“Who’s his favourite player?” No harm intended. It was just one of those harmless jokes asked by a fellow journalist as Penrith unveiled its newest member of their cheerleading squad at CUA stadium on Saturday night.
As the question was answered with the customary chuckle from men watching “the man’s game” (myself included), it occurred to me that something was different about the scenery at the foot of the mountains that night.
No, it wasn’t the 17, 000 fans made primarily of Bulldogs supporters.
And no, it definitely wasn’t the final 28-26 scoreline – Penrith have been pencilled in for the wooden spoon.
It was the colour of hot pink. A bright and dazzling shade of pink that only appears on a rugby league field in France.
Traditionally adorned in black, Penrith unveiled a pink jersey this year designed exclusively for the “victimized” female rugby league community. After a month of alcoholic misdemeanours that continue to drive women away from the game, it was a somewhat pleasing sight to see spots of pink on a black Saturday night at the foot of the mountains – away from the unruly functions of the northern beaches and the hotspots at Cronulla.
The place to be, I think, was on the sidelines of CUA stadium, where Penrith’s first ever gay male cheerleader, Aaron Neich, danced and pranced with the rest of the cheerleading squad – also adorned in pink. Neich himself was dressed in black, but none-the-less was heavily prominent during routines.
Club captain Luke Lewis says thinks that’s it’s a good thing and wishes him all the best.
“If that’s what he wants to do, that’s great. Everyone’s got an ambition to do something. He just wants to do dance and enjoy himself.”
And if it wasn’t good enough for pink to be on the seats and on the sidelines, pink has its place on the field too. The 2009 referees have been awarded the dignity of wearing pink jerseys, with the extra referee completing the pink diamond in the middle of the field.
In addition to the pink jerseys, pink cheersquad and male cheerleader, it was a picturesque “Pink Panther” show that somewhat overshadowed the winless Panthers.
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And in light of all the unrelenting, alcoholic kerfuffle being reported all over the media over the last few weeks, I thought it was important for fans to know Penrith’s code of conduct via club captain Luke Lewis.
“It’s not a good thing seeing the stuff that’s happened in the paper, but we play a sport and everyone like to have a drink, a bit of a let down.”
But?
“But we’ve got a leadership group that makes rules which everyone abides by. If anyone breaks them, then they suffer the consequences.”
“We stick together for drinks. If one goes out, everyone goes out. If one goes home, everyone goes home. That’s out main rule.”
I’m sure other clubs have the same kind of rules, but Penrith seem to have stuck by them so far (touch wood). So in addition to the Pink Panther evolution, it seems we have a respected senior leadership group that’s guiding a whole group of talented, yet vulnerable young stars.
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And lastly, the debate still rages on Penrith’s halves combination. Tonight they were brilliant up until the final play, where execution went horribly wrong. Beleaguered coach Matt Elliott says they worked on it all week, and it’s still a work in progress. Fair enough.
But with two inept attacking performances, Penrith fans will continue to keep asking questions. And if the losses keep stacking up, pressure will mount on the former Canberra coach.
Luke Lewis, who previously said he’d prefer playing at lock this year, now says he’ll just learn and make-do the best he can.
“It’s a difficult position to play, but my motto this year is ‘wherever I play, just try to have fun’.”
“If I treat it any other way, my football will probably go down. Just try and get the best out of myself.”
New signing Luke Walsh who had a solid debut for the Windsor Wolves, admitted it’s been tough learning all the new names in both the Penrith and Windsor squad. He’s here primarily for the opportunity and says he’ll do everything he can to fix the halves problem, although it might take a few weeks to settle in.
“Hopefully I’ll get in there soon. I just have to start getting to know the moves. It’ll probably take me a couple of weeks, but I’ll just try and come in, organise the boys and lead them around the park.”
And so the debate continues ..
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