Western Rams under 18s coach Kurt Hancock is delighted how his squad is gelling

With the Rams only having a short time to prepare before commencing their representative campaign on February 6, Hancock wants to make sure they are ready and that means hard yards at training.

On Sunday his extended squad were put through their paces at Wellington, being tested in a pair of 90 minute sessions.

Hancock knows it was a tough start, but experience has taught him a hard preparation can pay off.

"It was a real overload getting back to that, but when I revisited it, looking back when we used to do it this way, I think our footy teams were a bit more resilient and little bit more mentally tougher in the back end of games," he said.

"I know what that will give us come game time, the boys will be pretty fit, they'll be able to concentrate longer and at the end of the day, that's what wins you games at the back end, if you can concentrate on your skill levels under fatigue.

"I used to do a lot of that when I was coaching."

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Hancock stressed out that he and under 16 Rams coach Tony Woolnough are mindful of not pushing their young talents too far, with a mandate not to train again for 24 hours and being vigilant with hydration.

But he wants his squad to be ready and from what he saw on Sunday, they not only handled the sessions but came together more quickly than he'd anticipated.

Forming those combinations will be just as key as fitness and resilience as the Rams will need to finish their five round games as one of the top four ranked sides to advance.

"This first session I thought it was one of the better sessions we've had for a long, long time. They handled the load that was there, but it was more how quick they gelled," Hancock said.

"Obviously they all know each other and play a lot of footy against each other, but to put all the club grudges to the side - the way they conducted themselves I was really impressed.

"This year I think we've only got three or four from last year's squad so we are sort of starting fresh, but by the end of the session they were really tight and to me that's half the battle, especially with the short preparation they'll have.

"I'm actually real impressed with the kids that have come back from last year and shown some real quality leadership."

Both Hancock's under 18 squad, which includes Panthers trio Jackson Carter, Tom Lemmich and Tallis Tobin plus St Pat's Ryan Small, and Woolnough's 16s will go into camp at Lake Burrendong this weekend.

More tough training sessions await them, but it's a method Hancock knows will have them ready for games which will be just as tough.

The Rams begin their campaigns against the Illawarra South Coash Dragons on February 6 in Wollongong.

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