LAST year Bathurst Panthers centre Andrew Mendes scored a hat-trick in the Country Championships final to help Group 10 to success and while he has stepped up an age division for 2010 and he is now wearing the green and white of the Western Rams, the points have just kept coming for him.
One of six Bathurst Panthers in the under 18s representative side, Mendes finished the weekend at Muswellbrook with a personal haul of 22 points as the Rams charged into the finals of the Country Rugby League Regional Championships.
He booted four conversions on Saturday as the Rams posted a 40-30 victory over the Bidgee Bulls while on Sunday he kicked five goals and ran in a try to help down the Northern Thunderbolts 26-6 and set up a meeting this Saturday with Central Hunter Power at Carrington Park.
It was a good start to 2010 for Mendes, who has stepped up to the under 18s this season after being part of the 2009 under 16 Panthers Group 10 premiership-winning side.
However, Mendes was by no means alone in having a big weekend for the Rams.
Panther Jake Davis scored four tries over the two games while halfback Doug Hewitt (Panthers) and five-eighth Blake Fitzpatrick (Pat's) directed play well.
The Western Rams side also included Pat's Kirk Roberts and Panthers' Luke Carpenter, Brady Cheshire and Jack Siejka.
Coach Graeme Osborne was delighted with the way his whole squad, comprised of Group 10 and Group 11's best, performed over the weekend given many are still 16 years old.
"It was just a really good effort and actually I think we surprised ourselves in how we performed," he said.
“A lot of them are still 16-year-old kids coming up against older guys, because they are first time players I think they may have been a little bit apprehensive in the first half against the Bulls. After half-time though we came out an absolutely blitzed them before we shut up shop."
That game against the Bidgee Bulls saw the Rams leading 16-12 at half-time before running in 24 points in 15 minutes after the resumption of play to set up the win.
It was fullback Jyie Chapman (Dubbo Macquarie) that helped inspire the scoring blitz. He pulled off an ankle tap to stop a movement that would have seen the Bulls draw level, then on the next set he was put over the line from an inside ball.
Centre Davis ran in a hat-trick as the Rams skipped out to a 40-12 lead and knowing his players would have to back up the following day, Osborne took the chance to rest Hewitt, Jordan Hay and Matt Langby.
While conceding late points to the Bulls as the game finished at 40-30, the Rams almost straight away began preparing for Sunday's clash with the highly fancied Northern Thunderbolts.
The work of the coaching staff paid off as Hewitt scored just three minutes into the clash while winger Roberts added another. Mendes booted both conversions and a penalty to make it 14-0 at half-time.
Nothern struck back after the break to make it game on at 14-6, but Western responded with two tries in six minutes to Mendes and Davis to secure a 26-2 win and a semi-final berth.
"Over the two days our points were really spread across the whole park, certainly it would be hard to single out one player as a real stand out because everyone put in a really good effort, even the reserves," Osborne said.
"Our forwards really laid a good platform for our halves to produce some good back line play.
"I think a lot of players put their hands up and hopefully will be in Country selectors mind."
WESTERN RAMS 40 (Jake Davis 3, Carl Planicka 2, Blake Baxter, Jyie Chapman, Sam Coster tries; Andrew Mendes 4 goals) defeated BIDGEE BULLS 30 (Manhoni Lei, Larenzo Tafili, Luke Ashlin, Jonathan Sila, Ben Hall tries; Kane Hammond 5 goals)
WESTERN RAMS 26 (Jake Davis, Andrew Mendes, Doug Hewitt, Kirk Roberts tries; Andrew Mendes 5 goals) defeated NORTHERN THUNDERBOLTS 6 (Hayden Strong try; Nick O'Roberts goal).
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