With an assortment of new coaches at the helm and some fresh and returning faces on the pitch, Penrith Cricket Club is determined to make everyone proud this summer as the new NSW Premier Cricket season gets underway.
Following the departure of Andrew Lamb last season and a subsequent restructure, Penrith will now be guided by club stalwart Warren Buttigieg and former second grade captain Shannon Finemore.
Buttigieg, who has been involved with Penrith Cricket Club since 1991, said he’s looking forward to his new role as head coach.
“I played at the club for a long time. I’m a Life Member. I’ve been an assistant coach for a number of years now and worked closely with the development squads. I’ve now stepped up into this role, and it’s been great so far,” he told the Weekender this week.
Finemore, who is Penrith’s new first grade coach, retired from playing four years ago and is very well connected to the club’s talented crop of juniors.
“I always had an eye on life after playing and I’ve always just loved coaching,” he told the Weekender.
“I thought I was a good cricketer but I always thought I’d be a better coach. My aspiration was to be the first grade coach and work towards that. It’s come a bit quicker than I originally anticipated.”
Over the past few seasons, Penrith’s first grade team has struggled, particularly in the Belvidere Cup which they last won back in 2018/19.
Buttigieg said he and Finemore have been using the recent pre-season to restore the culture at Penrith and get back to their winning ways.
“This year, we’re moving forward with a different mindset,” he said.
“Our plan is to change the culture of the place and really move towards that club-first mentality, which we’ve been instilling in the group for the last nine weeks of pre-season.”
In terms of playing personnel, Penrith has lost a number of big names with Brent Williams and Luke Hodges Fairfield-bound, Ryan Fletcher off to Hawkesbury, Jake Scott to Campbelltown and Ben Roughan to Sydney.
Returning to the club are local juniors Ryan Freeman and Jordan Browne, while the experienced Ryan Gibson will remain as skipper.
“We want to thank Brent, Luke and Ryan in particular as local juniors and who were part of the 2018/19 Belvidere Cup-winning side. We wish them all the best for the future,” Buttigieg said.
While the Belvidere Cup doesn’t get underway until October 5, Penrith’s first grade team will kick off their season this Saturday when they play Sydney in the opening round of the Kingsgrove Sports T20 Cup at Merrylands Park.
Finemore said many outsiders will doubt Penrith’s chances of challenging for a title this season, but he’s confident his troops can be the surprise packets of the competition.
“I think people will write us off. They’ll look at the blokes we’ve lost but I’m still confident in the players that we have and the experience that we have,” Finemore said.
“I’d like to see us in the Finals race but it is going to be a bit of a rebuild year… we may be diamonds one week and rocks the next, but I’m fully prepared for that and definitely think we’ll be competitive.”
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.