Pictured are the Penrith Panthers Development Squad with the 14-15s boys who came from Forbes, Condobo-lin, Mudgee and other areas for the April Skills clinic held at Spooner oval in Forbes.
The 2024 Penrith Panthers Western CUB’s Skill Development was held in Forbes on Monday the 15th of April. It was open to all eligible tackle players who wanted to improve and learn more rugby league skills which was run by Penrith Panthers Pathway coaches as well as local coaching staff.
We spoke to Sam Jones who is the Penrith Panthers Development Manager, he went on to speak very passionately about why the clinic has become so important, “Over 10 years ago we started with a Bathurst clinic for one night, it built on from there to multiple nights, and then around three years ago we added the other two regional centers which are Dubbo and Forbes.
“In the April school holidays we do the round trip across the three centras running clinics for 14-15 boys and 14-16 girls. The clinics are open to anyone registered to a junior club who lives in Bathurst, Dubbo, Forbes or the surrounding areas.It’s not so much a holiday clinic, it’s an elite football, Rugby League clinic with all the skills and drills and even shirts provided. The clinic has been a few years in the making now and it’s great to see it expanding.
“Registrations this year were good compared to last year, especially the girls which is great as it is a growing space. It’s always good to get out in these areas, we’ve got plenty down our junior systems from the west making a name for themselves in the next 5-6 years, and there will be more and more coming, it;s a big part of why we come up here but the other reason is to make sure the junior league and the players are thriving and giving them as many tools and resources as we can, all of the gear that we bring along to the clinics stays with the local clubs everywhere we go.
“It’s very simple to send programs to areas, but having a presence and exposure, thats what the people want and it’s what the kids want and it;s what we love to do.”
