Premier Division Men with thanks to Pennant Hills Toyota
(PH 4.8.32 loss to North Shore Bombers 7.4.46)

This weekend saw us pitted against our old rivals, the strong North Shore Bombers in a must win game. With a lot on the line for both teams, we knew it was going to be a hard & tough match-up in tricky conditions, after a few close losses, we were keen to start well and play 4 quarters of footy.

Myles Collins who is cousins with Ben & Connor Matthews was to make his 1st-grade debut, Myles has recently moved over from Adelaide and has been a handy addition learning our game style in our reserve grade.

We would start the stronger with co-captain Luke Skrivanic leading from the front with some great movement and a nice goal, our midfield gained the early advantage with some great ruck work from Mitchell Blow, with Nick Eynaud, Tom Edmonds & Wilson Mudge all key contributors. VFL listed Harry Maquire also started well with 2 key goals.

North Shore would hit back with some late goals to head into the 1^st qtr break tied at 20 a piece. In the 2^ndquarter the weather started to get even worse, the heavy rain came down hard and the game got a lot more congested, both teams throwing everything at the ball and man to gain an advantage. Nick Richards & Jason Blakemore both making it look like a dry day at times. We would go into half time with a lead of 7 points (28 to 21).

The halftime message was to keep up the pressure and surge the footy at all cost, the weather getting even worse now, we would start the 3^rd qtr with the ground almost underwater and our top performer all season Nick Eynaud line up in the centre with a broken hand & thumb,  Nick showing his mental toughness would win the first clearance and play through pain to help us try & win this important game.

Both teams cracked in hard once again, with desperation from both teams. North Shore starting to get on top in the midfield, with league star Ned Campbell winning numerous clearances. However, our backline as they’ve done all year would repeal many attacks, none better than Connor Matthews who showcased his toughness and elite interception skills once again. North Shore would go into the last quarter leading by 4 points in a low scoring affair.

We would lose Giants listed player Josh Boag with a calf injury which was a big blow. The last quarter was a tug of war battle between 2 good teams, we were able to pin the ball in our forward half for large chunks but couldn’t convert to scoreboard pressure. The frustration starting to get on top of us, North Shore would get a few key goals and walk away with a hard fought win. Our young team gave everything they could and would have more scoring shots.

Onto next week in a season defining clash against East Coast.

Premier Division Women
(PH 9.6.60 defeated North Shore Bombers 3.7.25)

In what gradually became a mudbath, the rain held off for most of the first quarter. Similar to last week’s disappointing loss to UTS, we started extremely well and with some excellent forward pressure and tackling from Bri and Alex Wade. This allowed us to keep the ball in our forward line and convert early goals. Repeat efforts from Elly Rudd and Madi Hare through the mids also topped off an excellent quarter, to give us a 4 goal lead.

Q2 saw the rain start to come down, and this was welcome as it made the potential comeback of North Shore just that much harder. We gave the opposition a few too many chances in our B50, and gave away a ridiculous amount of free kicks in this time. The defence and spoiling ability from all of our backs was excellent, and we even nearly saw Bri take a specky if it wasn’t for the opponent collapsing under her.

The third quarter saw North Shore fight their way back into the game with 3 goals, but we also scored through some strong forward work by the returning Ella Morris, Laura Donohoe and Hayley Lowe.

The final quarter highlighted our persistence to pressure and as soon as we scored the first goal of the term, North Shore crumbled and we kicked 4 unanswered goals. Our centres had a field day as well, with Tayla Duguid leading the charge. This was our best win of the year, with our defenders not leaking goals in 3/4 of the quarters, and forwards also converting goals. It was my favourite premier division win I’ve coached, with every player making an impact on the field.

Daniel Fiedler – Premier Division Women’s Coach

Premier Division Reserves 
(PH 1.6.12 loss to North Shore Bombers 10.7.67)

Goal Kickers: L Pauly 1
Best: M Kunigiskis, R Pinker, J Le Lay, L Pauly, H Elbourne, B Hunt
Players Player: M Kunigiskis

Hard day at the office in trying conditions on Saturday, but the same conditions for both sides.

Although our carrot was second spot and the opportunity to make a big statement to the rest of the competition we were outplayed and just not good enough on the day.

You couldn’t question our players’ effort and although the scoreboard doesn’t suggest it, we were in the game till well into the third quarter.

We now know what we need to do if we want to be one of the top sides.

A top three finish has always been our goal and we’re still well on track to achieve this.

Two of our next three games are now vitally important and we have to put in the work if we want it badly enough.

David Pinker – Premier Division Reserves Coach

Division 3 Men
(PH 0.7.7 loss to North Shore Bombers 6.4.40)

Today we celebrated significant 100 game milestones for 2 stalwart families of our wonderful club, Tim Acheson and Matthew Miles. I say families and not just players as both these young men and their families, particularly Rod Miles and John Acheson have long associations with the club in administrative and playing careers and we owe a lot to their contributions for where we are today. Well done lads!

It was an ominous start to a wet & soggy day as we battled to remove the rugby league goalposts at the carpark end of the lower oval. Despite the team mimicking your typical council working crew i.e. 1 actual worker and 15 supervisors standing around doing sod all, we did manage to lower the posts with the assistance of the multi-talented Matthew Arcuili, his ingenuity and a little help from a hammer.

Our opponents today were 2 points behind us in the league table and we needed a good start in these wet conditions. We knew goals would come at a premium and we started very physically led by Yuengy, Rashleigh, Rice and Elsley in the midfield, however, the best moment of the quarter came from one of the 100 club, Matt Miles as he volleyed a ball out of mid-air about 50 metres upfield, undoubtedly one of his straightest and longest kicks ever! The returning Jack Watkins was a welcome sight and he illustrated the control, poise and sheer hunger we needed from the backline. Unfortunately, our opponents had not read the script and made us pay for some loose defensive work by bagging 4 x 1st quarter goals to our 2 behinds despite Penno leading the inside 50 count.

Conditions worsened (although nowhere near as bad as what the Masters team endured later in the day) in the 2nd quarter with Matt Miles again displaying his array of circus tricks with a juggle which took him and the ball 30 metres upfield despite never being a clean possession – neat trick that one Matt! North Shore exerted their midfield control with PH battling to match-up their dynamic set-up, but this did provide plenty of opportunities for O’Rourke, Arcuili and Pellizzon to display their hard-core effort on the ball, Tommy in particular with strong overhead skills. Ryan Pascoe was thrown down back in an unfamiliar role and he nailed it in a season best performance for the young man. He got his head over the ball at every opportunity and was brave in every contest and built a great partnership with Bray who again confused his coach by not knowing which was his dominant foot, yet executing great skills on both sides.

Morgan Hide continued to grow in the 2nd half and was relentless in his endeavour, and we needed every ounce of his effort to claw back a 26 point half-time deficit. We pestered the opponents 50 but their stubborn defence didn’t ease up, but by the same token, our lads only conceded 2 behinds, and by my reckoning, we again won another 3rd quarter. Daniel Crompton provided the moment of the 3rd quarter with a 15m slide into the PH bench and tent area. The spectators saw more of his backside than anyone really ever needs to see as he slid his way past onlookers, it’s one of those things you can’t unsee, but the club have been generous and offered phycological support for anyone who witnessed this event.

Ultimately we could not claw the game back from a slow start, something we need to address as a group in the next week or so if we are to challenge for the finals series. That said, the resolve this group demonstrated again, as basically a fresh group of 16 players who had not played in 2 weeks, that they do have the gumption and toughness to mix it with the best in our division. It would be easy to just roll over and blame the conditions or the significant rotations, but this group once again impressed in their spirit and dedication to each other. You’re a credit to the club boys and I’m confident we will go far.

I cannot sign off without thanking Todd Williams for starting the day at 7.15am and not finishing until well after the last players had gone home well after the final siren of the last game. Likewise to the physios who were side-by-side with us in the wet and cold, and to all the hearty supporters who cheered us on – we salute all of you. Thanks also to our wonderful sponsors in Pennant Hills Toyota, Ritera Electrical, Eylex Pty Ltd, Security & Data Systems, Cosmo Coffee and PKF Flooring, who help make it all possible.

I will see you in the next one.

Nigel Blow – Division 3 Men’s Coach

Division 3 Women
(PH 0.1.1 loss to Parramatta Goannas 1.3.9)

This week the Pennant Hills Women’s Div 3 Waterpolo Squad lined up against the Parramatta Goannas – as neither Demons nor Goannas are renowned for their ability to swim, neither team were particularly suited to the conditions they found themselves in. The rain was relentless all day, to the point of nearly being biblical, the Lower Ground at Mike Kenny Oval is no ark.

Quarter 1 had about half an inch of water covering the pitch – the ball tended to slip and slide and unfortunately the Goannas were able to use that to their advantage, kicking a goal that David Beckham would have been proud of off the deck. They were able to lock it in our backline for most of the quarter but credit to our backline – spearheaded by Lisa Maynard in her first game back for the season in keeping the scoring to a minimum.

From there, our midfield got going in the second quarter despite 1 inch of water now covering the ground. Claudia Bilinski was everywhere, laying tackles and moving the ball forward – we were able to stabilise the ball in our forward line and stem the Goannas scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, due to the poor conditions, the ball did not find its way goalward for us, and we were not able to capitalise on our forward-line pressure. Jodie Llamas was awesome in her attack on the ball – putting the opposition defenders into strife at times.

After the long break, the dam had truly burst – about an inch and a half of water across the pitch – our game plan for lots of running bounces was officially out the window. Jasmine Blow continues to grow in confidence in the ruck, winning the majority of her taps and tapping to advantage, giving players like Katie Wellfare and Maddie MD plenty of chances to get the ball out of the centre. We were able to break it into the forward line for a minor score this quarter – being the first winning quarter we have had against the Goannas since last season it was a joy to behold.

Unfortunately, the rains continued and the ground started to depict one of the scenes from Waterworld but with better production value. The girls continued to fight hard well into the final quarter – creating plenty of opportunities in our forward line however the Goannas defence was up to the task and ultimately they ran out victors on the day.

A big congratulations to the girls on their efforts – I think in less trying circumstances we would have taken home the 4 points but it was still good to get out on the park and have a bit of fun in the rain.

Nick de Gorter – Division 3 Women’s Coach

Under 19’s
(PH 3.3.21 loss to North Shore Bombers 12.10.82)

The Under 19’s took on a very strong North Shore outfit after a devastating loss the previous week.

Our message for the 2^nd half of the season is to be more competitive and consistent throughout games. A large credit to the squad we absolutely were that for the large part of 3 quarters as I believe the scoreboard didn’t really reflect the game.

The bombers kicked 5 goals from about 45 out on slight angles which to be fair to them aren’t easy and made the difference for that portion of the game so hats off. The disappointing part of our game was the 4^th quarter, allowing 7 unanswered goals to really stretch out the Bomber’s lead and flatter the opposition. A lot to build on as we (hopefully) take on cross town rivals East Coast this weekend.

Matthew Gillbee and U17’s Oscar Irwin were our clear best 2 players and well done Ollie Hall who had his best game for the season.

Joel Cousens – U19’s Coach

Masters
(PH 4.0.24 loss to Southern Dingoes 4.5.29)

Round Six saw a home game for the Masters up against the Southern Dingoes who have been the benchmark team for the last three seasons. We knew we were up against a big challenge but after only losing against them last year by two goals, we knew that if we brought our best game, we could definitely challenge them for the win.

Adding to the mix were weather conditions that were “less than ideal” as torrential rain bombarded MKO with a field that was better described as a pool like surface.

But once the game started, it was game on as Penno showed a fierce determination, a monumental effort to battle for the contested ball as it slipped around the ground like slippery soap with clean possessions hard to come by.

Each quarter we closely matched the Dingoes and heading into the last quarter we were only down by two goals and after a rally call at three quarter time, we showed strong character to kick two goals and come back to be only down by a couple of points with the game in the balance.

Unfortunately, the game was shut down by the wily Dingoes, who crowded the ball and restricted our ability to move into our forward line. It was an exceptional performance and effort from the team against the best side in the comp and we can count ourselves unlucky to not come away with the win.

Every player can be proud of their efforts but special mention to Huggo and Pharlap who raised their game to the next level and played a big role in allowing us to come so close to the win.

Peter Carey – Master’s Coach

Round 13 Fixtures

This week, if the weather allows, sees us travel to Kanebridge Oval against East Coast Eagles in the “Back to the Baulko” round. Being the local derby we like to ensure we come away with wins in this round. We know the home crowd will make it a cauldron.

Events

The following is our calendar of confirmed events for Season 2022:

Rd 14 – 16th July – Mental Health Round –  Raffle Tickets & Prize Information can be found here
Rd 15 – 23rd July – 50^th Anniversary Celebration (The Epping Club)
Rd 16 – 30th July – Partner’s Day
Rd 17 – 6th August – Demon Disco (The Underground – UTS)