PRIOR to the Western Division Representative Cluster last weekend, Orange CYMS prop Simon Osborne said he was supremely motivated to win a Rams jumper for the 2016 AAMI County Championship in what he freely admitted is his "last year of representative football".
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Despite his Group 10 side's 38-18 shellacking at the hands of Group 11 in Gilgandra last Saturday, Osborne performed well enough to do just that.
He's Orange's lone representative in Darren Jackson's Western side, named on Wednesday, and one of just seven Group 10 representatives among an 18-strong squad with a distinct Group 11 flavour.
From the Group 10 side, Osborne will be joined by Bathurst Panthers' Brent Seager and Blake Lawson, Cowra's Warren Williams, Mudgee's Todd Munn, Lithgow's Brendan West and Oberon bolter Riccie Arriola.
Unsurprisingly considering their dominance, Group 11 had 10 players named in the squad to meet Southern Division in Camden on Saturday, May 21, while Gilgandra's Ash Hazelton rounds out the squad after impressing against Woodbridge Cup last weekend.
Dubbo CYMS duo Jyie Chapman and Colby Pellow return after maiden campaigns in 2015, joined by Parkes pair Sam Dwyer and Brandon Tago, Nyngan's Jacob Neill and Reece Goldsmith, Forbes' Ben McGuire and Jake Grace, Wellington ace Kotoni Staggs and Narromine's Luke Thompson.
Parkes prop Jordan Pope was to be named in the squad, however he suffered a broken hand in Group 11's win and had to be replaced.
"There's a good mix there. It's a young side with plenty of ability and they are all fit and firing at the start of the season," Jackson said.
"We've named 18 players in the squad and we'll work out the make up of the final team closer to May 21. There's still three competition games and some training sessions in between.
"Group 11 impressed me on Saturday and that is why they got the number of guys in there that they did. Reece Goldsmith was man-of-the-match in my eyes and the back three of Sam Dwyer, Kotoni Staggs and Riccie Arriola were the busiest and most dangerous in the selectors' eyes.
"I thought Brent Seager had an enormous game for Group 10 as well. He's a prop who got through probably 65 minutes of work and was probably their best player so he picked himself."
The Rams will continue their preparation with a training session at Dubbo's Caltex Park on Saturday, followed by two further sessions on consecutive Saturdays - May 7 and 14 - at Molong, prior to leaving for Camden on Friday, May 20.
WESTERN DIVISION: Jyie Chapman, Colby Pellow (Dubbo CYMS), Sam Dwyer, Brandon Tago (Parkes Spacemen), Ben McGuire, Jake Grace (Forbes Magpies), Jacob Neill, Reece Goldsmith (Nyngan Tigers), Brent Seager (Bathurst Panthers), Blake Lawson (Bathurst Panthers), Kotoni Staggs (Wellington Cowboys), Luke Thompson (Narromine Jets), Warren Williams (Cowra Magpies), Simon Osborne (Orange CYMS), Todd Munn (Mudgee Dragons), Brendan West (Lithgow Workies), Riccie Arriola (Oberon Tigers), Ash Hazelton (Gilgandra Panthers)
