Rams locked in to face champion Sea Eagles in NRL curtain raiser

Made official on Tuesday, the best junior representative teams in New South Wales will go head-to-head on May 20 when the Western Rams face the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Mudgee’s Glen Willow Regional Sports Stadium.

The match between CRL’s Andrew Johns Cup and NSWRL’s Harold Matthews Cup premiers will feature some of the best under 16s players in the state ahead the St George Illawarra Dragons and Canberra Raiders NRL match in Mudgee.

“It’ll be interesting,” Hancock said.

“I know I’ve got a good football side there but how we handle the physicality and the speed of it first-up, if we hang in there to half-time we’ll be a show.

“It’s another time we get to challenge themselves and their skills and hopefully go from there.”

CRL elite pathways football manager Matt Parish believes it’s a great opportunity not only for the Rams, but for CRL’s new junior representative pathways to test themselves against the elite players in the state.

“The Western Rams under 16s played some great football to remain undefeated in the Andrew Johns Cup and it’s a wonderful opportunity for these kids to test themselves against a side like Manly,” Parish said.

“We’ve (CRL) achieved some great results with the introduction of the Johns and Daley Cups and this game gives us an opportunity to benchmark against the elite pathway competition in the state.”

Parish admitted the opportunity to play in a curtain-raiser to an NRL game will be something the players will always remember.

“It’s been great to see NRL games taken to regional areas this season and it’s massive for these young men to be able to play in front of their family and friends before an NRL competition match,” he added.

The Western Rams and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles match will kick-off at 11.45am, with the St George Illawarra Dragons and Canberra Raiders NRL match kicking off at 2pm.