Panthers take out inaugural Luke Lewis Cup 2024
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
Penrith have had some superstar players over the years since their entry to NSWRL in 1967 such as Tim Sheens , Mike Stephenson , Royce Simmons , Greg Alexander , Brad Fittler , Craig Gower . The list is long , but Luke Lewis is a man who was a Blacktown City junior and premiership with the Panthers in 2003 .
In 2013 Gus Gould decided to move Luke on and he went to Cronulla where he finished his esteemed career in 2018 picking up another Premiership with the Sharks back in 2016 , he also won the Clive Churchill Medal for player of the grand final . I remember that match because I watched it from the Cattleman ’ s Hotel up in Glen Innes at a family hoedown .
So , it ’ s only fitting that a player who gave his whole life as a rugby league player to the Panthers and the Sharks should have a trophy named after him for the winner of a competition between the best A grade rugby league players from the Cronulla
Panthers celebrate their first try . Credit : Panthers Juniors .
Junior District Rugby League and Panthers Junior Rugby League .
The inaugural competition kicked off this year at Corea Park near Sylvania at the home of Gymea Gorillas junior rugby league club . The match coordinators , including Panthers Junior General Manager Blake South , were wondering if the game would actually happen with the torrential rain leading up to the game .
It was a great spectacle of high-quality local rugby league that was livestreamed on Bar TV , and I had the privilege of being one of two inaugural commentators for the event which saw the best Panthers junior A graders take on the Sharks best junior A graders .
The Panthers side started off with a bang with a try to Emu Plains second rower and try scoring machine Alex Myles who took his season tally from seven tries to eight with the first try of the game .
The Panthers started to skip into form quickly with Emu Plains ’ Isaac Thompson dropping bombs across the field with pinpoint accuracy , and Windsor Wolves ’ Tori Willie was causing havoc at 5 / 8th and had his kicking boots on slotting them away despite the wet and windy conditions . Further tries in the first half from Colyton ’ s star fullback Jessie Poulsen and Cambridge Park enforcer Henry Tuiafiso helped the Panthers extend their lead and take control of the match .
The Sharks didn ’ t want to roll over on their home turf though to the westies and rolled up their sleeves before half time which saw Marco Tetavana and Callum Tatauha pick up tries to get them back into
Panthers ’ boys celebrating with the Luke Lewis Cup . Credit : Panthers Juniors .
the match . It didn ’ t take long in the second half though for the Panthers to flex their muscle , with Connor Mason from Windsor Wolves run under the posts and score a try from a nice little off the hip pop pass from Isaac Thompson again . The Panthers finished off with two more tries to supersub-Aiden Ryan from Windsor Wolves picking up a double after coming on the field as a utility and eventually replacing Colyton ’ s James Ross who suffered a facial injury in a big tackle late in the first half .
Everyone for the Panthers got a decent run on the park and there were several big performances , including that of Emu Plains prop and captain of the team Thomas
Romer , who was hoping to get on the score sheet but didn ’ t . From where I was commentating the player of the match would have gone to Alex Myles , who got through a tonne of work on the field and scored another try in what has been a sterling season for the Emu Plains man .
It was a brilliant overall performance by the Panthers and Chief Executive Darren Whitby was very happy that the team were bringing the spectacular trophy home to the foot of the mountains .
The Luke Lewis Cup will be one of the big-ticket rugby league events every year and hopefully the Panthers hold on to the trophy .
Phil Birdman Picasso – wrestling his way to the top
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
It ’ s pretty easy to see the superstars of wrestling on your TV screens , thinking The Rock , John Cena , Hulk Hogan and Brock Lesnar . World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) revolutionised wrestling and getting it onto your home television screen and they pull massive crowds everywhere they go in the US and around the world .
But did you know that Australian wrestling has its own presence and has been around since the early 1900 ’ s ? In the 1960s and 70s World Championship Wrestling Australia had a TV deal with Channel 9 and was attracting crowds of 2000 – 9000 every single week .
Players were big ticket Aussie wrestlers for the diehards , such as Killer Kowalski , Mario Milano , Bruno Sammartino and Gorilla Monsoon were all involved , but by 1978 it was to be no more . It was in this wrestling scene that Phil Birdman Picasso got the
Tony Sin , APW Champion .
taste for wrestling . He watched his idols tear it up when his father used to take him to the Sydney Showground and Flemington Markets and followed Mario Milano , the massive unit Bruiser Body who was 6 ’ 8 ” tall and 300lbs or 2.03m and 136kg in metric . His favourite wrestling idol of all Brute Bernard .
Birdman has been wrestling since the 90s and when I asked how he picked up his monicker he said he has a big eagle on his chest and one wrestler made fun of it , so he went out in the ring , outperformed him and took him to town the old school wrestling way .
Before Birdman he was the Aussie King of Biffo . The Birdman is an old school wrestler and knows where it ’ s at . He gives the crowd and wrestling fans what they want to see , matches that don ’ t always go to the script and change on a dime depending on the crowds ’ needs . As the Birdman says , “ the script is just a guide in wrestling , you need to entertain the crowd and give them what they want .”
Phil or the Birdman , started up his wrestling company Australian Pro Wrestling ( APW ) because he was tired of getting ripped off . He looks after his wrestlers and has a good group of people working with him . He pays his wrestlers and makes sure they all get a chance to show what they can do .
His own breakthrough year was in 1999 and in the early 2000s he did some taping for Aurora TV with the late Mario Milano who mentored the Birdman . He started wrestling with All Star wrestling in the mid-90s and learnt a lot from Andy Animal Harpas .
Birdman said his company , APW , is there to give old blokes a second chance and new guys a start in wrestling . He could have gone further in the early 2000s but put his family first . He does all of his own posters , promotions , books and pays wrestlers as well as ticketing . It ’ s a big operation when you ’ re a one-man band . All worth it though , when you talk to Phil you can hear his passion and love for the sport ; he wants to see his wrestlers entertain the crowd not bust people up .
Currently he has some good wrestlers on the books such as Teacher Teacher Gibbs , Tony Sin , Doof Slayer ( Tasmanian
Phil Birdman Picasso .
Championship Wrestling Northern ESK champion ) and QLD Bruiser to name a few .
He says he has the best workers and part of this is because the wrestling is unscripted and just goes with the flow of the crowd and show . He likes the wrestlers come to wrestle and bring their belts , merchandise and championship titles and fans .
Phil is hoping to break into the club scene and get his own club , he wants to put on the best show in Australia .
You can catch APW on 20th July Bexley Manor Hall . Make sure you check it out !
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 170 // JULY 2024 37