This weekend at the Club’s traditional ‘Back to the Ern Past Players’ round, premiership player, Cameron Smith, plays his 150th open-age game for the Pennant Hills Demons.
Starting his footy from age seven, Cam initially played junior footy at Baulkham Hills before switching across to Westbrook Juniors to play Under 16s. This good stroke of luck meant that Cam came to play at the Demons, rather than at arch-rivals the Eagles, when he had to decide where to play his senior footy.
At the Demons he started in the Under 18s in 2006, age 15. His first grade debut was in 2008, which was a win over East Coast Eagles, coincidentally on their Back to Baulko Day. When recently asked about his debut, Cam’s recollection was that the team lost to the Eagles that day, so he was pleasantly surprised to learn that in fact it had been an emphatic 33 point victory!
Cam has been a mainstay of the Demon’s Back Six since 2009 and apart from 5 games in the reserves he has played all his senior footy in the Premier Division team. He was a member of the 2015 premiership side. After the 2016 season, he took a break from footy to work and travel in North and Central America, returning to the Club in season 2019. Like the Prodigal Son he has been welcomed back straight into the Premier Division side and has renewed his role as an integral part of the Demon’s defence.
Now in his 12th season, Cam is still one of the team’s most consistent and reliable backmen. We wish Cam the best of luck for his milestone match and congratulate him on this significant achievement!
Match Highlights
| Premier Division Grand Final 2015 – Henson Park – 27 September 2015
Pennant Hills 14.05-89 defeated East Coast Eagles 7.12-54 |
| Premier Division Grand Final 2014 – at Blacktown ISP – 20 September 2014
Pennant Hills 2.10-22 lost to Manly Warringah Giants 8.20-68 |
| Premier Division Grand Final 2013 – at Blacktown ISP – 21 September 2013
Pennant Hills 11.6-72 lost to Manly Warringah Giants 11.14-80 |
| Premier Division Debut – at Charles McLaughlin Reserve – 10 May 2008
Pennant Hills 16.14-110 defeated East Coast Eagles 11.11-77
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Career Highlights
Games Played
- Open-age 150
- 145 Premier Division
- 5 Reserve Grade
- 35 Under-Age
Premierships
- 1x Premier Division – 2015
- 2 X Premier Division Runners Up – 2013, 2014
Awards
- Premier Division Most Improved – 2013
- U/18s Best Finals Player – 2008
Representative Football
- AFL Sydney Development Squad – 2011
Phelan Medla Voting
- Total Votes received 2013 – 2018 = 5 votes
- Snow Medal votes 2010 = 3 votes
Junior Football
- Baulkham Hills (from age 7) and Westbrook Juniors (U/16s)
Season So Far
Our Demons Premier Division side has had a stuttering start to season 2019, sitting in 5th place with one win from three outings, described by one punter as ‘a strong loss, a weakish win and a bad loss’! The round 3 loss to Inner West Magpies on ANZAC Day broke a 14 match winning streak, meaning that most of the Demons veteran first graders had never previously experienced the wrong end of an encounter with the Magpies; that’s our first loss since 2010, over eight seasons ago!
The poor start makes this weekend’s round 4 match against St George Dragons even more important. This is the second year we’ve played them in the Back to the Ern round and last season’s unaccountable loss to the Dragons by 68 pts in front of a large crowd of Penno Past Players was embarrassing as well as demoralising. Arguably, it was this result, in round 13 last season, that cost us a place in the 2018 finals series. This week’s match is not only a chance to get our season on level terms but also an opportunity for redemption!
So, get around all the teams this weekend and Go Penno!
-John Acheson