Kurt Hancock was thrown the reins of the Group 10 under 18s team at the 11th hour, but he already likes what he sees.
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Despite the country championships now over, some of the best juniors in Group 10 will line-up against same-age opponents from Woodbridge Cup, Group 11 and the Castlereagh League on Saturday at Bathurst and Hancock says the opportunity for those players to get a taste of rep footy is something that should be encouraged.
“It’s good to see the 18s and especially the first grade boys getting a game,” Hancock said, taking over the coach’s position from Luke Branighan, whose wife is expecting their second child any day.
“The little knockout we’ll have is a great idea with all of Western there.
“It gives good players from Woodbridge and Castlereagh a bit of exposure, they can be forgotten about and we don’t want that.
“The day itself is a good concept.”
Hancock has been in charge of Western’s under 16s for the last three years and knows a number of the Group 10 boys in the under 18s side due to previous rep campaigns.
“I liked the looks of the team at Wednesday night at (training at) Blayney,” he said.
“I think they’ll go well. Group 11 might be a bit more organised, I think they selected a side a month ago.
“I’m not sure about what Woodbridge Cup or Castlereagh will bring but, and I said this to the boys, we can’t look into the sides we’re playing.
“All we can focus on is it being a rep game, and our mindset has to be to play accordingly.
“We have to put in our best effort for each other. I’m impressed with the way we trained. We came together quickly.”
Group 10 plays Woodbridge Cup in its first game from 9.45am at Jack Arrow Sporting Complex.
- GROUP 10: 1 Adam Booth (St Pats), 2 Finlay Grabham (Panthers), 3 Dylan Marmion (Blayney), 4 Mckenzie Atkins (Panthers), 5 Lhiam Burrell (Blayney), 6 Ryan Manning (Hawks), 7 Noah Ryan (Cowra), 8 Ty Lee Simmons (Panthers), 9 Brock Egan (Lithgow), 10 Nicholas Bennett (Mudgee), 11 Zach Hunt (Panthers), 12 Patrick Halsey (St Pats), 13 Nathan Ward (Panthers); Bench: 14 Issac Lattice (Hawks), 15 Jack McLeod (St Pats), 16 Brad Baker (Blayney), 17 Liam Henry (Blayney), 18 Jared Burns (Cowra), 19 Elijah Smyth (Hawks).