WESTERN Rams under 16s get set to take on the visiting Federation of Italian Rugby League Australia side at Carrington Park on Saturday with determination to show off their adaptability.
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The 16s match is one of four during the bumper day of action against the blue jerseys of Italy.
“Our mobility and our versatility is our strength,” Rams under 16s coach Jamie Szczerbanik said.
“We’ve got a lot of guys in this team who can play in multiple positions. There’s guys playing in the outside backs who could easily step up into the forwards.
“We expect them to go out there and play expansive football. I would suspect they’d like to chance their hand a lot. We’ve just got to grind through the opening minutes and make sure we don’t get caught up in what they’re doing and stick to our own game plan.”
Szczerbanik is banking on his team to show the Italian visitors that the Central West region shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“From personal experience when you compare the city and the bush, the bush is a bit tougher. Country kids are hard to go up against,” he said.
“We’ve had a couple of guys back from playing for NSW Country in Samoa last weekend and also have had guys back from playing in Papua New Guinea for representative sides over there.”
St John’s gun Matt Burton is one of the players who was in Samoa recently and he will start alongside clubmate Paddy Haycock while South Dubbo star Blaine Gordon is the other local player in the side.
Kick off is at 12.40pm.