Western Rams under 16s defeated Illawarra South Coast Dragons 40-16

The Rams overcame a tough start to run away 40-16 victors with Kurt Hancock's group showing a lot of good signs at the business end of the competition.

Western crossed the line for seven tries which funnily enough were scored by seven different players with Jayden Innes also slotted six conversions.

But before the game, Hancock invited one of his former players into the sheds to have a chat with the group about his time spent wearing the green and white.

"It was a special day, we had one of the Rams old boys present jerseys," he said.

"I wouldn't say he is an old boy but Marlin Pollack came down, we lost his twin brother a while back and he just spoke about it being the best times of his life playing with the Rams and the opportunities it created for himself.

"He went down to Penrith and did a few trials with the Panthers but also outside of footy what it has created for him and instilled in him.

"It was pretty touching and the boys were very warming, they showed a lot of respect. It was a really good day, it just all clicked."

Coming off a tough loss to Monaro Colts in their last match, the Rams started slow due to a lack of possession but Hancock wasn't too worried when the Dragons crossed for a converted try in the fourth minute.

"Once again we didn't have the ball early a lot and they scored off a kick, in saying that the trainers told me that the boys were very positive behind the line," he said.

"I just thought they handled it really well, we looked after the ball this week which was massive for us. Our completions haven't been great so far this season.

"They were just comfortable playing footy and supporting each other, they worked hard in defence which is the basics of footy."

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With the squad being scattered around all parts of the Western area, Hancock confessed he took a different approach to prepare for Sunday's game.

"They are a talented side, as disappointing as last week was it was good to see them react the way they did," he said.

"We stripped it right back last week and only really focused on ourselves, I let them be away from footy.

"We didn't train at all so it gave them some time to be away from footy for a bit, it freshened them a bit, to tell the truth.

"It just goes to show that your mindset is a big thing in footy."

Jace Baker was the star for Western, setting up a handful of tries while the team as a whole impressed their coach.

"Jace Baker we've seen that performance in him as well and he was exceptional, he got players player," he said.

"I thought my spine was really good, both hookers were good and the halves plus Rex Bassingthwaite at fullback worked well together.

"They really combined together and we were able to move the footy around to score some points, it was a real team effort."

The under 16s now will need to defeat Northern Tigers at Tamworth this weekend to stay in with a chance of playing in the finals, with results also needing to go their way.

The Rams under 18s almost pulled off a comeback victory in their match against the Dragons on Sunday.

The Dragons led 24-22 for a short period but the Rams had all the momentum before the visiting side scored a pair of late tries to seal a 36-22 win.

Both Rams under 16s and 18s will take on the Tigers on Saturday as will Western's Opens side.

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