Last year Harry Siejka represented the Hills Bulls in the Ron Massey Cup.
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On Sunday he was public enemy number one as he went up against his former side in the Presidents Cup.
Bathurst junior Siejka has returned to the bush in 2020 and made his Western Rams debut on Sunday in the opening round of the new statewide competition.
The one-time NRL player couldn't get his side past a powerful Bulls outfit though and his former teammates were all too keen to remind of that during the game.
There was plenty of niggle in the contest, which finished 20-4, but that wasn't the frustrating aspect of the match for Siejka.
The rushing defence of the Bulls shut down Siejka and halves partner Mitch Burke at almost every chance, especially on final tackle plays.
Errors, especially early in the second half, also allowed the Bulls to get a roll on and build a match-winning lead.
When the Rams did maintain the ball they were right in the arm wrestle and the defence against a vastly bigger side was a real point of pride for all involved at Spooner Oval.
"The first half they got an easy try from a kick and regather and bounce of the ball and a sneaky one from dummyhalf and you take those out and we're in front at the break," Siejka said.
"It wasn't meant to be but we missed a few opportunities in the second half. We bombed our first five sets and against teams like this with big bodies you've got to complete for a long period of time to tire them out."
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And Siejka knows if his side can get into the grind and work their way on top it will open up all kinds of opportunities for himself and other attacking threats in the lineup.
"Ball control is going to be our biggest focus and I think our attack will come because our defence was good," he said.
"You can build a game around a good defence and our defence was good. There was a couple of little lapses but we can fix that up."
Another thing to work on is adapting to the style of play.
While there was plenty to like about the Rams performance the Bulls were always well on top.
"They way they defended, they liked to shoot in and we were probably a bit slow to adjust to that," Siejka admitted post-game.
"But once we did we started to turn a few bodies under and we had a bit of joy but we just didn't do it long enough.
"We had a few opportunities but we probably missed a few but we'll take a few positives from this and roll on to next week."
The Rams hit the road this weekend, taking on Wests Illawarra in the second round.
Wests went down to Thirroul in a round one derby contest.
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
