One’s a multiple-championship winning mentor and the other’s a relative newcomer to the Rams coaching scene, but both have the same goal.
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Kurt Hancock masterminded Western’s 2017 and 2018 dominance of the Country Rugby League under-16 championship race, guiding the Rams to victory in both years.
Successive titles is remarkable at that level.
Factor in the team also made the 2016 final and Hancock’s record at a junior championship level is near-unprecedented.
But the 2019 Cowra Magpies head coach will make the leap with a host of his 2018 title-winning squad and take on the under-18 job next season.
Stepping into Hancock’s shoes in the under 16s, Warren-based coach Tony Woolnough will take the reins of the Rams juniors ahead of the 2019 championship race.
It’s a position Woolnough says he’s ready for after learning from the best.
“I helped Kurt as an assistant and volunteer for a few years. You learn plenty from a guy like Kurt, and I just tried to be a sponge and take it all in,” Woolnough said.
“I went for the 18s job but with Campbell being there, and Rams rules in place against coach-son combinations, I saw an opportunity there with the 16s.
“Hopefuly I do as well as Kurt did.”
Woolnough’s sons Campbell and Matt, both having been key figures at the Forbes Magpies, have progressed through the Rams system in the last half-decade, the former making the Western under 18s train-on squad this year.
Both Western Andrew Johns Cup and Laurie Daley Cup train-on squads assembled at Wellington High School last weekend for an induction day, one that included staff from the Penrith Panthers.
Woolnough said there was enough talent on show from this area to suggest the Rams can continue their dominance of both championship races in 2019.
“I’ve coached Group 11 sides for the last eight to 10 years,” Woolnough added.
“There’s definitely a lot of talent there but there’s also a lot of new kids, so we’ll start afresh. I’m looking forward to the campaign.”
The Rams’ train-on squads will continue to meet, as a group and at satellite points in Bathurst, Forbes and Dubbo, in the lead-up to Christmas before the squads are trimmed ahead of the trials in January.
All four Rams squads – under 16s, under 18s, women’s and under 23s – will meet in Dubbo on December 8.
Round one of the Andrew Johns Cup and Laurie Daley Cup will be staged at Lithgow on February 16.
