Around The Grounds

NETBALL: Despite terrible weather that saw the majority of games cancelled, the Penrith Netball winter season officially got underway last Saturday morning. To celebrate the start of the new season, clubs from all over the association took part in the annual March Past event. Jamison Park Netball Complex was a sea of colour, with Cambridge Park Netball Club winning the inaugural Jan Jackson March Past Trophy.

Round 5 of the Netball NSW Premier League Opens competition. Meanwhile, it wasn’t good news for the Panthers U23’s team, who were stung by the Stingrays 43-41. Both teams will have the bye in Round 6.

NETBALL: Giants Netball have lost two in a row, going down to the NSW Swifts 67-64 in Round 7 of the Super Netball competition. The Giants held the lead for much of the game before the Swifts took control in the fourth quarter to claim the Carole Sykes Memorial Trophy. The Giants will look to avoid three straight losses when they take on Adelaide at Ken Rosewall Arena this Saturday night.

“I’m going to keep training and doing strength and conditioning with my physio, so I can hopefully get my times down,” she said.

“I haven’t done a lot of training before – up until now, I’ve just been winging it.

“I’ll be doing more in the off-season though because now I’m trying to focus more on athletics rather than cross country.”

Layla said she couldn’t imagine being so successful at such a young age without the help of her many sponsors.

“First and foremost Varitey The Children’s Charity have helped me with financial support, the many teachers at Emmaus Catholic College, Cheryl from Stryke Fit for my comfortable athletics gear, Blair at Lite Spikes for my spikes, my physio Matt at OnePoint Health, Dan and Damien at Elders Real Estate and the RunCrew squad,” she said.

RUGBY UNION: The Penrith Emus have endured their third consecutive loss to open the season, going down to the Uni-North Owls 64-10 in Round 3 of the John I Dent Cup. The Emus will return to Nepean Rugby Park this Saturday to face the Wests Lions.

BASKETBALL: Penrith’s women’s team have suffered back-to-back defeats, belted by the Albury-Wodonga Bandits 86-68 in Round 7 of the NBL1 East competition. For the third straight week, Meg Jefferson led the way for the Panthers with 23 points and five rebounds. Meanwhile, Penrith’s men’s team have secured back-to-back victories, narrowly overcoming the Bandits 81-80. Brodie Schwarzer was a beast for Penrith, racking up 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals in the victory. Both teams will take on the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Spiders this Saturday in Penrith.

NETBALL: Panthers Netball have defeated the Sutherland Stingrays 42-38 in

AFL: The Penrith Rams have suffered three consecutive defeats, smashed by the South West Sydney Blues 59-21 in Round 4 of the AFL Sydney Platinum Division competition. It was a rough afternoon for the Rams, who only managed to boot two goals in the contest. Penrith will hope to bounce back when they verse Macquarie University at Greygums Oval on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Penrith Ramettes celebrated a huge win over the Inner West Magpies 78-2 in Round 4 of the AFL Sydney Women’s Division Two competition. The Ramettes will aim for consecutive wins when they take on Randwick City on Saturday morning.

AFL: The GWS Giants have pulled off one of their best victories in years, defeating the Sydney Swans 107-106 in Round 7 of the AFL competition. In an enthralling Sydney Derby, the Giants trailed by 24 points early in the final quarter and then kicked the final four goals of the game to win by a point. The Giants will look to secure back-to-back victories when they battle the Western Bulldogs in Canberra on Saturday night.