All stars in action

Talented locals to play American team in exhibition match

NATHAN TAYLOR

If you can’t get enough of female football on the back of the Matildas’ success at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, a special exhibition match involving the best female talent the Nepean region has to offer will be played tonight (Friday, August 18) at Cook Park, St Marys.

For the first time ever, the Nepean Football Association All Stars will be taking on SoCal Select, a women’s team from Southern California in the United States.

SoCal Select are currently in the country to play friendly matches against top Australian clubs, including Nepean, as well as to catch all the action of the Women’s World Cup live. Speaking with the Weekender, Female Football Director at Nepean Football Association, Stacey Fanella, said the All Stars team was made up of players from Nepean’s Ruby League competition.

“The Ruby League is the Premier league for female football in the Nepean,” she said.

“These players were nominated by their club coaches and we assembled the All Stars team from there.

“We are basically showcasing the best of the best players in female football within the Nepean region.”

With the Matildas doing amazing things at the Women’s World Cup, Friday night’s game between the Aussies and the Americans is expected to generate plenty of interest among local football fans.

Fanella said the team had been training well ahead of the one-off match.

“We all have had the benefit of playing against or with each other during the season, so we’re all not complete strangers,” she said.

“While SoCal have enjoyed five months together training and playing multiple games, I’m confident we’ll do well on home turf.

“The girls are all on a big high from the Matildas at the World Cup at the moment, so

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RUGBY UNION: The Penrith RSL Junior Rugby Union Club are on the hunt for an identity next season in the form of a club mascot. The club recently put a call-out on Facebook for the local community to suggest mascot names for the 2024 season and beyond. “Think about our club values and what that means. How can we represent our values, our area and our vision in a club mascot,” the club posted on Facebook. Suggestions to come through already include the Penrith Patriots, Penrith Soldiers and Penrith Poppies. To have your say on Penrith RSL’s new name, visit https:// shorturl.at/gnyK7.

Title Dream A Step Closer

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Strong leadership is the mark of a successful team and White couldn’t have been more complimentary when speaking about his skipper Lauren Russell.

“Our captain was massive. Lauren had a really good off-season, she got very fit and sets a very high standard both on and off the park.,” he said.

“We did lose some quality players but, to be honest, our leader and step-in vice-captain have been the difference. They are so fit and run all day. They’ve bonded this team like nothing else… it’s been fantastic.”

White will be looking at his leaders as well as the rest of the Ramettes to put in a massive performance this weekend to avoid elimination and advance to the next stage of the competition.

I think it’s fantastic to promote female football and its perfect timing with the Women’s World Cup happening also.”

Football fans are invited to attend the match on Friday night, which kicks off at 7pm at Cook Park in St Marys.

Fanella said she would love to see the place packed with supporters to show their love of the sport.

“This is the first time we’ve had an All Stars team for female football and I’d love to see a lot of support down there,” she said.

“Hopefully we can get a few people to Cook Park to cheer us on and enjoy watching female football being celebrated.”

After the Ramettes knocked off the South West Sydney Blues 29-20 in the final round last weekend, White said the team are primed for the upcoming post-season.

“We had a tough game last Saturday at Greygums. We weren’t at our best, but we certainly found a way to grit and grind out a win, which is more important than blowing away a team coming into the Finals,” he said.

“Despite some niggling injuries, we’ve got a full squad going into the weekend, so we give ourselves a very good chance of getting through this one.”

The first bounce is at 1pm.

AFL: The GWS Giants have lost backto-back games, walloped by Port Adelaide 136-85 in Round 22 of the AFL competition. The Giants, who up until last week notched up a club record seven straight wins, are now out of the top eight and sitting in 10th place with two games of the regular season remaining. The Giants host Essendon in a must-win clash on Saturday afternoon before an away encounter against Carlton in the final round.

AFL: The Penrith Rams have come close to winning their final game of the season, going down to the Parramatta Goannas 68-63 in Round 18 of the AFL Sydney Platinum Division competition. The Rams were down by 26 points at the half-time break before staging a remarkable comeback to just fall short of victory by five points. Rams star Mitchell Stevens scored a team-high four goals in the defeat. It wasn’t a pretty season for the Rams who lost their new coach early on. They finished sixth overall with a six win and 11 loss record.

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BMX: Penrith BMX stars and Australian representatives Jobe Degnan and Sandy Cameron (pictured) recently competed in Glasgow, Scotland at the BMX World Championships. Up against the best young riders in the world, Jobe finished sixth in the 10 Boys 1/8 Finals for Motos and sixth in the quarter finals of the 8-12 Cruiser Boys. Meanwhile, Cameron finished fifth in the quarter final of the women’s 40+ cruiser category. Well done to both riders!

FOOTBALL: Western Sydney Wanderers debutant Lachlan Brook guided his side to a monster 6-1 win over WA’s Floreat Athena in their Round of 32 clash Australian Cup clash last week. The 22-year-old became the first player in the modern era of the tournament to score five goals in an Australia Cup Final Rounds match. Following their huge victory, the Wanderers now advance to the Round of 16 where they’ll play Adelaide United later this month.

To make a submission to Around The Grounds, email Nathan@westernweekender. com.au. You can also private message us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/westernweekender or Tweet us @wwpenrith.

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