The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that Eastwood scored a cumulative 454-0 against Penrith in the Sydney club rugby union round on Saturday.
This included a score of 129-0 in the Shute Shield first-grade match at T G Millner Field.
The Tele gave the debacle a big splash. The Sydney Morning Herald gave the Emus a similar splash in May, breaking out their run of embarrassing results for the season.
This is what the Emus are now; a sad joke to be highlighted for public amusement.
NSW Rugby senior manager, Western Sydney rugby, Michael Doyle, said that a review of rugby in Western Sydney commenced in February when asked about Penrith’s plight recently. He added that the area provided Australian rugby with its greatest opportunity for growth.
This can be seen as a black joke, and that’s hardly Doyle’s fault.
Parramatta were on their knees five years ago and there was a push to get rid of the Two Blues. Yes, that Parramatta. The club more than a century old, the one whose players have included Eric Tweedale, Rod Phelps, Ray Price etc etc; the one with the huge junior area.
The club that elements of the heriarchy wanted to boot out, the one who through the vision of a new administration was back in the Shute Shield finals a couple of seasons later.
Meanwhile, Penrith won their first game in over a year last season. There’ll be no wins this season. The score reads 71-947 in the for-and-against column. Penrith’s problems – administrative, coaching, location, development – have been known for years.
It’s all a bit late, but begs the question: what is rugby officialdom’s philosophy for the game?
The time is long gone since the likes of Randwick v Sydney University were glamour games, when the media gave extensive coverage to Sydney club rugby, when the late Cyril Towers gave his Saturday-night report on the ABC news.
Club rugby only rates a mention when a club like Penrith becomes a joke. Not so long ago rugby union was second to rugby league among the football codes, in NSW and Queensland, at least. In the age of professionalism, it’s a long fourth behind league, football and AFL. That’s the age of Super Rugby, World Cups, Tests seemingly every five minutes and no more tours, of countries here or Wallabies overseas.
If that’s the game now, put Penrith out of their misery. There’s no point in humiliating hapless players; it’s cruel. Make Penrith’s matches a bye round, let the first-graders have practice matches against lower-grade teams until an investigation of the Emus is done and a decision made about the club’s future.
Taking a Kurtley Beale out of Mt Druitt and putting him in a private school doesn’t count as development. He’s one player, he’s not the game. His talent would have stood out in any environment. If there isn’t the structure to give a Beale the discipline to accompany his talent in the local environment, then there’s something wrong with the game.
The Parramatta experience gives no reassurance about the game’s grassroots future.
Is officialdom fair dinkum? Does it care?
Chris shirley
Guest
Just give them a fair go,thay are giving every thing a go. Let the Aussie dream come true for the "mighty emu's"a go; giv them a fighting chance to improve there status. You never let a good man down also give your mate a hand when he is down;so let the emu a go also look at ways can all access as a club with a heart and guts to improve in all areas and let them up and round.
concerned supporter
Guest
Congratulations Rebecca Hook on a very powerful post.
rebecca Hook
Guest
Mr Macdonald, Id just like to congratulate you on such a well informed, well researched so called "blog". My favourite quote has to be "Penrith’s problems – administrative, coaching, location, development – have been known for years." Have they now? Well let's look at the club President.Jim Hook, he must be a real shocker.Retired with the highest accdolades from the NSW Police force OAM .LAC in Cabramatta,Castle Hill,Orange.Has a Masters of Commerce.Played rugby for Hurlstone Agricultural College as a student,Worked in Western Sydney for twenty years in direct contact with pacific Islanders and their families.Supported the community financially,socially,legally and created a rugby base and an opportunity for the people of our community to have some stability and direction. Jim Hook has played for Penrith for over forty years, in every grade,coached every grade,sourced sponsors AND payed for most of it out of his own pocket.WHY... why don't you tell us Mr Macdonald? Why don't you source the funding figures from the ARU or SRU over the last five years?because a rant doesn't really contain the truth. Here's some more facts. Jim Hook walked into a financial disaster left by the former administration.He has almost put the club back in the black, for the last time I hope. He has worked tirelessly with the juniors, and they are good. So good in fact that they are offered scholarships to play for other clubs. Which is really surprising NOT. Its really quite simple. Stop throwing money at these failed NRC comps, fund the clubs properly, even the playing field and stop thinking the GPS is going to save you because the FACTS are all your juniors are coming from Western Sydney. No one cares about Kurtley Beale, look at the FACTS.Penrith lost 7 1st grade players to Eastern Suburbs this year. Where were they when Penrith played them?IN RESERVE GRADE. That suggests to me that there is in fact an agenda to maintain the status quo. AFL and SOCCER have won the war in Western Sydney,APART FROM JIM HOOK,nobody even bothered to stop them. The only reason I want Penrith to succeed is because my father has given his life to this club. The only reason Jim Hook wants the club to stay in this joke of a competition is to give the community an option. Maybe that's the issue here we can see the big picture, not just the 3pm saturday afternoon lets pat ourselves on the back because we screwed Penrith again. But please Mr Macdonald feel free to come out to Penrith any time.Meet my father, and get the facts before you belittle the last forty years of my fathers life, and everything he cares about.
Bakkies
Guest
and brought in Super Rugby players from elsewhere so much so that some of them were playing second grade.
Bakkies
Guest
You can't give the Shute Shield clubs more money due to the sheer waste in the past.
MatthewSkellett
Guest
As long as the Private School noddie geniuses at ARU head office are ideologically wedded to the 'trickle down ' malarkey , this will be the inevitable end of ALL australian grass-roots rugby . The Private School lobby monopoly has to be excised root and branch for Australian Rugby to survive in the medium to long term . If the present Wallabies don't put in a good showing at the RWC this year the slide will accellerate and even a supposed ally in Mr Abbott isnt falling over himself giving the ARU money.
gburns
Guest
I beleive syd u started their winning at the colts level and built up a strong club culture from there. Winners like to stay with winners.
Bakkies
Guest
How many will end up playing for Penrith in the seniors and be good enough to compete against the stronger clubs?
Steve
Guest
Completely agree. Don't kick them out but start as they have said in the Juniors. They won the u17s state championships, bring them into colts and build the playing base with more Junior clubs. Rugby needs more players actually playing the game. Give them the support they need and over time they will come good
Steve
Guest
Your heads in the sand, the money is at Kentwell Cup level. Many clubs are still paying players. Pulver has no idea about club rugby and he thinks Joeys is all you need to produce players. It is sad about Penrith, it really is but now is not the time to start shrinking the completion. Time has come for some investment in Juniors and Clubs across the whole Sydney basin. We have 5 super rugby teams and lets face it most come from Sydney and Brisbane. The NRC is an expensive waste of money
gburns
Guest
Did anyone notice that penrith beat eastwood in colts 2 & 3? If you were to build a pyramid of success, wouldnt you start at the bottom!
jeznez
Roar Guru
Peter Kay (no relation to Roar poster PeterK) :D
jeznez
Roar Guru
Pulver has asked the clubs to stop playing players - I fully endorse the game at Shute level being amateur - let them go semi-pro at the NRC level and hopefully we'll see a levelling out of talent at the Shute level which would be great. Uni are still the smokey there - as long as they have what is in effect a single club NRC team they will have a draw at the Shute level that other clubs cannot match.
Midfielder
Guest
Sheek I hope you are wrong re the Convict Creations .... One thing I am reasonably sure of is you can reach a point when no body aside from those close care... Julia Gillard in the last six months in charge was not getting her message out nobody was listening more to teh point the noise around her was such that the noise was louder and had more attention paid than her message... I do wonder if Rugby is approaching this level when the noise around other codes and the nay sayers within Rugby are so loud that the new message cannot get out i.e. the NCR ... in the words of Pink Floyd is there anybody out there may be apt ...
clipper
Guest
Yes, it is a shame - don't think PI's and AFL are a natural fit - you think they would've worked that one out by now
Midfielder
Guest
Clipper You may find in WS many of the juniors that play rugby are from a PI background. The rep teams in particular have a high number of PI players. What happens is the AFL offer between 20 & 50 K to come across to an AFL special program . League is now paying as well but its a lessor amount and in some cases put out on SG Bull and Jersey Flegg RL teams with one of the four RL teams in WS... The history is many of the players chosen by the AFL don't make it and although good at Rugby they can't make it in AFL ... what it does indirectly do is keep these players away from Rugby ...
Gilbert
Guest
They only field 4 teams by the boys playing multiple games. This also adds to the high scores scored against them. They're union players although Im sure a lot would have league backgrounds. Some out of the box thinking and good administration are needed to help turn that club around if the ARU won't help out.
Rebel
Guest
Having been trough a rough trot a Souths several years back, copping quite a few hidings and backing up for multiple games in a day, I can assure that it is possible to get out of the mess. The club at the time had gotten into a bit of debt by overspending, so for a few years reduced it dramatically. This resulted in a lot of the mercenaries moving on to their next pay cheque. However, after balancing the books by good management and a few generous supporters who to this day do a great job supporting our club, Souths have moved from the depths of the table to have competed in 2 of the last 3 first grade grand finals, a colts grand final and won a second grade comp. We have developed and/or enhanced the prospects of a number of Wallaby and super reps in recent times including Rob Horne, Dan Palmer, Tetera Faulkner, Kane Douglas, the Timani brothers, Ita Vea, John Ulugia, Brackin Karauria-Henry, Grayson Heart and the Honey Badger. Souths have also really put a lot of emphasis in its juniors in recent times creating pathways through junior rep sides - colts - grade and beyond. We have had a number of schoolboy and under 20 reps as well. We are now recognised as one of the more stronger clubs in the comp. Again I must emphasise that this has been done by good management and great support. Get this in to Penrith and they too can prosper.
Junior Coach
Guest
Im impressed that Penrith are able to field four teams at this level, given their poor results in the past few years. So there is still some interest in western sydney, or are they all league players keeping a foot in both camps. Administrators need to step into both penrith and parra, and offer some level of support to these clubs. To be honest there is no point spending the millions on folau if there is not a dollar for dollar investment on development to maximise the leverage that marquee signing should achieve.
clipper
Guest
Midfielder - I would suspect it would relate to AFL, in Sydney, being a middle class game - at present mainly having a base in the east and north - therefore they would not have much luck in getting anyone from league (working class) and little chance for Football (all classes), but would have a happy hunting ground for Rugby, which is a great pity, as they are losing the PI folk who are a natural fit and would not get snapped up by AFL.