Under 7’s - It was a freezing 6 degrees when the mighty under 7’s took the field for their first game against Leeton on Sunday morning.

Charlotte Reid donned the Guernsey for the first time this year and managed to score within the first 4 minutes of the game.

Harry Robinson defended well on the wing and saved a few tries before scoring one himself late in the 1st half. Hamish Gibson zig zagged through the Leeton defence numerous times and was also rewarded with a sneaky try in the corner. Hugh Nowlan, Noah Griffin and Alex Lebroque also ran the ball up well and defended the phantoms. 

They then played against the home side wagga with charlotte Reid again running in for a try in the corner. Hugh Nowlan and Max Reid also scored a try each as well as Noah griffin getting 2 on the board. Harry Robinson, Max Reid and Hamish Gibson were instrumental in defence considering the poor little fella’s had no circulation in their fingers!! Thanks to coach brad for standing out in the sleeting rain with the team (pictured).

Panther Cubs Under 11s pounce on Leeton in freezing conditions  – local lads teamed with their Temora counterparts to take on not only the opposing teams but hideous weather conditions at the Wagga Gala day. 

The team to take the field for the first game against Leeton were:  Temora imports for this season Lachlan Dunstan, Waisea Tudulu,  Josh McGregor, Conlan West and Will Matthews, Grenfell boys George Mitton, Riley Cartwright, Mac Bucknell, Josh Smith, Cobie Eppelstun and Angus Kelly.

Through the fog, sleet and wind the rugged-up supporters of the team watched in awe as they carved up the opposition.

The first try came straight from the kick-off with Lachie going over after great attacking play from Waisea. Mac and Angus dominated through this passage of play and combined more than once to be rewarded with two tries each at this point of the game.

The panther cubs showed great skills in desperate weather conditions. Josh McGregor getting his first try of the game from a stolen ball, George had an impact on the game through some strong runs straight through the opposing defence and securing his first try of the game. Will against the run of play created an opportunity and Grenfell were in again.

The boys were racking up the points – whilst the supporters were dreaming of warm fireplaces. Leeton were low on numbers and appreciated the support of some Grenfell boys who swapped over at half time – thanks to those players for your sportsmanship.

The second half changes didn’t assist the impact Leeton were having on the game at all and although they had on loan some of Grenfell’s sometimes dominant players eg Waisea and Conlan - the Grenfell squad played solid football to maintain their lead.

A highlight of the second half was newcomer Cobie’s great pass, after securing the ball from a walking mall, he put George through a gap for an easy try

 Josh Smith ran the field to get his first try of the game after some fancy foot work. Will introduced kicking into the attack which added more excitement to the game - also encouraging spectators to move around to keep warm.

Riley is strong and mobile on the field and with Angus played a good game when defence was required shutting the opposition down for only 1 try for the  game, in answer to Grenfell’s 16 - final score Grenfell  80 Leeton 5. 

The boys had a break before the next game which was detrimental to their game preparation - some were to breaking point because of the cold and wet and the coaching staff was tested in their coercion skills as they assured the players they would warm up if they just ran around. 

Albury were strong when Grenfell last met them and they proved no different on this occasion. Although the boys worked hard in defence they couldn’t keep a couple of early run away tries.

Grenfell were forced to play catch-up footy. Will joined the game late as we were putting pressure on Leeton’s try line but was unable to put the ball down.

Albury started the second half stamping their authority on the game with a quick try. A highlight of the game again was the kicking game, the team are starting to think about position and follow through together hence a more strategic game developing as a result. 

A passage of play that roused the spectators spirits was when Angus kicked through after taking the ball from the back of a mall, Josh McGregor followed through at a rapid pace, tackled the player who had retrieved the ball Angus collected the lost ball and passed to Josh again for a try to Grenfell.

Albury replied with a couple of soft tries but Grenfell rallied and in the second half played great football, great attacking play, cleaning out, and solid teamwork.

Two tries one to Josh and a strong running try to George came from this work. But of course Albury fired up and went in for another try on the hooter. Albury 30 Grenfell 15. 

A big thankyou to the supporters and Coach Peter Mitton - but the biggest accolade to the boys who were strong and determined in shocking conditions.

U13’s Rugby – Conditions at Connelly Park Wagga were bleak last Sunday and more conducive to polar bears and penguins than junior rugby. Nevertheless thirteen fearless panthers braved the elements and soldiered on in a gritty display. Our ranks were depleted with five regulars unavailable due to illness or injury. Grenfell’s team: Forwards: Josh LeBroque, Angus Brown, Jai Purdie, William Bucknell, Tom Penfold, Fletcher Taylor .Backs:  Stirling Taylor, Frazer Ryder ,Rhys Martens, Jack Knight, Zac Simpson, Tom Robinson, Matthew Gault.

First game against Cootamundra was a great match, and really good to watch despite the atrocious conditions. The Grenfell forwards controlled the ball exceptionally well, with the front row of Jai, Angus and Josh running straight and hard to keep Coota back peddling. Will and Tom were defending and cleaning out the ruck area feverishly to provide plenty of clean ball. Josh was like a wrecking ball crashing into the Coota defensive line, and showed great leg drive and body height to gain big inroads with every carry.

Our first try came from no.8 Fletcher Zinzan Brooke who took the ball from the back of the scrum 30m out, threw a dummy then stepped inside before putting a great fend on the fullback and barged over. Fletch went on to have a cracking game, tackling like a demon and seemed to be on every loose ball. 

Whilst it was a tough day at the office for outside backs, Zac Simpson and Jack Knight made the most of their opportunities but I think Jack would have rathered be checking out the inventory at Riverina Kenworth than shivering like a brass monkey in the arctic temps.

The combination of 9,10 and 12 Stirl,Frazer and Rhys were defending well and maintained an impenetrable backline. Rhys crossed for two tries in the first half, and set one up for Matty Gault who was backing up in support.

Matt had his best game this year making some powerful runs from the left wing, defended well and kicked a couple of conversions. Coota’s classy inside centre was heavily marked by Frazer Ryder who’s head on defence is flawless, Frazer shut down several Coota set pieces which allowed us to go to halftime with a handy lead.

The tempo changed in the second half as Coota ran on three new recruits, which really lifted them. They put on three excellent tries in quick succession and it was game on.

The Grenfell forwards led by Jai Purdie’s defence lifted a notch, whilst some great counter attack and cover defence from fullback Tom Robinson was a feature. Rhys Martens answered the call for the team and combined well with Frazer to score a scorching try to put as back in front.

It was Rhys again who showed all the skills to step through four defenders and outpace the cover to score the gamebreaker. Frazer converted both tries culminating in a solid 38-24 win to the panthers.

Our second game was against Wagga, who confirmed they are definite premiership contenders when at full strength.

The return of their Brumbies reps who would gain no benefit from HGH and a full playing roster contributed to a formidable performance on their behalf.

Our boys had burnt up all their energy in the first game and looked a beaten side from the start, and sitting around in wet muddy clothes waiting for the second game had taken its toll.Wagga had done their homework on our chief attacking weapon and were applying enormous defensive pressure on Rhys, marking him very well and restricting him to our only try of the match. Rhys had to get through a lot of defence especially after Frazer left the field early with injury, and certainly saved several tries from being scored. 

Wagga were simply too good for us in this game and won comfortably 49-7. The highlight of Grenfell’s game was the courageous tackling and enthusiasm of our captain Stirling, who despite his size continually mowed down much bigger opponents and led by example.