Was the Western Rams halfback ever going to miss her field goal attempt?

"Nope," she smiled at full-time after Western's 17-16 victory over the Greater Northern Tigers.

"I called it maybe halfway through the set and said let's set-up for it. Two passes to the middle and I put the head down and struck it."

Ford's boot secured Saturday's Country Championships victory at Gulgong's Billy Dunn Oval and capped an impressive Western Rams comeback.

Saturday's match was a back-and-forth contest and no side truly felt in control until the final siren.

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Even late on after Ford's field goal, the Tigers had the last crack with the ball but two crunching tackles from Rams captain Jacky Lyden kept the visitors on the back foot and made sure Western wouldn't give up the advantage.

It was a fitting end to the match, with tireless worker and Western veteran Lyden now expected to retire from the representative scene.

"Jacky Lyden is a beast. She's amazing," Ford said.

"If you're ever in a bit of a rut you give her the ball and she'll make something out of nothing. Give her early ball and she's got footwork and will create it.

"She'll be dearly missed. This was her last game and we're going to miss her."

After a hugely disappointing loss to Monaro in the opening round six days earlier, where the Rams were described as their own worst enemy, the Andrew Pull-coached side was again scrappy early on at Gulgong.

The Tigers opened the scoring via a penalty goal after some ill-discipline and poor handling from the hosts.

Both sides struggled to create genuine try-scoring opportunities but the Rams eventually started to enjoy some possession, largely due to the strong running game of Kiara Sullivan, and built some pressure.

They made the most of it on 20 minutes when five-eighth Alicia Earsman went herself and scored the Rams' opener and Ford's boot made it 6-2.

But just five minutes later the Tigers were awarded a penalty close to the line and the Rams were caught napping as Jess Baker took the tap and raced over under the black dot.

Baker was again in the thick of the action right on half-time as she muscled her way across the line to help set-up a 12-6 lead at the break.

Things became even better for the Tigers 11 minutes into the second stanza when Patricia Dixon raced into the corner in fine fashion and the visitors were in control at 16-6.

With eight minutes remaining Castlereagh star Tori Canham wrestled her way over the line to give her side some hope.

That was all the Rams needed and three minutes later Ford put Molly Hoswell into space on halfway and the fullback raced away before finding Emily Caton in support.

The versatile Dubbo player went over to level it up at 16-all but Canham missed what appeared a relatively simple conversion to set-up a grandstand finish.

There was no sign of panic though and when the Rams got the chance in attacking territory late on Ford took her opportunity, and then Lyden's late hits made sure of the win.

"We're a really tough team and I love playing next to those girls and we play extra hard for each other because we are a close-knit group," Ford said.

"I knew we could get the win and we got there."

While Rams stalwarts Ford and Lyden were standouts and key players Sullivan and Harriet Messner impressed, the performance of a number of teenagers like Lilly Holmes and Bec Prestwidge was particularly pleasing and it showcased the huge amount of exciting talent in the Western region.

"I'm one of the old girls but we have a lot of young talent coming through and that makes me so excited for the future," Ford said.

"Some of these young girls train the hardest and the skill level is awesome. In a couple of years they'll blossom and it will be amazing."

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