Rams boys forced to dig deep after a player dismissal leaves them one man down

It was a hard day at the office for the Western sides competing in round two of the under-16s Andrew Johns and under-18s Laurie Daley Cup at Lithgow's Tony Luchetti Sportsground on Saturday, February 7.

After tough losses for both sides last weekend, the home teams walked out with a point to prove, eager to wipe away the sting of their round one defeats.

The home side's 12-34 defeat to the Steelers marks back-to-back setbacks, following a tough 44-18 opening round loss to the Central Coast Roosters.

It was a promising start to the match as Izaak Fogg scored the opening try in the first two minutes. The Rams kept the pressure on with Bobby Bryant soon crossing for a second try to lock the scores at 10-10.

Conversion kicker Noah Cox added another four points to the tally to give the team the boost they needed.

Their game started to crumble after a high tackle sent Fogg off for the second half of the game, leaving the side one man down with 20 minutes left of the match.

Coach Jordan Meredith, addressed the rocky start to the season and stressed that reducing simple errors is their main focus moving forward.

"We need to stop hurting ourselves, not giving away stupid penalties and preventing errors where, in this competition, wins games," he said.

"If we can improve on that, I feel hopeful looking forward to next week, where we can apply pressure to the other teams and score tries.

"Because at the moment we can get down to the opposition end, but with scoring tries, we can't get there."

After a shift in momentum, the boy's resilience was impressive to watch, particularly with their efforts on the defensive end.

Meredith was quick to praise the boys' attitude and their ability to adjust quickly following the player dismissal.

"I was really happy with their effort, going down to 12 men didn't help the team, but the boys' response and their attitude from that setback is what I'm really proud of," he said.

"It's a learning curve for these 15 and 16-year-old boys; they're gonna make mistakes, and it's how they respond to it, so let's hope we put in a more consistent performance."

Beyond the results, Meredith highlighted the strength of the team's support system, crediting it for the positive attitudes the boys bring to the sport they love.

"The support from all the parents, the families, and the community has been fantastic," he said.

"All the sacrifices that these boys and their families make for them to get to training midweek or get to certain places around the state are unmatched.

"We had three boys last week flying from Vanuatu, travelling down to Canberra, all on their own coins.

"It says a lot about the respect they have for their teammates, but also for the proud history and representation of the Rams.

"They're a very proud bunch, and they wanna represent their families and their junior clubs in their area."

While the young talent in the Rams squad is evident, Meredith is mindful of the work ahead as they strive to find consistency in their game.

"I thought from last week's performance it was a great improvement," he said.

"We haven't learned our lessons from the round one game, but it's a good learning curve, and we're playing against some really good squads who can train more consistently.

"But the improvement from me is that their effort and application and their fight for each other were much better than last week, and the boys should be proud of their efforts."

The day concluded with the Laurie Daley Cup, where the under-18s faced a frustrating start, struggling to find the line despite early efforts.

With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, fullback Ethan Harrison put his foot down, accelerating away to cross for his side's opening try.

"It felt really good, and the weather conditions got better as we were going," he said.

"It felt nice to have played better than last week, and I really felt all the boys were up for it."

Under the guidance of former NRL player and long-time coach Shane Rodney, the boys were at their best defensively in the second half, holding the Steelers to 12 points.

However, the Illawara side proved the difference as the final whistle blew at 18-24.

Despite the loss, the effort from the Rams was hard to miss as they found another gear in the second half.

Bailey Crawford sparked the momentum, crossing for a try and adding a conversion with 20 minutes remaining.

The pressure continued into the closing stages as Jett Rudd claimed another four-pointer to reach a 16-point total, supported by Charlie Fischbeck's standout performance in securing two from two conversion kicks.

However, the mountain was just too high to climb, as the Steelers had already done the hard work with two crucial tries in the opening half.

While disappointed with the result, Harrison recognised the team's vast improvement, noting a significant step up from their 58-12 round one loss to the Roosters.

"I would say our energy levels were the biggest difference," he said.

"Last week's energy levels weren't very high, but this week everyone lifted for it."

Harrison was a standout leader on the field, providing constant encouragement to his teammates throughout the entire match.

"It was very important to keep the boys' energy up," he said.

"Everyone wanted to get that comeback story going.

"No one was happy about last week, and everyone was much happier with this week's performance."

The team is scheduled for a well-earned bye next weekend, but Harrison says the side is already looking ahead to round four, having identified their main focus.

"Win hopefully," he said.

"Just controlling the play better, Illawarra got the fast play of the balls there, and we just need to slow that down a bit."

Both Western sides will return in round four to compete against the Riverina Bulls at Parkes' Jock Colley Field, Saturday, February 21.