at Ched Towns Reserve.
In the end, the 14-all scoreline failed to have a major impact on the competition table. Regardless of the result, Glenmore Park’s hopes of making the finals had already been dashed, while Brothers are all but assured of meeting Colyton in the opening week.
With less than a minute left on the clock, Harrison Reid-Porter – who came up with a last gasp play to down Colyton three weeks ago – was poised for another heroic ending. Only this time the No.6 was left stunned when the referee waved the kick away.
“It was a field goal,” said Brothers coach Damien Lane.
“Even the Glenmore Park players said it went over. It was a horrible game, both sides made so many errors, the last 20 minutes became a battle to hold the ball.”
With their finals spot secured several weeks ago, Brothers have hit a flat spot, finishing winless in their past three outings.
“Our position has been fixed for a while, and we’ve been coming up against teams that want it more,” said Lane. “We have a bye next week and expect to be back at full strength when the finals get underway.”
HAT-TRICK KINGS
The second placed Windsor Wolves have tuned up their finals preparations, hitting the road to thump a hapless St Marys 60-0.
Connor Mason was at his elusive best on an afternoon where the five-eighth crossed for three tries, including two scintillating solo efforts from dummy half.
Once again Tori Willie broke the line all day and had another day out from the tee, landing eight conversions.
After scoring three first half tries, the Wolves slapped on another eight including three to Tyrone Shelley. It was a significant achievement for the tireless No.9, who also notched a hat-trick in Windsor’s previous outing against Cambridge Park.
Having spent the majority of the season sidelined by injury, captain-coach Troy Dargin joined the party late in the contest to bring up the visitors’ half century. Trailing another Willie line break, the lock raced away to score untouched.
Windsor will aim for a fourth consecutive win when they head to Colyton in the final round, while it doesn’t get any easier for St Marys who finish their season against ladder leaders Emu Plains.
PHOTO GALLERY
First grade: St Clair v Emu Plains
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