BRENT Seager thought the chance to pack into the Western Division scrum alongside his brother Blake had disappeared with this year’s change to the Country Championships format, but on Saturday he will do just that.
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While the Western representative side which competes in the country titles has had an under 23s age restriction placed on it, Rams coach Darren Jackson was free to select older talents for Saturday’s match with Federation of Italian Rugby League Australia (FIRLA).
Two of those who were not eligible to wear a Western jumper earlier in the season but will do so at Carrington Park against FIRLA are the Seagers.
Brent will line up at prop with younger brother Blake in the second row, the pair set to join fellow Bathurst Panthers Blake Lawson and Jake Betts in action.
“We have played together before. We both played together in the Country Championships back in 2014, he got a call up to the side and he started in the back row and I was playing in the front row,” Brent said.
“We played against the Greater Northern Tigers and got beat 12-6 that day, so I hope it does work out better.
“It’s always an honour to represent Western Division and nowadays I don’t really get that chance because it’s changed to under 23s. It makes it great to get this opportunity.
“I thought it was all over for us. He only just misses out by a year, he’s 24 this year, so we’re really looking forward to this weekend.
“There’s not many blokes who can say they played at that sort of level alongside their brother.”
Brent admitted there would be a friendly rivalry with Blake as to which brother plays best against FIRLA – something which can only work in favour of the Rams.
“We always have a bit of competition between us, who can score more tries. I think he got me this year by a couple of tries in local footy,” Brent said.
“But it’s always great to play with him.”
Saturday’s match marks the second time the Rams have hosted FIRLA at Carrington Park, with 1,040 spectators on hand last year to watch the visitors post a 34-18 win.
Brent was part of that side and is keen to square the ledger come Saturday.
He said Jackson, who has gone for size in his pack, will use a simple game plan against a FIRLA outfit expected to have a talented back line.
“He keeps things simple, he’s a smart coach and a really good bloke, so he’ll just tell us to do the simple things. It’s expected to be hot weather, so holding the ball will be key,” Brent said.
“Going off last year, they were really quick and had a lot of Sydney boys who were really fit.
“For us, looking at the pack he’s [Jackson] picked, yeah, I think that bashing them up the centre’s what the plan is.
“We’ve just got to hold onto that footy and hopefully we can get the win. That would be good, so we’ll see what happens.”
Kick-off is at 3.15pm.