The Penrith Emus coach is about to dive head first into the unknown. Changes to the opposition mean even the 80 minutes of footage from his their last game isn't worth too much stock.

But this is a challenge Patea loves, because if nothing else, it means club rugby is still alive in Penrith.

The Emus' search for a maiden John I Dent Cup win goes on after falling to the Queanbeyan Whites 35-10 at Nepean Rugby Park on Saturday.

Penrith are two games into their first season as part of the ACT club rugby scene following an unceremonious exit from the Shute Shield last year.

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The power struggle likened to a battle between the Fibros and Silvertails marked the second time they'd been booted from the Sydney competition in three years. As Penrith club president Gary McColl puts it, "if we didn't do this, we'd be dead".

"Penrith isn't really a subbie club. Coming out of Shute Shield, I don't know what happened there but I've got the job now as head coach," Patea said.

"We just want to concentrate on where we are at the moment, try to compete and win games in the ACT comp. Results are important for us. We don't want to just compete, we're after wins.

"Everyone is more than happy, everyone is excited, especially our colts boys coming through knowing there is a pathway for them now playing at Penrith and playing the game. It's pretty exciting.

"We've got a mixture of some old Emus boys, we've got a really good bunch of kids in the colts. They've come up now and the colts coach is going to have some good boys in there.

"It's exciting and nervous at the same time. It's our first time in the Brumbies comp so we don't know what to expect from our opposition, but we just wanted to play good footy and make sure everybody enjoys the game. I think the boys did a good job of it."

Penrith play an physical and uncompromising brand of football. A 25-point margin makes it look like something of a cakewalk for Queanbeyan, but coach Sam French says it was anything but.

"This week there had been so much adversity. We lost Davea Teoteo to illness leading into the game. I had to make a bit of a shuffle with Micky Rademaker also doing his ACL, Todd McManus was due for eye surgery so the team was up in the air," French said.

"We manged to select a strong XV and then in the warm-up we lost someone. I've had to go and pinch one of the boys from second grade, Ben O'Halloran, to run on and start on the wing and move everyone around, and they just got on with it.

"Toby Alleyn is one of those guys, he's one of the most-liked guys at the club. He's played a lot of third grade, he's been doing a job in second grade and stuck it out on the bench today to make his debut for us.

"Let me tell you, making your debut in Penrith against the Penrith Emus is no easy feat. They're a very physical side and I'm sure he wasn't overly happy when his name got called but that's what we're building here, people just respond when they're asked. That's what our club is going to be built on."

AT A GLANCE

John I Dent Cup round two: QUEANBEYAN WHITES 35 (Zane Marolt, Harry BUckley, Oliver Efkarpidis, Nathan Carroll, Ben O'Halloran tries; Carroll 2 conversions; Carroll 2 penalties) bt PENRITH EMUS 10 (Maka Fainga'a try; Kyle Brown conversion; Brown penalty) at Nepean Rugby Park.

CANBERRA ROYALS 27 (Harry Quinlan 2, Connal McInerney, James Bodman tries; Name withheld 2 converisons; Name withheld penalty) bt TUGGERANONG VIKINGS 17 (Rod Iona, Trai Henderson tries; Iona 2 conversions; Iona penalty) at Viking Park.

UNI-NORTHS OWLS 39 (Charlie Cale, Hamish Dawson, Angus Blackmore, Ignacio Bonsembiante, name withheld trues; Jordan Thompson 4 conversions; Thompson 2 penalties) bt WESTS LIONS 17 (Declan Meredith, Lachie Albert, Leon Bongare tries; Meredith conversion) at ANU North Oval.

Premier XVs round two: PENRITH EMUS 24 (Moana Finau Alatini, 3 name withheld tries) bt QUEANBEYAN WHITES 5 (Sisilia Ma'ilei try) at Nepean Rugby Park.

TUGGERANONG VIQUEENS 39 (Zali Waihape Andrews 2, Pearl Rakete, Amelia Vea, Antoinette Eli, Milika Tuinakauvadra, name withheld tries; Amelia Kirui, Teliya Hetaraka conversions) bt CANBERRA ROYALS 12 (Bonnie Brewer, Brooke Gilroy tries; Ashlea Bishop conversion) at Phillip Oval.

UNI-NORTHS OWLS 34 (Zara Lee 2, Shelley Bradshaw, Sabre Medhurst, Jess Grant tries; Grant 3 conversions; Grant penalty) bt WESTS LIONESSES 24 (Chioma Enyi 2, Ellen Schneider, Becka Marsters tries; Marsters 2 conversions) at ANU North Oval.

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