BOYS from the bush have no right to win - it is an attitude that Cameron Greenhalgh knows his Western Rams side will face most weeks in the Presidents Cup competition and one he is determined to defy.
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It will require hard work, it will require continued improvement and it will probably require luck as well, but Greenhalgh knows the pride that comes with wearing a coveted Rams jersey will inspire his squad to do just that.
"That's the thing we are going to come up against every weekend, that attitude 'They're the boys from the bush and they've got no right to beat us city fellas'," Greenhalgh said.
"We've just got to overcome that and Western is very proud in that area, stepping up when we need to, so we just have to keep going the next seven or eight weeks and keep playing the best footy we can."
But the coach saw plenty of grit and determination and he knows those factors - combined with the natural talent within his squad - gives Western a good platform on which to build.
"We kept on competing right to the 80th minute, we just had a bad 20-minute period, probably the third 20 minutes where we let a couple of soft tries in," he said.
"That's the disappointing thing when you're playing a side like the Bulls."
This Saturday the Rams will play against the Illawarra-based Western Suburbs Devils, a side which lost 22-16 to Thirroul in the opening round after at one stage leading by 12 points.
While their set-piece moves are a work in progress, Greenhalgh knows the combination of halfback Harry Siejka and five-eighth Mitch Burke is one which can create plenty in attack.
"Harry's obviously played a lot of football at a high level and his calmness on a football field is something that we haven't had. Mitch plays off-the-cuff a little bit as a running five-eighth, he's played a lot of rep footy as well," he said.
Kick-off is 3.10pm.