Ryan knows his under 23s outfit faces a “mammoth” task against Illawarra/South Coast in the opening round of this season’s Country Championship but after the final Rams squad was named on Sunday night, the coach is banking on his players rising to the occasion.

“I said to the blokes at the first session that even though I had nothing to do with last year, the boys who wore those jerseys and the ones who wear them this year are representing our region,” he said.

“Through their performances they represent everyone in the region so if we go down there and don’t put in then it looks bad for everyone.

“We’ve got to give it our best.”

The final 17-man squad was named after the Western cluster day at Bathurst, where Group 11 under 23s downed Group 10 in a gritty final.

Despite that, Group 10 contributes 10 of the 17 players in the squad but Dubbo CYMS is the most well-represented club.

Alex Bonham, who shone at Bathurst, along with Bayden Searle, Billy Sing, Jordan Reynolds, Jesse Wighton will all play under Ryan at a local and representative level, while Nyngan pair Sam Simmons and James Fisk are the other Group 11 players in the side.

There had been roughly 23 players who had taken part in Ryan’s off-season program, which included training sessions from Lake Burrendong to Molong and Sydney, as well as a trial win over Riverina in Forbes.

“It’s unfortunate for the blokes who missed out,” Ryan said.

“But if you put them in then someone else goes out but there’s people who have been a big part of training and preparation so they’re all unlucky.”

There’s no doubt Ryan has his side prepared as best as it could be. Despite the challenges of coaching a team which covers such a large geographical area, he has been able to get a squad together regularly to not only work on fitness and combinations, but to also have that message of pride in the jersey ingrained into them.

But despite all that, Ryan knows there’s no guarantee Western will score its first win since the Championship moved to under 23s.

“Time will tell,” he said, in regards to the benefit of the off-season program.

“We’ve got a mammoth task in a fortnight against Illawarra, they’re a bit of a powerhouse, so we’ve got to be ready and hopefully we can prepare as best we can.

“They’re all keen and they proved that over summer because there was a lot of training and a lot of travel.”

Ryan confessed it’s not the most physically imposing side but it’s a squad he’s happy with, the likes of Group 10 pair Joe Duffy and Chanse Burgess set to carry the load up front while former Parkes Spacemen Ethan McKellar, Reynolds and Betts brothers Jake and Jed will also work tirelessly all game.

Bonham and Orange Hawks’ Brodie Christopherson are expected to be the halves while Simmon and Orange CYMS star Tom Satterthwaite are likely to battle for the number one jersey.

The Rams train at Dubbo on Saturday morning and Molong next Tuesday night before a final session together at Bathurst on May 4, the day before the clash with Illawarra/South Coast at Campbelltown Stadium.