Considering how dominant Western was in this year’s Andrew Johns Cup win there’s no surprise Rams dominate the NSW Country under-16 side, but even after superb efforts, Orange’s Josh Dominello and Mason Pollack certainly weren’t expecting to earn a nod.
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They did though, with Dominello named in country’s lethal all-Western spine with halfback and NSW under-16 squad member Noah Griffiths, five-eighth Rylee Blackhall and fullback Tyler Colley, while Pollack will line up on the side’s three-quarter line.
Western back-rower Jack Hartwig and lock Jack Smith were also named in the 18-strong the country squad, which will face Papua New Guinea and the Gold Coast Titans in a two-game tour in October, on NSW’s north coast.
“(Western coach) Kurt Hancock had told us at the beginning of the competition that was a team being picked, and we should use that as motivation (individually) but I didn’t have any expectations because there was a lot of good footballers in the competition, particularly in our side,” Dominello, an Orange CYMS junior, said.
“Actually anyone in the Rams side could’ve made it, they played really well and would’ve deserved it.”
“I didn’t expect it either, there was a lot of good centres getting around. I’m really happy to have made it,” Pollack, from Bloomfield Tigers, added.
While Dominello has represented NSW Country through the catholic school system before, it’s the first time either have earned a nod through this pathway.
Anyone in the Rams side could’ve made it, they played really well and would’ve deserved it.
- Country hooker Josh Dominello
“Yep, first country nod outside school. It’ll be good to meet some new boys from all over the state and play another level, it’ll just be really good experience really. I’m sure the PNG boys will be tough,” Dominello said.
“Yeah I reckon they’ll be pretty big, I’ll just see how I go,” Pollack said.
“It’ll be a good experience, the Western stuff was too. I’ll certainly try and bring that back to Bloomfield this year, we’ve got a good side and we should go really well.”
Dominello said he’ll do the same with Orange CYMS, both country guns rate their respective club sides as pretty good chances to seal the Group 10 Junior Rugby League under-16 title.
“A CYMS-Bloomfield grand final would be a bit of fun,” Dominello said, he and Pollack are both set to be given plenty of under-18 experience this season too.
“We’ve got a couple of guys coming back from Harold Matthews Cup, Liam Kennedy and Addison Williams, so they’ll bring their experience back as well.
“We’ve got a couple of new guys coming in as well, everyone’s been training pretty hard and we’ve got a good side so it should be a good year.”
“We’ll be having a crack at making the Western under-18 side next year too, we move into that age group,” Pollack explained.
“Yeah, 100 per cent,” Dominello added
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
