TAKING on his former home representative side Western Rams was a surreal experience for Adam Fearnley but since that victory he's continue to grow in confidence alongside his new Hills District Bulls teammates.
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The former Penrith Panthers lower grade player - left without a position at the club this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic - found a new home in the Presidents Cup with the Bulls and has played a major role in their two wins so far.
The Bathurst player and his brother Brad scored themselves places on the Bulls and Rams respectively, both jumping at the opportunity to get any sort of match time in a year packed with uncertainty.
"I didn't have any footy at first but my manager gave me a call and said Hills Bulls are looking for a couple of boys to come down and have a run," Fearnley said.\
"As soon as I heard I could get a run somewhere that sounded perfect."
He didn't have to think hard about his decision.
With only a half hour drive for training and a talented squad to work with Fearnley pulled on the Bulls jumper with haste.
Fearnley made an immediate impact in the Bulls' opener against the Rams where he starred in the 20-4 victory at Spooner Oval.
Bulls followed that up with a tight 16-10 win over the Wentworthville Magpies but came up short 22-18 in last weekend clash at home against the Maitland Pickers.
Fearnley and his team face their biggest challenge of the competition to date against league leaders Glebe Burwood Wolves this Sunday at home.
Wolves fired a massive warning shot last round with their 53-16 thrashing of the Magpies.
"It should be a good test on the weekend. We're a bit disappointed after that loss from the weekend so we're looking forward to the test," Fearnley said.
"A couple of the boys here know more about the side than I do and they've mentioned a couple of players to me. We'll sit down and do our homework at training and have a look at them. They put a fair total on the team they played last week."
Meanwhile the Rams will continue their search for win number one when they host Thirroul Butchers at Wade Park on Saturday from 6.15pm.
Fearnley said despite the scoreline he's still expecting a good finish to the campaign for his former representative side.
"That was a bit different going back and playing against the Rams," he laughed.
"The Rams have only just thrown their team together over the last couple of weeks and I get the feeling that they'll be harder to stop towards the back end of the competition.
"It was great though to go out there and play against a couple of blokes I used to play alongside."