Dubbo CYMS coach Bret Fisher has lit the fuse ahead of Sunday's Western Youth League semi-finals, saying Bathurst St Pat's don't fill him with much fear and he wouldn't trade any of his players for anyone else in the competition.
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After seeing his side play arguably its best match of the season in last weekend quarter-final win over Orange CYMS, a confident Fisher heaped praise on his players.
Fisher's Fishies meet Group 10 standout St Pat's in this weekend's semi-final at Forbes but it's fair to say the coach isn't feeling too worried ahead of the contest.
"I don't want to speak out of turn but I don't think Bathurst has much at all," he said.
"I watched them against Wellington last weekend and they came out blazing but nearly got run down.
"You know against any Wello side they're not going to go away but there was a lot of errors."
Much like CYMS, the Pat's squad is headlined by a core group of hugely talented players.
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There's Ash Cosgrove at fullback, who already played for the Penrith Panthers' SG Ball side earlier this year, halfback Tyler Colley, and some bog bodies in the forward pack who provide real punch.
And while Fisher is aware of their quality, he's backing his own gun players to deliver in the biggest game of the season so far.
"There wouldn't be players from any other side I'd swap for one of them," Fisher said of is team.
"From one to 20, they could go toe-to-toe with any opposition.
"I wouldn't swap Jack Hartwig for Riley Wake or Zac Williams. Tyler Colley, I wouldn't swap him for Fletcher Haycock.
"I wouldn't swap anyone in the world for Noah Ryan and Joe Yeo is the same."
Ryan and Yeo, along with barnstorming prop Charlie Holman, starred again in last weekend's quarter-final win.
Electric fullback Ryan proved again he's as good as anyone else in the competition by bagging another hat-trick and continually cutting through the Orange defence while captain and hooker Yeo played a huge part in his side getting back momentum early on.
"They (Orange) were up 6-0 in the first minute," Fisher said.
"But two minutes later we led 12-6 and that was because of Joe's two tries.
"He got us back into the game and we never looked back. It's what he can do, score a crucial try or find that 10 or 15 metres."
Another thing which helped last weekend was the side staying together the night before and having a team breakfast prior to that game.
Fisher felt that bonding and focus on the match ahead played a huge role in the performance seen against Orange CYMS and the side will again have breakfast together on Sunday morning.
Prop Lachlan O'Malley will miss the game after he broke his ankle in last weekend's win but Cooper Ferrari is back from injury and will return to the side at Forbes.
Kick-off against St Pat's is 12pm at Spooner Oval.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
