The Weekend Wrap | Is it time Group 10 brings back two-game ban for rep drop outs?

Saturday's first grade squad was a shadow of the side the region is capable of trotting out, with a couple of reserve grade players from Blayney and Cowra each getting a run in Graeme Osborne's side at King George Oval over the weekend.

They hung tough, sure. But ultimately Group 11 proved too strong to run out 28-6 winners - 22 unanswered second half points a clear indication in the discrepancy of the two sides.

Even McCoy White, a late call up for the Group 10 side after a few withdrawals mid-week, admitted he was a bit shocked to get the call from Osborne but given the team was short on numbers he was more than happy to have a crack.

Righto, who's next? That can't be the measure for selection. Even if White's enthusiasm for the jersey was higher than most, don't we want the best of the best out there?

Not convinced it can happen?

Look at this Group 10 squad from 2018.

GROUP 10 first grade, 2018: 1 Sam Dwyer (St Pat's), 2 Tom Satterthwaite (Orange CYMS), 3 Abel Lefaoseu (Oberon), 4 Jackson Brien (Oberon), 5 Mick Latu (St Pat's), 6 Jeremy Gordon (Cowra), 7 Dougie Hewitt (Panthers), 8 Josh Starling (Oberon), 9 Ryan Griffin (CYMS), 10 Brent Seager (Panthers), 11 Chris Grevsmuhl (CYMS), 12 Josh Rainbow (Cowra), 13 Rakai Tuheke (Hawks); Bench: 14 Jake Betts (Panthers), 15 Ethan McKellar (Hawks), 16 Blake Lawson (Panthers), 17 Greg Behan (St Pat's).

You could argue no players from the Group 10 team that ran out last weekend would get a crack in that side (aside from Jake Betts, the only surviving member of this squad).

So, where to from here?

Should the Western derby continue to be an annual fixture? I think the answer there has to be yes.

And if that is the case, how do we ensure the game lives up to the billing it deserves?

Bring back two game suspensions for those who pull out?

It's an option. It has to be. And should be first item at the top of the agenda this week if the Group 10 board plans on meeting at all.

Because, in the end, rugby league is built on rivalry. And Group 10 and Group 11 has one of the best in bush footy.

And so while change continues to punctuate the sport at almost every level, including in Western Division, our game's administrators need to ensure that old Group 10 versus Group 11 flame continues to burn brightly in Rams territory.

Gun Group 10 under 18s fullback Harry Wald was a notable absentee from his side when it ran out on Saturday at Blayney. Why?

The fullback hurt himself on Friday and went through warm-ups Saturday, but decided not to play. He wasn't right.

It's a decision that was praised by Group 10 coach Mark Booth. Orange Hawks Kaydden Hoad also injured himself during the game, Booth said he "played on one leg".

Wald's hip coped a whack in the captain's run the night before and it didn't hold up.

"If Harry had gone out and lasted for two minutes, then we're down a man. It was a very brave call by him, which is hard to do. He thought of the team and put the team first. That was tough for him," Booth said.

"Harry wanted to play, but he put the team first."

Speaking of players not playing at Blayney, Jeremy Thurston should have been one of them.

That's in no way a dig at his selection for Group 11. It's a crack at the NSW Country selectors.

Western Rams coach Cameron Greenhalgh was hopeful he's get a few players in the NSW Country squad after his side made the semi-finals of the Country Championships.

The reality? Not one player made it.

Yes, the strength of Newcastle and the Illawarra is hard to ignore but Thurston scored six tries in round one of the champs and scored again in the semi-final defeat.

He can play basically anywhere across the backline and has simply been getting better and better.

NSW Country did beat City so you may say it was the right team. We will just point out their fullback, Cameron Anderson, was sin-binned late on and that made things a little closer than it should have been.

Gone are the days when the Mark Riddells and Craig Fitzgibbons of the rugby league world are called upon to kick the footy - and it's a crying shame.

Group 10 'five-eighth' Nic Barlow, though, is certainly a throwback.

While he didn't line up for a conversion, his kicking game was prominent during the match.

From kick-offs, to drop-outs to goal-line grubbers, we need to see more big men around the bush get a chance to lay boot to ball.

"I probably should have got my license taken off me," Barlow admits (although we disagree).

"It is what it is. I got told to do what I thought was right and that's what I was doing."

Go back a few years and it's Group 10 leading the way for the women's game and there was quite a gap to the rest of the region.

Things are very different now and the western area is continuing to prove one of the best in the state for developing female talent.

After defeating Group 10 in league tag for the first time in nine attempts last year, Group 11 backed it up and won again on Saturday at Blayney.

Group 10 is in no way getting worse, there's some outstanding talent there, but the quality is across the board now.

That was proved on Sunday when Dubbo's Kaitlyn Mason co-coached the NSW Country under 17s girls' side, a team which included Woodbridge trio Elizabeth MacGregor, Paige Bohringer and Alana O'Loughlin.

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