Penrith District Rugby League: Rising hooker on debut, round eight talking points

An undersized junior with a big heart made the top grade, an unusual event took place and the big guns prepared for a new rep contest. This and more, Penrith RL R8 talking points.

It was a big weekend of local Penrith footy for one aspiring youngster, who despite his size played two games he’ll never forget.

A quirky and rare event took place at one venue, while the competition’s best tuned up for the Luke Lewis Cup rep fixture.

Don Feltis Cup, round eight talking points.

OLD SCHOOL GEM

These days there’s almost more chance of getting kicked by a snake than seeing a scrum win against the feed.

But in the 11th minute at Heber Park, there it was, and to make matters worse for Colyton the rare event finished with an Emu Plains try.

DEBUT CAPS MAGIC DAY

Before the season started, Emu Plains coach Darren Bell hinted that teenage hooker Albert Mahe was in the mix to make his top grade debut.

True to his word, the well travelled youngster played 60 minutes off the bench in the win over Colyton.

“It was a good day,” said the 19-year-old who backed up following a full game of under-19s.

“We won our first game in the 19s, and then it was good to get a chance to play first grade.”

Before arriving at Emu Plains, the aspiring No.9 spent time at St Clair and Minchinbury, and also played Harold Matthews Cup for South Sydney.

“The boys were protecting me in the middle there,” he explained with a smile.

“It was all going well until I got a cramp. The contact was the biggest difference, there’s some big bodies and I only weigh 70kg, so it was a big learning experience.

“I’m keen to play some more. If they need me I’d be happy to help them out.”

St Clair posted their highest score of the season in round eight. Picture Warren Gannon Photography

NEW FACE

In a competition where team line-ups constantly change from week to week, St Clair struck gold with the addition of Isaiah Niumata.

The gifted five-eighth unleashed a vast array of skills in the win over Glenmore Park. With a couple of tries and several assists, he helped the Comets post their highest score of the season.

FINALS RACE HEATS UP

As we near the midpoint of the season, you could argue all nine first grade sides remain in the finals mix.

With two wins from seven outings, Colyton sit fifth on points differential. Minchinbury opened their account in round eight, and while parked at the foot of the table they continue to strengthen every week.

The finals race is wide open in the Don Feltis Cup. Picture: Warren Gannon Photography.

GUTSY COLT

A special shout out to Colyton reserve grader Mark Gardiner.

In a tough win over Emu Plains, the gutsy fullback refused to surrender despite injuring his shoulder in a crunching one-on-one tackle.

Clearly struggling late in the contest, with gritted teeth the No.1 in the black headgear backed it up with another rattling effort.

PENRITH’S BEST TACKLE THE SHIRE

Local footy takes a breather for the long weekend, but there’s no rest for those named to represent Penrith Juniors in the inaugural Luke Lewis Cup.

Played in the Shire at Corea Oval, the best of Penrith A-grade will tackle the pick of Cronulla on Saturday at 3pm.

At the time of writing, the initial Penrith squad included reps from seven clubs, giving fans another reason to pack the car for a decent day out.

Luke Lewis with the cup named in his honour ahead of the inaugural representative match between Cronulla Junior Rugby League and Penrith Juniors at Sutherland Oval, Saturday 8 June. Picture: Tom Gibbs, NSWRL

ROUND EIGHT WRAP

With an eye on next weekend’s break, Emu Plains were slow out of the gates against a resurgent Colyton in round eight of local Penrith footy.

On a heavy track at Cambridge Park, Brothers set out to once again prove the doubters wrong. St Clair took on Glenmore Park, while Minchinbury headed to The Kingsway hoping to upset St Marys.

Don Feltis Cup, round eight wrap.

EMU PLAINS SURVIVE SLOW START

Emu Plains maintained their unbeaten start to the season, brushing aside a slow start to get the better of an error-prone Colyton 32-12 at Heber Park.

Coming off a season best performance against Windsor, a confident Colyton paid the price for a succession of handling errors and trailed 10-0 at halftime.

Gifted numerous attacking opportunities, the Emu boys finally opened their account against the run of play when Ryan Starr sent Lachlan Mason over in the right corner. Colyton bunkered down in defence, but with the pressure mounting they conceded shortly after backrower Vitele Petelo was sin binned for repeated ruck infringements.

With a head of steam on the right edge, Alex Myles sliced through for the second of the day in the 33rd minute.

As they often do, Emu Plains blew the game apart with an electric period of 20 minutes. This week it came with the change of ends and included four tries, as they extended the margin to 32 on the hour.

First, centre Greg Alderson reached across, then following a repeat set Isaac Thompson organised a left edge raid that was finished by winger Nicholas Hancock. Prop Jake Webb crashed over for another, and Thompson continued his second half revival to score one of his own.

Despite the score, Colyton had the better of the closing stages and were eventually rewarded with a couple of late tries to hooker Ben Bragg and five-eighth Damon Finn.

Colyton regroup after an Emu Plains try in the second half at Heber Park. Picture: Jason Hosken/NewsLocal

“Defence won us the game today,” said Emu Plains coach Darren Bell.

“We weren’t at our best with the ball but we did enough. Now we have a week off and then the bye.

“It’s perfect for us because there’s a few niggles and it will give the boys time to freshen up.”

Colts coach Scott Thompson was in no mood to sugar-coat the performance of his side.

“Our completion rates today were terrible today,” said Thompson after Colyton’s fourth loss of the season.

“But even though we were down 10-0 at halftime, I thought we were still in the grind and probably had the better of the first 20 minutes.”

“We lost our way after the break, even though we finished strongly. But good luck to them, they’re easily the best side we’ve played, and that’s the benchmark we have to get to.”

BROTHERS WIN FIERY ROAD TRIP

In a willing and at times brutal slugfest, Brothers made it four straight wins after they downed Cambridge Park 28-8 on an Allsopp Patterson mudheap.

Kicking off the season with three straight defeats, Brothers were on the road to nowhere, a far cry from the resilient outfit that now sits in fourth spot – three points clear of fifth placed Colyton and Cambridge Park in sixth.

Tyren Ryan was outstanding behind a committed Brothers pack, in a match where Matthew Sheehan was sin binned twice alongside Cambo enforcer Brett Gough.

Tyren Ryan was on fire for Brothers. Picture Warren Gannon Photography

Niggle aside, Brothers had already done enough by then after exploding to an 18-4 lead. Ryan opened the scoring when he shredded the defence with a slashing solo effort, and the playmaker made it 12-0 in the eighth minute when he grubbered for centre Patrik Calicetto.

The home side didn’t roll over and struck back through winger John Vunga, who delivered his best Maika Sivo impersonation, crashing over several defenders to score in the right corner.

In one of the more unbelievable plays of the day, Ben Williamson struck against the run of play to break Cambo hearts. After latching onto a loose ball, the Brothers prop set off on a 30 metre run before finally coming to rest under the posts.

That was midway through the opening half, and there were no more points until halfback Nathan Jones kicked for Calicetto’s second in the 69th minute. Winger Wayne Baxter quickly added another, before Cambo’s Cameron Keene closed out the scoring with a final minute intercept.

NEW FACE PILOTS COMETS

Gun playmaker Isaiah Niumata announced his arrival in style, guiding St Clair to a 38-20 victory over Glenmore Park on Sunday.

Played on a synthetic pitch at Ponds Stadium, the No.6 showed all his rugby union skills in a commanding performance that saw the Comets rush to a 28-8 halftime lead.

Brumbies backrower David Baumann powered over in the sixth minute. From there Niumata took over, scoring a double and setting up three others in an all-round masterclass.

A long cut-out ball saw St Clair return serve through winger Lautasi Mailei, and the Comets jumped ahead 10-4 when back-rower Kobe King paved the way for centre Raphael William-Joseph to add another.

Kobe King on the charge for St Clair back in round three. Picture Warren Gannon Photography

And the points kept mounting. Niumata successfully kicked ahead for Leha Fakatava and then bounced out of several tackles for one of his own, before a left-foot bomb ended in the hands of try-bound second-rower, Cameron Duroux.

Glenmore Park opened the second half just like the first, and trailed 28-14 when backrower Alfred Iva crashed over.

Chasing a fifth victory to retain third spot on the ladder, St Clair went on with the job. Veteran fullback Rob Henderson rushed across from dummy-half, before Niumata scooted over for his second.

JETS BREAK DUCK

Coming off seven straight losses, Minchinbury showed they will cause plenty of headaches in the run towards the finals after the Jets opened their season account with an emphatic 38-16 win over St Marys.

Up against a St Marys outfit minus several regulars, Minchinbury refused to pull any punches and went on with the job following a 14-4 opening.

Former Brothers winger Royvirianthy Faimanifo scored two of the Jets’ eight tries. His first, a long range effort against the run of play brought the Kingsway crowd to their feet.

Busy halves Dean Blore and Ryan Jones both got their names on the scoresheet and were prominent throughout the contest. While Jets powerhouse Tuafale Aiomalaga didn’t miss out, barging over for a trademark special.