Penrith Emus

[Ozzie Bob]

The only question to ask is, do the people of Penrith want a rugby club?????

 

[Slash]

The only question to ask is, do the people of Penrith want a rugby club?????

Nah, the question should be , do Penrith people even KNOW there's a rugby club in town

 

[CTPE]

Nah, the question should be , do Penrith people even KNOW there's a rugby club in town

Probably not....people intrisically love winners and other than a brief period in the late 1990's when Scott Johnson was coaching them and Peter Fenton was strongly involved up there they've been anything but that. I recall that the NSWRU & SRU pumped some $$ and players into them at the time, the players being paid as development officers one of whom was Peter Bessling. I think that it was around 1999 that they won more games than they lost for the first and only time and Bessling received the SRU player of the year award and Johnson the coach of the year. Despite the best efforts of Peter Fenton in the following years the NSWRU stopped their funding and it all went South. One wonders what may have happened in terms of building a winning culture if that support had remained.

 

[Knuckles]

heard through my kiwi friends that Penrith are recruiting quite aggressively in New Zealand with a number of Auckland based players considering coming over en masse. I think it shows they ae struggling big time for players.

I'm sure the Emu's will tell everyone they have regularly had over 100 at training and they will field 4 grade and 3 colts sides this year...............let's face it, they say that every year, then pull out 2 colts sides after 2 matches thus leaving the competition looking a little silly. Can anyone inform us of the truth of how their numbers have been training?

 

[Tahboy]

I have heard about 20 players at training not sure if this includes colts
Why would anyone play there and until they get away from Nepean park no one will want to go there

 

[Crashy]

Looks like Penrith gave Sydney Uni a touch-up in the Kiama Sevens recently so there must be some talent there....

http://www.sydneyunirugby.com.au/_blog/Club_News/post/Students_knocked_out_of_Bowl_Semi_Final/

 

[Ole Two Blue]

sydney uni weren't exactly flash!

 

[Fibrotown Insider]

As the name suggests I am a Penrith insider and I have decided to come aboard the forum to clarify rumour from fact. Ask away....

 

[Knuckles]

As the name suggests I am a Penrith insider and I have decided to come aboard the forum to clarify rumour from fact. Ask away....

Welcome Fibro. Looking forward to reading some of your contributions....

i guess the first question is in relation to my above comment...

How many grades you gonna field this year? Will you guys pull teams out after start of the comp as per past practice?

 

[wamberal]

Fibrotown Insider, you will see that all true rugby people wish you guys all the best for the coming season, and please bring back those glory days that we all enjoyed so much a few years ago.

 

[Fibrotown Insider]

Thanks Knuckles and wamberal - its good to be aboard. I can tell you our numbers are excellent and the vibe is great. We have recruited a great Colts coach who has an impressive resume as both a player and coach. I am also impressed with the quality of players who have been attracted to the Club. Yes we have lost a number of players; one or two regrettably, however the majority who moved on are seasoned travellers and I suggest that they won't find a club they are happy with until they come to realise that the source of their dispair isn't where they play rugby, but the person they look at in the mirror each morning. I do find it frustrating that at times you can't instill wisdom into those type of young blokes as what they don't realise is before too long their playing days will be over and they will never have achieved their full potential - a real shame. I hate loosing players, particularly when they do leave feeling disenchanted as it feels like we have failed in their development, however that happens from time to time. I will make a special mention about a young bloke who went to Norths this year - he has been at our Club since Colts and had a very tough year in 2011 with some personal issues that weren't related to rugby, however unfortunately they did impact on his game. He is a great young bloke and I wish him all the best at Norths and hope he returns some time, better for his time away.

 

[grievous]

Would it be a better idea long term to create a league in the Penrith area? New clubs, it would take time and NEED the NSWRU to get behind it but its a big area.
Maybe not but how long does the current situation drag on for? Is the map in the NSWRU office miss everything west of Granville?

 

[Fibrotown Insider]

Hi Grievous - Certainly there is potential for divided competitions, however as you suggest we are a long way off that scenario. However I believe our best way forward is to grow our newly established Junior District. It is my contention that there are sufficient kids in outer western Sydney to commence a significant number of new clubs. This will not happen over night, however it will happen. The reason outer western Sydney has not embraced junior rugby in the past is that it has lacked appropriate management. To clarify this statement - it is not meant as a criticism of the ARU Development Officers as they do a great job with limited resources, or for that matter anyone else who has had a go at cracking this tough nut. It is my view that the real problem has been a lack of a formal management structure. This was never really going to be resolved until the senior Penrith Club's board got behind such a project. The new board of 2011 thankfully recognised this and has embraced the formation of the new junior district in 2012. Upon hearing of our plans, Penrith was approached by Hawkesbury Valley to come aboard and later a decision was made by Rooty Hill to also come aboard. I understand Parramatta's disappointment that these two clubs made a decision to change their allegiances however at least geographically it is a logical decision. It needs to be understood that Parramatta is 25kms from Bondi - Penrith is 45kms from Parramatta. Considering that the bulk of Sydney's population lives within that 45kms it just shows what the potential for Penrith as a Shute Shield Club is. Our first commitment as a Junior District is the holding of a minis gala event over 3 consecutive Friday nights (from 9.3.12) with the assistance of Hawkesbury Valley, Rooty Hill and Blue Mountains. We have also sent out brochures to all the local schools and have made a number of press releases in the relation to the event. We are hopeful that we get sufficient interest from kids in areas such as North Penrith, Glenmore Park and St Marys - St Clair - Minchinbury to start Clubs this year in those areas. The synergy of the three established clubs along with an involvement from the senior club should generate sufficient interest to start some new clubs. I can say that the energy and experience of members of those three successful junior clubs has been awsome and has given our campaign a boost beyond what we originally envisaged for our first year as a junior district. The senior Penrith club had to realise that we needed to divert valuable resources away from running the senior club to start the junior district and that decision, although draining has already paid dividends for the senior club. It has been said in earlier comments within this forum that 'everyone loves a winner'. This is so true and as a result of poor results at the Shute Shield level over many years, the Penrith Rugby brand within the community has no credibility - and rightfully so - if you want to gain a return for your investment as a local business - you want to be associated with a winner - not a habitual loser. Tragically our local young talent has formed the same opinion and that is why Parramatta, Eastwood and West Harbour have been a more attractive playing option for Colts. Hence the formation of the new junior district. We envisage that by embracing our juniors - and growing them through what will become a very strong junior representative district, they will automatically want to play with their 'home' senior club. We are drilling down to the finer points of how to make this happen. Lets face it, if Penrith could get back all the local home grown talent eg Dave Dennis and Kurtley Beale as well as the significant number of blokes travelling from west of Blacktown to other Shute Shield Clubs - we would already have the basis for a competitive club. We've now dug the garden bed, tilled the soil and are preparing the seedlings. All we need to do is plant, keep the water up and the weeds down with a bit of pesticide and manure and we should be reaping our rewards down the track.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Good luck with this great initiative, Fibro.

 

[Empire]

It's great to see objective and constructive self criticism, as well as ideas and more importantly affirmative action Fibro.

Coming from a club with similar issues, all I can say is keep on with it. Objectivity, resourcefulness, pro-activity and a genuine pride in Rugby in Penrith will steer you well.

It's a region far too large and important to be neglected, and is highly indicative of the poor management structures in place nationally and statewide.

 

[Crashy]

This is great to read fibro. The only way I am able to keep abreast of Penrith rugby is via the seniors website and that ahem doesn't have a lot of content. Where do I read more about the good things you guys are doing?
Happy to make a personal donation albeit small! To assist in what you are doing with your juniors. Let me know how to do this?

 

[Fibrotown Insider]

Thanks Bruce and Empire. Crashy - you make a good point about the website. Unfortunately we also have had difficulty attracting the number of people we need to undertake all tasks at the Club. We have therefore had to prioritise and as painful as it is to concede, the website has had to take a back seat. We have not had anyone up until recently that had the expertise to give the old site a makeover. The 'pain' I speak of relates to the knowledge that in the contemporary business world a website is an intrigal part of a progressive organisation - a poor website is like a dirty window - you don't get a good look inside and it doesn't leave a good impression. However we currently have someone looking at this situation for us. With respect to your generous offer of a donation - I can be contacted at info@penrithrugby.com.au

 

[XVProps]

Couldn't agree more!


Sent from my iPod touch.

 

[XVProps]

WCR you've nailed it right there. Campbelltown have been one of the most consistent Kentwell sides for a few years. While not necessarily a "powerhouse" they play solid rugby and are one of the best host clubs you will ever visit. By the way I'not involved with Campbelltown in any way.

If you're going to make a geographical choice then Campbelltown is the way to go. With a promotion to Shute Shield you could probably look to have some link with Wests Tigers (yes West Harbour have that at Concord) if only to allow them ocassional access to Campbelltown Stadium.

Thanks Rugby Central, there's a lot of hard work that goes into getting those results. Campbelltown Stadium was explored, however, the cleaning costs alone was enough to make a treasurer's date pucker. While the boys will appreciate you're thoughts, we're probably a while off promotion yet.


Sent from my iPod touch.

 

[XVProps]

Fibro while there are committed blokes like yourself around Rugby will be the winner, not to mention Penrith Rugby which you obviously are passionate about. The idea of split comps has come up in the MacArthur area as well. A couple of bloke who I know well worked hard to get it off the ground. They were looking at Liverpool, Campbelltown, Camden, Wollondilly (currently in illawarra), and a few others. Don't know exactly what happened, but after submitting proposals the whole thing lost it's legs. Sorry getting away from the subject a bit. Keep fighting the good fight mate. It's good to hear that things aren't as bad as what was made out.


Sent from my iPod touch.