Western Rams to play Laurie Daley Cup semi-final at Kandos

The do-or-die match against the Greater Northern Tigers was originally meant to be played at the Central Coast but given the amount of rain expected this weekend it was shifted to Kandos' Waratah Oval.

The semi-final will be the only match played there on Sunday, compared to previous weekends when the Rams under 16s, 18s, women, and men all played on the same day in front of big crowds.

"The atmosphere won't be the same," coach Kurt Hancock said.

"When we come together on Saturday arvo and train we've got to make sure we're upbeat and create our own atmosphere around the group.

"But I've spoken to them all during the week and they're excited."

The match was moved to Kandos given it is a little closer for the Greater Northern Tigers while grounds at Dubbo, Bathurst, Orange, and Mudgee were unavailable this weekend.

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The Rams head into the match having beaten the Tigers 20-10 in the final round of the preliminary stages just two weeks ago.

That result is expected to have lit a fire under the Greater Northern side ahead of this weekend

"They don't make too many mistakes and they've got three genuine footballers who can keep them in the game or cause a real headache," Hancock said.

Normally you win finals games on the back of your defence and your commitment to each other. We've shown throughout the cup we can score points so it's going to come down to who's more desperate in defence and who kicks the best as well."

Tigers fullback Mitch Henderson will again be one of the most dangerous players on the field on Sunday so Hancock said kicking to corners and not giving him much broken play to slice through can go a long way to the Rams advancing to the decider.

Halves Cooper Egan and Braye Porter will again be the ones tasked with the kicking game.

Nyngan-based Egan has grown into the number seven jersey throughout the cup campaign while Porter has always been Hancock's five-eighth despite shifting the St John's junior around at times due to injuries in the backline.

"I think Cooper Egan had his best game last time and Braye had been moved to fullback when there was injuries but he's done a great job at five-eighth and I think it suits him," the coach said.

This is Hancock's fourth successive year leading a Rams junior side to the semi-finals and the experienced mentor described it as his most difficult in terms of picking a team each week.

There's been a real depth of talent for Hancock and his staff to work with, while injuries have allowed other players to step up and push their claims for regular minutes.

Matt Noakes, Jia Siakisoni, Billy Phillips, and Jamie Thorpe were the unlucky players to miss out on a spot in the 17 for the semi-final but the latter two are eligible for under 18s again next season.

Forbes-based Noakes has been a regular in Rams side in recent years and Hancock admitted it was tough to leave him out but the number of injuries he's had during the cup campaign made it difficult for him to earn a spot.

Mana Dermott is another who has battled injury but the prop's commitment off the field and impact last time out against the Tigers resulted in him keeping his spot.

The Monaro Colts and Central Coast Roosters meet in the weekend's other semi-final.

Kick-off at Kandos is 11am.