Undermanned Emus Back To Square One
by Paul Cook -
Teki Tuipulotu knew he was taking on a difficult challenge when he walked back through the gates at Nepean Rugby Park two and a half years ago to take charge at Penrith.
The Tongan World Cup star was returning to his former side to give something back to a club and a community that is very close to his heart. He didn’t just want to return the Emus to a viable position of sustainability, he had longer term visions of taking them back towards the finals football they so nearly achieved under Scott Johnson back in 1999.
A predictably tough first year at the helm saw zero wins but plenty of ticker, but an influx of talented ‘leaguies’ in the 2014 pre-season paid dividends as Penrith went on to play some of the best footy seen at the foot of the mountains in many a year. They averaged 26pts a game to earn two precious wins that could/should have been six or seven but still left a solid platform from which to build on this season.
However, attracting a group of t