Digby Cooper embracing time in Emus' first grade system

In the case of Kinross product Digby Cooper, he doesn't lack any of that.

You can tell by talking to the Orange Emus' prop that he's keen as mustard to be part of Pete Bromley's starting XV and can't wait to mix it up against Dubbo Kangaroos at Endeavour on Saturday.

The clash comes in the third round of the Blowes Clothing Cup campaign as the 18-year-old will start at prop for the 1-1 premiers.

Emus will be looking to build on a 39-26 win in round two as they come out like a house on fire against Forbes Platypi, before taking their foot off the gas in the latter stages.

But Cooper's still got a lot of individual adjustments to make as he admits the difference between Colts and first is one that will take some getting used to.

"All the simple things that everyone talks about all the time have to be done really well," Cooper said.

"The contact is also a lot more solid and you've just got to be switched on and communicating all the time."

When you're surrounded by the likes of Charlie Henley and Simon Badgery at training, it doesn't take long to learn the ropes.

Cooper spoke about the impact the senior players have had on his progression so far.

"The best thing about Emus is the culture and how many older boys are at training," he said.

"They've really got behind me so far and they're always there if I want to pick their brain and ask them questions."

Cooper understands the round two win wasn't perfect, and he touched on some of the improvements the side is looking to make, without giving too much away.

"We've got a few things up our sleeve," he said.

"We just want to trust the process and stick to our game-plan. We also want to make sure we're all communicating with each other out there." Kick-off is 3.15pm.

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