CAST your mind back to 2003 - John Howard was still PM, YouTube hadn’t been invented and Finding Nemo was released, but more importantly for this context, a snippy young hooker from Bourke named Darren Jackson was named to debut for the Western Rams, against Greater Southern at Camden.

Fast forward 13 years and that rake, who won Group 11 and Country Rugby League player of the year gongs along the way, will make his Rams coaching debut at the same ground, against the same opposition.

“We got a win by six (in 2003), won by a try I think, so that might be a good omen,” Jackson laughed.

While it’s officially Jackson’s first game in charge of the Rams, there’s little doubt the former Country representative has his side well and truly prepared for the occasion.

That preparation started last October, when Jackson named a 99-man pre-season squad which was put through a rigorous campaign designed to give them the best chance possible at the AAMI Country Championship.

It concluded recently, with all the work geared towards this weekend’s Tier 2 game against the Stars, who boast a blockbuster squad.

Former Parramatta Eel and Bradford Bull - he only finished with the latter club last season - Jake Mullaney will skipper and headline the squad, a group which also includes former NRL players Jacob Loko, Ray Cashmere and Michael Lett.

“They’ll be hard to beat, back when I was playing sides had ex-NRL players but it doesn’t matter,” Jackson said.

“Whoever you play in one of these matches will be tough.”

Group 11 players dominate the Rams squad - which has trained twice since being named earlier this month - with Group 10 boasting five representatives in Oberon’s Riccie Arriola, Cowra’s Warren Williams, Lithgow’s Brendan West and Bathurst Panthers duo Blake Lawson and Brent Seager.

Jackson said Seager in particular had impressed him at training, along with Narromine’s Luke Thompson, Parkes’ Brendan Tago and Forbes’ Jake Grace.

Jackson’s also pleased to have Group 11’s Colby Pellow and Jacob Neill together in the halves, he said their familiarity with each other will complement the simple game plan he’s put in place, built on strong defence.

“Teams with good defence, especially in bush footy, win 90 per cent of the time,” he said.

“Everyone in the bush can score but some have trouble defending.”

The Rams and Stars lock horns from 1pm at Camden’s Kirkham Oval, with the winner progressing to next week’s semi-finals at Dubbo.

WESTERN RAMS: 1 Sam Dwyer (Parkes Spacemen), 2 Riccie Arriola (Oberon Tigers), 3 Warren Williams (Cowra Magpies), 4 Jyie Chapman (Dubbo CYMS), 5 Kotoni Staggs (Wellington Cowboys), 6 Colby Pellow (Dubbo CYMS), 7 Jacob Neill (Nyngan Tigers), 8 Brent Seager (Bathurst Panthers), 9 Reece Goldsmith (Nyngan tigers), 10 Luke Thompson (Narromine Jets), 11 Ben Maguire (Forbes Magpies), 12 Brendan Tago (Parkes Spacemen), 13 Jake Grace (Forbes Magpies), 14 Blake Lawson (Bathurst Panthers), 15 Jarryn Powyer (Dubbo CYMS), 16 Ashley Hazelton (Gilgandra Panthers), 17 Brandan West (Lithgow Workies)