Western prop Nick Bennett's never played in a grand final before.
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Nearly a decade of footy and the young Dragons enforcer hasn't yet had the chance to play on the big stage - not once.
So you can imagine the excitement in the Bennett household ahead of Saturday's Laurie Daley Cup decider, where the Mudgee young gun will line-up in the front-row for Western in a country championship decider, on home soil no less.
The Rams will take on the Illawarra South Coast Dragons at Glen Willow on Saturday and Bennett, in his second year in the Western system after playing with the Rams under 17s development squad last winter, is jumping out of his skin ahead of the under 18s decider.
"I have never been in a football team that has played in the grand final before so to be playing with the boys this weekend is really something new," he beamed.
"To be honest, I'm really excited."
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He added the step-up in standard has been one he's relished.
And he'll have to again on Saturday.
Western is down arguably one of its best forwards, with Colby Peckham not named after suffering a knee injury in Western's final round win over the Greater Southern Region Wests Tigers at Bathurst.
Bennett knows the rest of the Rams pack will have to pick up the slack, but it's a task he believes they're more than capable of.
They proved just that in last week's 22-12 victory over a tough Parramatta in the semi-final at Forster.
"This season has been totally different to what I have been used to, it's a lot more physical and the speed is a lot faster than the Group 10 football I'm used to," he said.
On the back of that commanding victory over the Eels, Bennett says Western will continue with what's worked well so far in 2019 but he knows the Dragons will prove a tough assignement.
Western snuck past the Dragons in the second round of the championship, skipper Nathan Ward bagging a double in the 32-20 win on the south coast.
"The game plan is the same as it has been for the past eight weeks which seems to have paid off," Bennett said.
The Rams will take on the Illawarra South Coast Dragons on Saturday from 11.30am at Glen Willow.
"A huge thanks to our coach Kurt Hancock and his coaching staff. I would also like to thank Country Rugby League, Western Rams and all of the other trainers, as well as the boys in the 18s team for helping us get to the grand final," he added.
- WESTERN: 1 Noah Ryan (Dubbo CYMS), 2 Tyler Colley (Bathurst St Pats), 3 MacKenzie Atkins (Bathurst Panthers), 4 Benjamin Lovett (Parkes), 5 Dylan Marmion (Blayney), 6 Ryan Manning (Orange Hawks), 7 Rylee Blackhall (Wellington), 8 Liam Henry (Blayney Bears), 9 Campbell Woolnough (Forbes), 10 Nicholas Bennett (Mudgee), 11 Jack Hartwig (Forbes), 12 Nicholas Barlow (Bathurst St Pats), 13 Nathan Ward (c, Bathurst Panthers); Bench: 14 Elijah Colliss (Wellington), 15 Thomas Stimpson (Dubbo CYMS), 16 Ash Cosgrove (Bathurst St Pats), 17 Lachlan Large (Bathurst Panthers), 18 Patrick Halsey (Bathurst St Pats).
COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS DRAW
Saturday, April 4 at Glen Willow Regional Sporting Complex, Mudgee:
ANDREW JOHNS CUP 10am | Western Rams versus Northern Rivers Titans
LAURIE DALEY CUP 11.30am | Western Rams versus Illawarra South Coast Dragons
WOMEN'S 1.10pm | Riverina Bulls versus North Coast Bulldogs
UNDER 23s 2.30pm | Illawarra South Coast Dragons versus Monaro Colts
Jay-Anna Sleeman
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
