Aussie Pro Rugby
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Penrith Emus to be booted out of Shute Shield
Adam Lucius and Brendan Bradford
Updated at 4:27 a.m. ETAfter 23 years in the Shute Shield, the Penrith Emus are officially extinct.
As revealed by Sporting News in February, the Sydney Rugby Union gave the struggling western Sydney club four weeks to show they deserve a place in the competition, but the club failed to meet a number of key criteria.
After being belted 87-5 by premiers Warringah on Saturday - Penrith’s fourth heavy loss in as many weeks - the axe will fall on Monday.
It's understood the SRU's decision has the full backing of the NSWRU.
The Emus have win just won game in four years and are regularly on the wrong end of cricket score hidings.
They were beaten 62-7 by Souths in round one, 97-0 by Uni in round two and 43-10 by Gordon in week three.
Penrith's lower grades also regularly received thrashings and there were concerns over the number of players forced to back-up due to the lack of depth across the grades.
Games already played against Penrith - and those scheduled fore the rest of the season - will be officially recorded as 28-0 bonus point victories to their opposition.
When contacted on Sunday evening, Emus president Jim Hook said he was being left in the dark about what was happening.
"I know nothing about it," he told Sporting News.
"I know nothing more than what's out there. They (the SRU) could have a meeting this week, I don't know.
"It would be a pretty horrific decision if they went negative. It's not just Penrith, it's the development of the game in Western Sydney.
"We've been set some KPIs in terms of fielding teams, and we felt we've been meeting them."
Earlier in the week, when asked about constant speculation that Penrith could be axed, Hook said the club had received next to no support from any of the game's governing bodies.
“I can tell you that Penrith are under extreme pressure and are working really hard to develop rugby in Western Sydney,” Hook told Sporting News.
“At the moment we’re seeking support from Rugby Australia, New South Wales and the Sydney Rugby Union, because we believe that the two million people in Western Sydney deserve to have a rugby team to represent all the population.
“We’ve had no support, we’ve had to survive on a shoestring.
"The problem is that as amateurs, the reality is that people move on.
"It’s a tough environment as a coach and as an administrator, and without any real assistance."
Emus coach, Peter Niumata - who took over the reins from former Wallaby Julian Huxley this year - said rumours of the club's demise had been swirling for years.
"We're aware of it, but all of that is external noise," he told Sporting News.
"If you let it get to you, it becomes an internal mess. At this stage, we're a happy group, believe it or not.
"I've been around Penrith for the last 10 or 12 years and when the previous coach quit, word went round and got back to me. I live out in Penrith, and I'm happy to do it.
"Every club has its own challenges, but any coaching opportunity I get is a privilege."
The Emus entered the Shute Shield in 1995 with high hopes the club would become a powerhouse.
But that never really materalised - and the SRU felt it has no option but to cull the club and start again with a new plan for rugby in Sydney's west.
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Brilliant decision by Sydney Rugby Union and NSWRU. And by extension the ARU. Western Sydney is a wasteland devoid of any sporting pretensions or talent. Despite decades of ignoring the area, the management of the game has seen absolutely no return on the investment they're yet to devote. Neither the ARU nor NSWRU should bother considering wasting anymore nonexistent resources in the area.
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@booboo reckon they were in the middle of revising "just one win" when they had the editor say "post the fucken thing now!"
@antipodean said in Aussie Rugby in general:
Brilliant decision by Sydney Rugby Union and NSWRU. And by extension the ARU. Western Sydney is a wasteland devoid of any sporting pretensions or talent. Despite decades of ignoring the area, the management of the game has seen absolutely no return on the investment they're yet to devote. Neither the ARU nor NSWRU should bother considering wasting anymore nonexistent resources in the area.
Best thing they ever did was installing that magnet, powered by money, that silently graduates talent under the age of 23 eastward
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I'm actually pro this decision, provided they create something in Penrith's place.
Whilst people will blame RA/NSWRU for this, I've had a few dealings with Penrith over the years and they are horribly run club. How do you try and help a club that won't help itself?
Giving them the arse could be the best thing for them.
If this is our 'presence' in Western Sydney, then what's the point? They've been horrible for at least 20 years. Let's actually try and build something meaningful at UWS.
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@barbarian and i tend to agree. I've heard bad things about the back office, and the playing squad and coaching appointments are a rotating door. The thing is, you can't sustain players getting belted every week by 50+ for that long. Last year at our club we didn't have a human tryscorer until Round 4, and we were shipping point-a-minute most weeks.
This week we've still had some hammerings but not by as much as Penrith are copping.
Pete Niumata actually played a season with us in 2010 with some of his mates. Then next year they all took off to Penrith to get slammed.
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@barbarian said in Aussie Rugby in general:
Phipps punishment should be a full public apology made to the media... while wearing the cow suit.
Whanger in or out?
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@catogrande do you need to ask?
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@nta said in Aussie Rugby in general:
@catogrande do you need to ask?
It's down to cultural differences I think. Cow suits and pissing is not really a thing up here. Now if you're talking future Prime Ministers sticking their cocks into a dead pig's mouth, well that's different.
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