BATHURST Panthers prop Brent Seager was rewarded for his man of the match performance for Group 10 in Saturday’s 32-24 win over Group 11 by being named in the Western Rams squad.

Seager was one of 11 Group 10 players named in the Rams squad, the dominance a reward for a well-earned victory in the Western Rams Championships at Dubbo’s Caltex Park.

Pat’s duo Benjamin John and Luke Newsome were also named in the 19-player squad, which will be led by captain-coach Dennis Moran and play Northern Division at Singleton on May 31.

“I think everyone put in 100 per cent, you can’t doubt anyone’s effort today,” Moran said after the match and squad announcement.

“It made it really difficult to pick the side, but now we’ve just got to go into our preparation and that’s they key. But we’ll go full of confidence after the game today and the squad we’ve picked.”

Group 10 players fill four of the five back line spots with Orange CYMS pair Tim Bassmann and Ben McAlpine joined by Mudgee’s Tom Lewsley, Orange Hawks’ Alofi Mataele and Dubbo Macquarie’s Chris Daley.

The forward pack is an impressive one with Saturday’s man of the match Seager joining Jack Afamasaga in a powerful front row while the likes of Justin Toomey-White, Wade Judd, Troy Hayman and Ronald Lawrence also feature in the squad.

“Group 10 came out with their big side and they showed how good it is to have guys that size going forward,” Moran said.

“So that’s why we picked this side with a good pack to get us going forward in our next match against North Division.”

Group 11 were the first to score in Saturday’s match as a great break from Toomey-White set up Kieran Shipp.

However, Group 10 were soon back on level terms after Joe Lasagavibau scored the first of his two tries for the match.

Play remained tight as the hosts picked up a converted try before Group 10 equalised thanks to fullback Bassmann and a brilliant sideline conversion from McAlpine.

It was former France international Arty Shead who gave Group 10 the lead for the first time when he crashed over shortly before half-time. McAlpine added the extras again to make it 18-12.

The second half was more of the same as Group 10 pushed out to a 12-point lead before Group 11 fought back to square things up at 24-all.

However, an outstanding leap and take from Mataele with 10 minutes remaining put Group 10 back in front before a late Corin Smith try sealed the win.

The biggest surprise in the Rams squad named after the day of representative matches came in the shape of Castlereagh League fullback Brad Pickering.

The Coonamble number one put in an eye-catching performance as the Castlereagh League side defeated Woodbridge Cup 24-20 earlier in the day. Moran said the selectors paid close attention to every team.

“The selectors looked at him early on and think he deserves a chance,” he said.

“You don’t just look at Group 10 and Group 11, Western is Western and they’re involved in the Western Division, so you’ve got to look there and it’s a great effort from him and it was great for him to be recognised.”

The squad will meet at Manildra Sportsground for a training run this Wednesday before their Country Championships bid kicks off at Singleton.

Western Rams Squad: 1 Tim Bassmann (Orange CYMS), 2 Chris Daley (Dubbo Macquarie), 3 Tom Lewsley (Mudgee Dragons), 4 Ben McAlpine (Orange CYMS), 5 Alofi Mataele (Orange Hawks), 6 Jacob Neill (Nyngan Tigers), 7 Dennis Moran (Parkes Spacemen), 8 Brent Seager (Bathurst Panthers), 9 Jeremy Smith (Dubbo Macquarie), 10 Jack Afamasaga (Mudgee Dragons), 11 Justin Toomey-White (Wellington Cowboys), 12 Troy Hayman (Cobar Roosters), 13 Wade Judd (Oberon Tigers), 14 Benjamin John (St Pat’s), 15 Ronald Lawrence (Cowra Magpies), 16 Luke Newsome (St Pat’s), 17 Josh Rainbow (Blayney Bears), 18 Bradley Pickering (Coonamble Bears), 19 Jyie Chapman (Dubbo CYMS).