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Pally take on the students in all grades this weekend at Tompkins Park.
First and second grades play UWA and colts, thirds fifths and sixths take on Curtin.The first grade kick off is at 3.15 pm.
UWA has had a slow but improving start to the season, going down 31 to 10 against Kalamunda in the first round followed by a creditable 29 to 14 loss against Nedlands in the second.
Pally have won their first two games of the season against Soaks and Kalamunda by small margins, 15 to 10 and 18 to 13 respectively, though it must be said that Palmyra were unimpressive in both games, and appeared to only do what was necessary to win, without stepping up to that extra gear they showed they were capable of at times last season.
Pally have lost just two of last years team, their prop Walker who returned to Queensland and centre Eddie Pillelie who tranfered to Rockingham in search of better opportunities.They have recriuted well, with new additions including pedigree rugby names such as Tuquiri and Pelesasa (relax, cousins), Ratu, an Australian/ Fijian colossus, and a number of former Samoan and New Zealand Rep players. In fact, the club has so many new players from the South Pacific region that they formed a touch team over the summer, aptly calling themselves the Pallynesians!
With so many players new to the club the senior teams are taking time to find their combinations, despite an extensive pre season, and the lack of pre season matches has (in my view anyway) not helped develop team cohesion, hence the games to date have relied heavily on individual performances to secure wins. But things are improving week by week.
Expect a torrid encounter this week, with Uni anxious to keep in touch with the top four and Pally desperate to improve from their somewhat Jaded performances of the past two weeks.
The real game of the Tompkins park round however will be the repeat of last years sixth grade grand final between Pally and Curtin. I have it on good authority that the Pally Coach has his charges eating raw meat all week in preparation for what should be a gory bloodbath, just to prove last years win was not a fluke as has been uncharitably suggested by his enemies.