Western Rams under 16s suffer 34-16 loss to Monaro Rams

The Andrew Johns Cup fixture was the Rams' third fixture of the season, having recorded their first win of the campaign last week against Riverina 38-6.

But three converted tries in the opening 13 minutes from the hosts all but secured the result for Monaro, as Western eventually fell 34-16 at NSWRL HQ Bruce.

Western coach Kurt Hancock said Colts' incredible form in the opening minutes proved the difference in the overall result.

"Our of the first 13 sets, we probably only had the ball twice. We gave away a few six agains and a few penalties but Monaro were really good when they had that ball," he said.

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"It really set the game up for them. It's really hard to pull the game apart too much because Monaro were really good early on. We just couldn't get any possession.

"We found ourselves down 18-0 and the boys tried really hard in the backend of that first half. We got one back with a nice kick return, going the length of the field. But we used a lot of gas in that first 20 minutes."

Joshua Klobucar opened the scoring for the hosts within two minutes, before Lochie Ellard went over in the eighth minute and then Jonah Alaia scored Monaro's third not too long later. With Cooper Johnston kicking all three conversions, Monaro led 18-0 within 13 minutes.

Dubbo fullback Rex Bassingthwaighte got a try back for Western in the 15^th minute, with Monaro taking an 18-4 to the break.

There was hope one minute after the restart when Jayden Innes scored and after his conversion, Western got within eight points of the lead.

Unfortunately, that was the closest Western got to take back the lead, with three more tries from Monaro doing the damage in the second half, but Matari Kelly did score a consolation four-pointer for Western.

"Our starters were pretty gassed out, but early on in the second half we reeled one back," Hancock said.

"We had a little bit of a chance but we didn't have much left in the petrol tank.

"It was hot but it was hot for both sides. In saying that, the fatigue really set in from that start we had. Midway through the second half, we came up with mistakes which wasn't great.

"But the effort was really, really good. We just need to think a bit better under pressure and make some decisions a bit better."

In under 18s action, Western suffered another defeat to Monaro, this time to the scoreline of 36-18.

Quite a close affair at the break - with Monaro leading 12-6 - the hosts pulled away in the second half to secure the 18-point win.

Heading into round four, both Western under 16s and under 18s will play at Parkes this Sunday, the first time the Rams have been on home soil since the opening round.

The opponent for both teams will be Illawarra South Coast Dragons, with the under 16s undefeated with two wins and a draw, while the under 18s have won two and lost one.

The under 16s will kick-off at 10am, while the under 18s will play from 11.20am.

Matches will be played at Pioneer Oval.

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