The Penrith Emus will make their long-awaited comeback this Saturday afternoon at Nepean Rugby Park, but their return to the big stage hasn’t been without some late drama.
Late last month the club was advised that head coach Daine Walker had quit his post due to personal reasons unrelated to rugby.
The significant news then saw a reshuffle, with former player and second grade coach John Wickenden stepping up to lead the side with Adam Caruana his assistant.
Speaking with the Weekender, Penrith Emus President Adam Fletcher said losing a coach mere weeks out from the season wasn’t ideal, but he fully supported Walker’s decision to depart.
“Due to the nature of his personal circumstances, the players were all supportive of it too and they were really liking what John was bringing to the training sessions, so it was a fait accompli – it was the logical step,” Fletcher said.
“John’s played at the Blue Mountains and over at Eastwood, he was a good player and we could see that in his coaching.
“He’s very much a player’s coach; in-fact the boys really wanted him to play with them this year as well. He still keeps very fit!”
After close to two years in the wilderness, the Emus will return to the paddock this Saturday when they play Merrylands in Division 6 of the NSW Suburban Rugby Union competition.
From this weekend until the Grand Final in September, the Emus will battle it out against eight other teams for the coveted Meldrum Cup. As they were only fielding one full-time team this season, Penrith were placed into the highly competitive Division 6.
“We had 100 people say they would play for us this season, but it really came down to visible players that we were seeing regularly at training, who were fit to play, and who were also buying in,” Fletcher said.
“We decided to keep the circle small and we’ll look at the possibility of adding more teams the following season.
“There’s some really strong teams in Division 6, like Blacktown, Merrylands, North Cronulla, Manly and Georges River.”
Prior to this Saturday’s clash against Merrylands at 3.15pm, the Emus will hold a small function at Nepean Rugby Park from 1pm for anyone wanting to celebrate the historic return.
With fine weather forecast and more than 12 months of planning in the books, Fletcher is excited to finally get things going.
“Everyone is really excited for it! There’s lots of people coming near and far who used to play for the club,” he said.
“We’ll have the famous Emu burger for sale, sausage sandwiches, plus the canteen and bar will also be running.”
Entry to this weekend’s season opener is free.
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.