PVSF Sportstar  Awards

2008 Annual Awards

As part of the PVSF Presentation Night on Thursday 11^th September Annual Awards are made for a number of categories as well as Senior and Junior Sporstars which are chosen by the PVSF Executive from the monthly winners. If you are aware of person who would be worthy recipient of one of the annual awards why not nominate him/her. Nomination Forms maybe obtained from DougHayne@westsport.com.au 

Categories

Volunteer of the Year

Referee/Umpire of the Year

Administrator of the Year

Coach of the Year

Team of the Year

Monthly Awards

Officials of Associations and Clubs affiliated with the Penrith Valley Sports Foundation may nominate players for an award.

To nominate for the Penrith Valley Sports Foundation St Mary's League's Club Junior ($400) Sport Star of the Month or Panthers Senior ($800) Sportstar of the Month go to www.pvsf.org.au click on Sportstar Nomination Form fill in the form then click submit.

RUGBY LEAGUE

Panthers On the Prowl

NRL Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval, Friday August 1 - 7.30pm Kick off

1. Rhys Wesser  2. Brad Tighe  3. Michael Jennings  4. Maurice Blair  5. Michael Gordon  6. Wade Graham  7. Luke Lewis  8. Tony Puletua  9. Luke Priddis  10. Petero Civoniceva (C)  11. Frank Pritchard  12. Trent Waterhouse  13. Nathan Smith  Interchange: 14. Matthew Bell  15. Junior Moors  16. Joseph Paulo  17. Masada Iosefa  18. Frank Puletua  Coach: Matthew Elliott

Toyota Cup Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval, Friday August 1 - 5.15pm Kick off

1. Zoram Watene  2. Shane Croft  3. William Isa 4. Jesse Sene-Lefao  5. Joe Haora  6. Harry Seijka  7. Joel Romelo  8. Joel Orton  9. Jamie Theoharous (C)  10. Tim Grant  11. Daniel Penese  12. Tinirau Arona  13. Michael Leeds  Interchange: 14. Shane Blackett 15. Sam McKendry  16. Brad Goodwin  17. Daniel Roki  18. Mitchell Cahalane  Coach: Steve Georgallis

NSW Cup Tigers at Windsor Complex, Saturday August 2 - 6.00pm Kick off

1. Dan Randall  2. Danny Chiha  3. Geoff Daniela 4. McConkie Tauasa 5. Ben McFadgeon  6. David Georgiou  7. Josh McCrone (C)  8. Adam Woolnough  9.  Paul Aiton  10. Brendan Worth  11. Frank Puletua  12. Shane Rodney  13. Adam Schubert  Interchange: 14. Keith Peters  15. Andrew Pearn  16. James Nightingale  17. Lino Salafai  18. Hutch Maiava  19. Ashley Hazelton  Coach: Adam Pryzbyla

One Round to Go by Doug Hayne

With one round to go before the play-offs the Tier A qualifiers have been sorted, while only an upset in the Quakers Hill v HLCP can have any bearing on Tier B.

St Mary’s v Emu Plains - After defeating St Mary’s earlier in the season, Emu Plains went into this match quietly confident of a repeat performance.  The game started off with both sides having opportunities. After ten minutes St Mary’s opened the scoring and from then on it was all one way with St Mary’s giving Emu Plains a football lesson. By the time halftime came St Mary’s was leading 38 - 0. The second half was not much better for Emu Plains with St Mary’s dictating play to run out 52-0 against a very disappointing Tricolours side. On the strength of the result of this match and the team’s 44/12 defeat of Brothers in Round 2, St Mary’s have firmed to favourites to win back to back premierships. 

St Pats vs St Clair - St Patrick’s traveled to Peppertree Oval hoping to take a step closer to securing fourth spot on the ladder with a victory against St Clair who were under-strength due to injury to key players which resulted in a number of players backing up from a Reserve Grade.  St Pats lacked structure in attack in the first half not allowing the ball to reach the backline after going forward. St Pats were also guilty of not holding onto the ball long enough to complete sets. Two solo efforts by Albert Peters in response to St Clair taking a 12-0 lead after 15 minutes had the teams going to the break with the game in the balance. After the halftime St Clair lifted and appeared to want victory more than the St Pats team.  As the second half progressed St Clair scored two tries to go to a 22-16 before a field goal gave the home team a seven-point buffer with twelve minutes left on the clock. St Pats scored a try with seven minutes to go to get the score to 23-22, but St Clair held on and were deserving winners in the end. St Pats will need to turn around their form if they are to pose any realistic threat to the four other semi final contenders this year.
            Colyton /Mt Druitt v Doonside - A very disappointing performance by the Doonside A Grade saw them go down to last placed Colyton/Mt Druitt by 38 to 18. As a result of the match, Doonside have lost another two players to injury leaving them very much under strength approaching the semi finals which begin in two weeks time.

Standout Players:  Curtis Hanlon and Freddie Law (Emu Plains);  Nulla Kei, Dave Thomas Chris Hill and Phil Ingram (St Patrick’s).

Round 4 Results- Tier A St Clair d St Patrick’s, St Mary’s d Emu Plains 52/0, Brothers d Windsor 60/0. Tier B - Blackttown City d HLCP 56/6, Colyton/Mt Druitt d Doonside 38/18, Minchinbury d Quakers Hill 52/48.

Round 4 Tables Tier A - Brothers 28 (617), St Mary’s 26 (634), Emu Plains 22 (264), St Patrick’s 16 (95), Windsor 14 (-11) St Clair 11 (-192).  Tier B - Blacktown City 17 (-33), Minchinbury 14 (-122), Doonside 8 (-180), Quakers Hill 6 (-277), Colyton/Mt Druitt 6 (-380) HLCP 4 (-415).

Round 5 Draw Sunday 3^rd August 2:30 p.m. Tier A St Patrick’s v Emu Plains (Leonay Oval), St Clair v Brothers (Nepean Rugby Park), Windsor v St Mary’s (Windsor Sporting Complex). Tier B Blacktown City v Colyton/Mt Druitt (Cec Blinkhorn Oval), Doonside v Minchinbury (Kareela Reserve), HLCP v Quakers Hill (Michkelson Reserve).

Fundraisers

St Patrick’s: Olympics Opening Ceremony Cocktail Party Mean Fidler 8th August.

Annual PVSF Awards

On September 11th the Penrith Valley Sports Foundation Annual Awards will be made at a gala function at Panthers. The general public and sports administrators alike are entitled to nominate for these awards. Categories - Volunteer of the Year, Referee/Umpire of the Year, Administration Award, Coach of the Year and Team of the Year. If you like a Nomination Form email DougHayne@westsport.com.au requesting the same. As well as those categories a Senior and Junior Sportstar of the Year will be chosen from the twelve monthly Sportstar Winners. Rugby League players in the running for Sportstar of the Year are :- William Beale, Greg Waddell and Lachlan Coote.

Cheerio

Special cheerio to Waratah Club legends George and Edna Jones who are avid readers of this column. Thank you for all the work you have done for rugby league and continue to do.

A Fans Observation by Brett McVea

Shocked, surprised, confused, great for the game, you can only imagine my amazement when I saw it. Of course I’m talking about what everyone else is talking about; the fact that the Panthers have FINALLY WON AT HOME AGAIN!!!!! It only took someone to stand up and say, “Hey, why don’t we change back to the old Change rooms because it might be a superstitious thing why we’re always losing at home”, for the slump to end. Give that man a pay rise quick!! As mentioned in the Castle, “That guy is an ideas man!”.

Michael Gordon raised his hand once again in another stand out performance for the Panthers, and his pure brilliance will be one of the reasons that I believe we can beat the Sea Eagles this week at Brookvale. Jennings was also at his attacking best. The ball that he picked up late in the game, then raced through some tired defence to score a try is something that we used to see last year, week in and week out. Let’s hope that his confidence is sky high after that display. The only blight on his game is once again the lack of power in defence. The Tigers picked him out a few times in defence, which helped them go to a nice lead at the break. Graham also played well again as did Captain Petro and Lewis. I thought that we would struggle a little without Pritchard; however the boys rallied behind each other and came out after the Half time break, with probably their best second half of footy that we have seen them play all year. The Tigers threw everything at them, but their defence was impeccable.

            It was disappointing to hear about Luke Priddis signing with the Dragons for 2 years at the end of this season. Not only has Priddis carried himself professionally during the whole time that he has been with the Panthers, but he has also helped a lot of local charities raise funds for their causes, lets hope that the boys can send him out a winner.

On the note of Signings, it was good to hear that we have re-signed Coote for a further 2 years. This must have put a smile on the poor kids face after scans probably didn’t go his way on Monday. Coote is reportedly out for 6 weeks, but we all know that the water in the bottles at training is something to admire…. Just ask Pritchard!!

 On the topic of Pritchard, he has been named to take his spot this week against the Sea Eagles. The Sea Eagles are going to have their own injury concerns as once again Orford is in doubt, and Lyon and Watmough will be still watching from the side lines. Glenn Stewart is supposed to return, tho I don’t think that will be enough to stop the likes of Captain Petro and Pritchard. Also the exuberance that the young guys are adding to the team lately, I think we may just have the edge over them.

So Sonny Bill Williams has fled the country to play France. Is anyone really surprised? As soon as you heard rumblings earlier this year of his passion to become an All Black, it was only going to be a matter of time that he was going to chase his dream. Unfortunately for the Fans, the players, and the club, the way in which he did it was appalling. I think that the Bulldogs will be better off without him. There has been far too much off field behaviour that has dragged that team through the media headlines for all the wrong reasons over a long period of time. This episode and the fact that the new CEO for the club seems hell bent on turning that club back to a family club that it is famously known for, will only strengthen that team for the future. I believe that the Bulldogs probably would have only got a total of 20 more games out of Sonny’s 4 remaining years, due to his recent injury record and the fact that his knee doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

NETBALL

CENTRE PASS

Sponsored this week by IDM Sports

         And yet another accolade goes to Courtney Tairi who has been named in the 2008 Australian 21/U team – how good is this kid!!!  Courtney, along with 13 other players in the team will compete in a series of practice matches in Brisbane from 6 to 11 August against the 21/U teams from New Zealand and England.  After this a team of 12 players will be selected to join the Australian Netball Team on its tour of New Zealand where on 17 September the 21/U team will play their first match in Christchurch as a curtain raiser to the first test match. Speaking of the Shaky Isles, congratulations to the NSW Swifts on their dominant performance on Monday nightat Acer Arena, Homebush, in defeating the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic 65 to 56 in the inaugural trans Tasman ANZ Championship competition before a crowd of 12,099.  On a sad note, NSW Swifts WD and vice captain, Selina Gilsenan, announced her retirement from netball after the match. Still, what a week for the poor old Kiwis, with Sonny Bill off to France and both the All Blacks and the Magic losing matches to Australian teams. Locally, Penrith District Netball Association is inviting applications this week from players wishing to be considered for Night Inter-District, an open competition, which will be held at the Anne Clark Centre every Wednesday evening, from the 8th October, 2008.  Applications must be lodged at the Tower by 5:00pm this Sunday (3rd August, 2008) and application forms are available from the PDNA web-site (www.isport.com.au/netball/penrth).  The selectors will meet and initially make paper selections.  They will then notify those players required to attend for a visual selection.  Only current or past registered members of PDNA are eligible for

consideration. This Sunday will also see the 10 years Development Day take place.  If you are eligible and intending to trial for the 2009 11 years Development squad next week I strongly recommend that you come along on Sunday.  The cost is $2.00 with registration is at 9:30am and a 10:00am start.  Coaching will be by Penrith’s State League 4 and 8 players, as well as Penrith's rep coaches.  If you do come, please bring

a netball if you have one (with your name on it!), sunscreen, a hat, morning tea, lunch and plenty of water.

The junior rep selection trials for 2009 teams will be held over two Sundays, the 10th and 17th of August 2008 (you need to attend both days).  Don’t think that just because you aren’t playing in an A grade team that you won’t make it.  If you are interested put in an application and give it a go.  For the The junior rep selection trials for 2009 teams will be held over two Sundays, the 10th and 17th of August 2008 (you need to attend both days).  Don’t think that just because you aren’t playing in an A grade team that you won’t make it.  If you are interested put in an application and give it a go.  For the adults, applications from anyone interested in coaching a team in this year’s Night Interdistrict competition or a State Age team in 2009, will close at the beginning of the next PDNA Council meeting, on 18 August 2008. 

As the State League competition moves towards semis later in the month we have Penrith’s Division 8 team up against Sutherland Shire tomorrow morning at 9:00am. Coming up at 7:00pm next Tuesday, 5 August, Penrith’s SL 2 meets Northern Suburbs, with our State League 1 team up against Hunter United at 8:30pm on Wednesday, 6 August.  To finish the week Penrith’s State League 4 team play City of Sydney at 7:00pm on Thursday, 7 August.   All games are played at the Anne Clark Centre (Church Street, Lidcombe) and strangely, all of Penrith’s games will be played

on Court C this week.

If you are thinking about attending Corpus Christi Netball club’s Trivia Night on Saturday, August 9th at the Cranebrook High School Hall (Hosking Street, Cranebrook - BYO drinks and nibbles) you will need to book your tickets from Joanne on 0418687 860 no later than tomorrow (2 August).  The cost is $10 per person or $90 for a table of 10.  Aside from raising funds for the club, Corpus’ trivia night is also supporting the Luke Priddis Foundation, which itself supports autistic and special needs children.  Go on, organise a few friends and book a table. You’ll enjoy it. 

HOCKEY

Hockey Hilites with Jan Harrison

A belated hat trick has been afforded our Western Districts Hockey fraternity. Our u18 might have just missed out on a State title but our brilliant little (well almost all were "little") under 13 Rep team have rewarded us with a hat trick after winning (joint premiers) the U13 State (Northern) title on the weekend of 12/13th July.

Playing in Coffs Harbour the talented young band of hockey players finished the round games undefeated and with 13 goals to their credit.

Led by Bonnie Hughes and Nadia Christian(Co Captains) the GIrls never ceased to amaze their band of supporters. Not even a blood nose for Maddison Parnham could stop these girls.(and after all Maddy did have the "team Doctor" to assist in Ben Wong. The 10 year olds were a sight to behold from Chloe Williams (definitely her fathers daughter!!) forceful determination against kids much much bigger than her to the other Chloe (Robinson) coming up to most of the other players waists Alison Wongs tackling Rebeka Troy and her explosive free hits and the star of the goal scorers Erica DeMello who scored the much needed goal in the final to see the girls end in a draw and then as with our Under 15 and our State League proceed with "drop offs" first 9 players on the field and then 7 and still no golden goal by either team and thus resulting in joint premiers. Manager Pamela Noal will tell you her absolute joy in being manager of three State Champion Teams. Our veteran O40's the 2007 U15 and our girls on the weekend. It might be an idea to perhaps just pick managers of Rep teams not Coaches!!

I had the pleasure thanks to U13 Mums Janine Petricevic and Judy Robinson (and a long "heady"drive) to witness the girls first two games and was sad to fly out and miss their next day and the final. There is a lot of talent coming through let me tell you from this bunch of youngsters. Jessica Mills (the original Goalkeepr selected) sadly had to miss the event due to a wrist injury sustained just before the Team was to leave but she was given a "medal" for all her hard work in the lead up to the Tournament. The teams thanks Bernard Bratusa of the Weekender for his support. 

Stephanie Brantz

A Generous Bernard Bratusa

Noel Rowsell

Basketball with Noel Rowsell

Scorchers "Ice" the Heat
The Springwood Scorchers have quickly bounced back to form, following their disappointing loss to the Port Macquarie Dolphins in last weekend's first qualification game for the 2008 NSW State League Basketball playoff series, defeating the Wagga Wagga Heat 102-77 on Saturday night at the Blaxland High School Basketball Stadium.
This game was an elimination quarter final, with the loser consigned to the ranks of the "also-rans" for the remainder of the year.
There would be few concerns however for the Scorchers fans, who watched their team hit the front early and maintain a "catch-me-if-you-can" pace from the start of the second quarter.
The Scorchers led 19-17, 46-31 and 63-57 respectively, at the completion of the first three quarters, then powered home to extend the winning margin to an impressive 25 points.
The Scorchers Youth League men were also in action on the night, playing the Blacktown Storm in the preliminary game.
This game was a much tougher challenge for the young Scorchers, who were obliged to 'dig deep' to keep the visitors at bay through the first three quarters.
The final quarter would set the scene for their older team-mates later in the night, with the young Scorchers hitting the "after-burners" to blow the Storm out of contention in the final quarter and wrap up a convincing 74-54 victory.

State League: Springwood Scorchers 102 (Adrian Qumivutia 22 points, Keith Browning 20, Nick Ferrari 17, Adam Marjoram 14) def Wagga Wagga Heat 77

Youth League: Springwood Scorchers 74 (Andrew Watson 15 points, Joshua Warren 15, Leo Solomon 13, Robert Powell 10) def Blacktown Storm 54
Action photos from the NBL, WNBL, WABL, SL, WNWBL and NWBL can be viewed at www.photoexcellence.com.au

Razorbacks Stop The Spinning Bullets
The West Sydney Razorbacks have humbled the Brisbane Spinning Bullets in Brisbane over the weekend, winning 107-40 on Friday night and 82-50 on Saturday night.
Friday night's game was a walk in the park for the Razorbacks, who started the game and "hot" and never relaxed on their way to a 67-point victory and a fifty-six percent field goal percentage.
Saturday night's game paled a little in comparison, with the Razorbacks not showing the same flair in the first quarter and finding the home team fired up for a better showing.
Once the "big guns" started firing however, it was quickly over for the Bullets who succumbed by 32 points. 
Friday: West Sydney Razorbacks 107 (Troy Sachs 34 points, 22 boards, 12 assists; Darren Skuse 29 points, 15 boards; Grant Mizens 11 points, Brendan Dowler 10, Nick Taylor 10) def Brisbane Spinning Bullets 40 (Adam Bates 11 points)
Saturday: West Sydney Razorbacks 82 (Troy Sachs 25 points, 16 boards, 9 assists; Darren Skuse 29 points, 21 boards; John McPhail 14 points, 12 boards) def Brisbane Spinning Bullets 50
Action photos from the NBL, WNBL, WABL, SL, WNWBL and NWBL can be viewed at www.photoexcellence.com.au

Jets Crash in Grafton
The Hawkesbury Jets have come to the end of their brave campaign in the 2008 NSW State League basketball competition, falling 63-61 to the Grafton Vikings on Saturday night in Grafton in an elimination quarter final.
Jets captain/coach Brad McGuiness said "We didn't play our best - I felt we should have won but we missed too many open lay-ups and that hurts."
"They (the Berserkers) effectively took Graham (Godwin) out of the game with their vigorous defence off the ball but we didn't necessarily get the same latitude at the other end of the court."
The Jets started well, albeit slowly, leading 13-9 at the end of the first quarter.
That was the first sign of trouble, as coach McGuiness felt the Jets should have established a far bigger lead in that period of play.
The home team recovered to trail by one point (25-24) at half time, then led 47-40 going into 'money-time'.
The Jets however, rose to the occasion in the final quarter to lead by four points in the last three minutes of play, in spite of the feverish pitch of "the Berserkers" home fans, who were providing their team with huge vocal support and motivation.
Fortune frowned on the Jets in the closing stages, with the visitors unable to get a friendly roll of the ball or a favourable call, thereby allowing "the Berserkers" to sneak home with a narrow 2-point victory and a place in the semi-finals.
The Vikings will now play the Penrith Panthers in the first of the semi finals at Gosford on August 9, in a virtual replay of the 2007 grand final.
Grafton Vikings 63 def Hawkesbury Jets 61 (Ben Hawkesley 14 points, Robert Crane 13, Graham Godwin 12, Rhys Daley 9, Dustin Olsen 9)
Action photos from the NBL, WNBL, WABL, SL, WNWBL and NWBL can be viewed at www.photoexcellence.com.au

GOLF

Westgolf with Glynis Hayne

Nepean Open Amateur Postponed

Due to an electrical storm at Camden on Sunday, play was suspended in the Nepean Open Amateur that ultimately led to the postponement of the event. The event has been rescheduled for September 14. Those who took part on the day remain entered for the 14^th September. If players are unable to play on the rescheduled day and wish to withdraw they should contact the NGA by telephone (4735 1730) or email (DougHayne@westsport.com.au) indicating their intentions and give their postal address. The $25 entry fee will then be refunded via post. When events are called off during a tournament and it is rescheduled there are always hard luck stories.   In this particular instance one of note was that of Camden Club Captain, Neville Smith, who one under the card after completing nine holes off a handicap of nine.  The irony of it was, Neville was one of the officials charged with making such decisions as the suspension of play and made it in the interest of players’ safety.

Mixed Pennant Commences

The NGA Mixed Pennant will commence at Camden on Sunday with the draw being :- Rd 1 3th August Camden - 11:00 a.m. Camden v Antill Park, 11:30 a.mDunheved v Wallacia, 12:00 p.m. Leonay v Richmond. Players are reminded they should have a sound knowledge of the rules and it would be advisable to carry a copy of the rules while playing a match. A copy of the 2008 Pennant Rules may be found on the NGA website at www.nepeangolf.org.au. A rule of particular note is:-    

Rule 25: With respect to the onset of darkness, matches are not to proceed to the next hole once the official time of sunset for the day on which the match is being played has passed. The result of the match being as it stands when the hole being played is completed. This may cause the match to be drawn. Darkness Onset Times: B & C Pennants - 10^th Feb. 7: 55 pm, 17^th Feb. 7:49 pm, 24^th Feb.  7:41 pm,  9^th March 7.23 pm, 16^th March 7.14 pm, 30^th March 6:55 pm, 6^th April 5:46 pm.  Mixed Pennants 3rd August 5:19 p.m., 10^th August 5:24 p.m., 17^th August 5:28 p.m., 24^th August 5.33 p.m., 31^st  August 5:37 p.m., 7^th September 5:42 p.m., 14^th September 5:46 p.m. and   21^st September 5.51 pm.

Local Club Results

Dunheved: 2BA Div. 1 - T. Curran (13)/T. Walsh(19) 74pts. Div. 2 - G. Catto (1)/J. Lazarus (24) 70pts. Scr.-  J. Fearnley/O. Colletto 54pts cb. Individual - S. Thorburn (12) 39pts cb. Div. 2 - J. Lazarus (24) 40pts cb.

Leonay: 4BA - P. Haines (26)/J. Egan (21)/J. Shannon (30)/T. Shannon (16) 97pts. Scr. - B. Breckenridge/M. Breckenridge/T. Alt/T. Newman (Penrith) 73pts.

Orchard Hills: Stableford Red - B. Nelson (23) 43pts. Green - G. Maher (24) 43pts.

Penrith: 2BBB - J. Wachowicz (15)/J. Roberts (5) 46pts cb. Scr. - D. Acret/B. Parsonage 40pts. Individual A - R. Sutherland (4) 38pts. B - R. Anderson (15) 36pts. C - G. McFadden (22) 37pts.

Wallacia: 2B - F. Lear/R. Grdusiak (4) plus 13. Scr. - J. Pagett/R. Grdusiak plus 8. Individual A - R. Grdusiak (4) plus 8. B - R. Lloyd (13) plus 3. B Res. - J. Thompson (18) plus 4 cb. C - J. Newman (31) plus 5.

Index