Joe Stageman runs the ball up for South Dubbo under-15s when they played St John’s in a competition game. It’s going to be a big week for junior league with schools and representative football starting today at Apex Oval.

The finals of the Andrew Ryan Country Cup will be played out today, with teams from Dubbo, Forbes, Blayney and Orange contesting in the under-13s and under-15s age divisions.

Tomorrow, the Russell Richardson Shield, for Years 3 and 4 students, and David Peachey Cup, Years 5 and 6, will see schools competing from Orange to as far west as Nyngan.

South Dubbo and Buninyong Public and St Laurence’s Catholic school will represent the Dubbo area in this competition.

Central schools from across the area will get the chance to hit it out on Thursday and Friday in a round-robin competition, which will involve teams in the under-16s (Thursday) and opens (Friday) divisions from central schools acrossthe central west area.

The massive week of league will conclude this weekend with the NSW Country Championships.

Games will be played between Group Ten, Eleven, Nine and Twenty in the under-13s and -14s divisions.

Dubbo District Junior Rugby League president Neil Millgate said these junior events provide a great opportunity to encourage more kids to become involved with rugby league.

“The whole aim is to get kids playing the sport and these gala days provide a great little introduction,” he said.

“It is good to see that all of our local schools are now participating in these competitions. Macquarie Anglican Grammar joined this year and Wellington are also back on board after going through a re-building stage of their junior league.

“The bigger kids are also able to take part as we now hold referees courses within the high schools and alot of them are able to ref the games.

“We’re also lucky that Dubbo is situated in a good central place and with our first-class facilities we are able to continuously hold these events here.”

ANDREW RYAN COUNTRY CUP

Apex Oval, today

Under 15’s Field 1

10am: Condobolin High School v St John’s College

10.50am: St John’s Collage v Blayney High School

11.40pm: Condobolin High School v Blayney High School

Under-13’s Field 2

10.25am: Dubbo South v Forbes Red Bend

11.15pm: James Sheahan v Forbes Red Bend

Denman’s Ebony Butler (left) on the attack in his side’s Under 8 clash with Dungowan. Angus Tongue is the tackler.

Today it’s the turn of another 800 or so older juniors to grace the Scully Park and Minor League Park fields in the Peel Schools Carnival secondary divisions.

Almost 60 teams are entered in the secondary divisions today, one of which is the Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School Under 13s.

Farrer coach Wayne Hunter was at Saturday’s Primary Peel Schools Day watching a nephew run around and was hopeful his Under 13s could continue a winning run.

At the recent Country Cup day in Tamworth the Farrer 13s beat Narrabri West 58-nil and Glen Innes 28-10 to earn a berth at the regional finals in Armidale.

“They’re a strong side across the board,” Hunter said.

“Normally with 13s you have four or five standouts but we’ve got a very good squad. We don’t lose anything when the reserves run on.”

Farrer is strong in the 13 age group too, with two sides playing in the local Tamworth Minor League. Hunter coaches the Gold 13s and Rob Arantz the Green 13s, with the talent being equally distributed among the two sides.

Peel Schools Carnival president Peter Blom was delighted with Saturday’s turnout when some 66 primary school sides took part.

The Tamworth school was competing against Narrabri High and Glen Innes High for the right to represent North West in Armidale next month.

The three schools had qualified for the Tamworth carnival by winning their respective gala days but, despite putting up some stiff opposition, the visiting teams were unable to topple Farrer.

Farrer went through undefeated in both the 13s and U15s.

The 15s though was very tightly contested, with only six points the difference in two of the three games.

“It was a really good contest,” Greater Northern Development manager Jamie McCormack said.

“All three teams were in with a show. Farrer just outlasted them.”

They were severely tested, especially by Narrabri.

The two sides were locked at 10-all at one stage but a converted try saw Farrer pull away for a 16-10 win.

They then accounted for Glen Innes 28-16.

Narrabri, deservedly, did challk up a win for the day, edging out Glen Innes 20-14 when they clashed. It was the reverse in the 13s, with Glen Innes triumphant 32-12.

Farrer was on another level though.

They brushed aside Narrabri 52-nil before defeating Glen Innes 28-10.

“They had a number of really big kids, which proved the difference,” McCormack said.

Dubbo South Campus were too strong in the under-13s division while St John’s College were the better side in the Under-15s.

The competition is named after former Dubbo boy and St John’s College Student Andrew Ryan, who has gone on to achieve great things in rugby league.

He is the current Canterbury Bulldogs captain in the NRL and has attained Australian Kangaroo and NSW Origin representative honours.

In the under-13s, students from St John’s, Peak Hill Central and Dubbo South campus fought it out, with Delroy unfortunately forced to pull out.

While the under-15s involved four teams, St John’s College, Dubbo Senior and South Campuses and Peak Hill.

The Andy Ryan Cup extends throughout the western region with the competition to be held in Blayney tomorrow and in Forbes next week.

The winners of each of the three days then make their way into the western regional final to be held on back in Dubbo on June 29.

From there the regional winners will head to Cootamundra in late July to take on the best school from the Southern division competition, Wagga and South Coast.

Country Rugby League’s western region development officer Wade Judd said it was pleasing to that the event continued to be so well supported.

“We’ve been running this competition for five years now and it continues to be a strong event,” he said.

Gilgandra High School’s Jordan Hay (right) was selected in the New South Wales Combined High School Opens rugby league side. Hay pictured with Matt Langby.

Hay, soon to turn 18, is entitled to be excited about what he has achieved this year, his latest success coming with a place in the New South Wales Combined Opens team.

He was a member of the Greater Western team that played in the State carnival last Monday to Wednesday, a team coached by Blayney’s Tony Tilburg.

Western finished with one win from three games but the Gilgandra High School student had done enough to get a place on the NSWCHS bench.

With two days off after his school’s commitments Hay was back on the field for Dubbo CYMS in their Group 11 win over Narromine Jets on Saturday night and played off the bench for first grade as well.

“I’ve very excited about it all, it’s a great team to belong with and one that has a lot of tradition,” he said about his CHS selection.

“It was a tough three days of football with a lot of very good players in all the teams. To get into the State team is an honour.

“I thought I played reasonably well and was hoping to get picked, but you never know in these things.”

NSWCHS will play in the Australian Schoolboys Carnival on the Gold Coast over three days from July 11-16 at Burleigh Heads.

From that carnival selectors will name an Australian Schoolboys side to play in the United Kingdom prior to Christmas.

Dubbo College Senior Campus’s Max Ray - who was a team-mate of Hay’s in the premiership winning Dubbo CYMS under-18s side last year - was an Australian Schoolboy team member in 2009.

Tony Tilburg said Hay’s State selection came as no surprise to him.

“Jordan had an exceptional carnival,” he said.

“He ran strongly with the ball, off loaded to supports and backed up his games with dogged defence.

“He deserved to be picked and I’m confident he will be an impact player for the team off the bench.”

Gilgandra High School coach Tony Wilson, also heaped praise on Hay.

“He’s a great kid and very dedicated to everything he does,” Wilson said.

“Being a member of the St George Illawarra development squad, Jordan’s had the opportunity to go to a number of training camps and has programs at home he works on by himself.

“He has spoken about Wayne Bennett being involved with the squad and he’s taken a keen interest in how he’s going from time to time.

“He’ll go all right and all our students at Gil hope he does as well.

“Jordan was signed by St George as a 15-year-old and recently has his contract extended.

“He will finish his Higher School Certificate this year and go down to Wollongong and combine university studies with his football.”

Dubbo CYMS coaches Greg McIntosh (under-18s) and Blake Tremain-Cannon (first grade) are both big fans of Hay and the young back-rower has been getting some time off the bench for this grade this season.

Hay’s CHS selection comes the same year as being named in the Country Rugby League under-18s side but from all reports Country’s game against Queensland will be held the same weekend that the schoolboys carnival gets underway.

PCYC’S under-15s’s player Josh Ferguson is one of a number of Dubbo players representing Group 11 in the under-15s at the Country Rugby League junior championships in Wagga this weekend.

Six Dubbo players make up the under-15s side headed by Nyngan-based Col Wright, while an impressive nine Dubbo players have been selected in the under-16s squad, directed by Wayne Sing.

In their opening matches on Saturday the under-16s will tackle Group 14, while the under-15s will meet Group 20.

Each team is guaranteed three games across the weekend, how they fare in their first game will decide their opponents for the second two matches.

Despite a few injuries bringing some late changes to the under-16s, Sing believes his side is on track to do well.

“The beauty of our side is that our bench is very strong,” he said.

“We had a trial against Group 10 a few weeks ago and although we lost I felt we still did well,” he said.

“It was a tight game and although we are not the biggest side the boys showed they are mobile and smart ball players.”

Given these two sides are competing at such a high level, Sing believes the key to their success will ride on their ability to perform under pressure.

“They can’t afford to make errors at this level, particularly when coming out of their own end,” he said.

HIGH HOPES: Some of the region’s brightest young rugby league talent were put through their paces by the St George Illawarra Dragons’ High Performance Unit coaching staff yesterday at Wade Park.

FOR many young boys from the Central West aspiring to a career in the NRL, they have to make the decision to leave home and move to Sydney to follow this dream.

For a group of 15 boys yesterday, their dreams were brought to them when the St George Illawarra High Performance Unit ran a training session in Orange.

Boys from Bathurst, Dubbo, Oberon, Nyngan, Cowra and Lake Cargelligo attended the afternoon, which included a skills session, a video analysis and some time in the gym.

HPU head coach Ben Haran said the group was about helping young players work towards the next level without expecting them to move away from home.

“We’re not big on taking them down to Wollongong away from their families,” Haran said.

“We’d rather them be at home and train with us occasionally. Then when they’re ready to leave home, they can come down to the NYC (National Youth Cup).”

Of the 15 players at yesterday’s training, seven were on contract with the HPU and have regular sessions.

The others had been spotted at different games in the region and been targeted as players the HPU would like to keep an eye on.

The HPU was established at St George Illawarra at the start of last year by NRL coach Wayne Bennett to help develop young players so they can work their way to higher honours.

Those with HPU contracts have training sessions every eight weeks and alternate between Wollongong and a regional area.

The contracted players also get the opportunity to work with some of the players they hope will one day be their team-mates.

“It’s just an opportunity to come down and spend some time with the NYC squad,” Haran explained.

“They also join in on some NRL sessions. It’s pretty exciting for them.”

For the players who aren’t on contract, they will be discussed after the session and if they have impressed, they could earn a contract with the HPU.

Ehsman is enjoying a successful season with NRL team the Sydney Roosters in the Toyota Cup Competition. He is starting at lock and has been one of the standouts for his team who is running eighth in the competition.

On Wednesday he and fellow Roosters player, Gunnedah boy Reece Jaeger conducted a coaching session for the members of the Glen Innes High School Gifted and Talented Rugby League (GATRL) students (Celtic Colts).

The session started with 25 minutes of rigorous fitness training.

“Ehs passed on the message that his pre season training was like a boot camp, most of it was fitness,” Celtic Colts coach Richard Taylor said.

Ehsman then put the boys through some simple ball skills drills and Jaeger ran some defensive drills.

Taylor said he thought the Colts players took a lot away from the session.

“It was interesting, it was good to be coached by the elite,” he said.

Taylor said that Ehsman expressed the importance of the simple things like basic skills.

“They are great guys, it was great to have them.”

Farrer’s two sides will now go through to the regional Country Cup Carnival in Tamworth on June 16, said organiser Jamie McCormack.

“They won the 13s and the 15s – just a little bit too strong for the other sides today,” McCormack said.

“They’ll play in the regional carnival against the winners from Inverell, Armidale and Narrabri in Tamworth on June 16.

“McCarthy Catholic College, Peel and Tamworth High all had some good kids and a number of players who don’t normally play league as well. They said they enjoyed it and might, hopefully, play a bit more.”

Farrer’s Under 13s beat Peel 62-nil in the only Under 13 game while Farrer beat THS 24-8, McCarthy 36-4 and Peel 48-nil in their Under 15 clashes. McCarthy beat Peel 26-18 and drew 22-all with Tamworth High while Peel beat 18-16 in the other game.

Dan Mitchell coached the McCarthy Catholic College Under 15s and was delighted with their efforts.

“A win, a draw and a loss,” Mitchell said.

“They went well for their first games together. Farrer were too strong but our boys didn’t give up and they kept going. And they all walked off with a smile on their face. That was the main thing. It was also great to use these new grounds too.”

Luke Wiegold played in the second row for McCarthy and the Year 9 15-year-old was delighted with the win, loss and draw. He also plays for Collegians on Saturday’s as does Jaak Fisher.

However, he’s tipping a Queensland win in tonight’s first State of Origin, while Fisher is going for a NSW win.

A hooker or second rower 14-year-old Year 9 student Jaak Fisher said yesterday was a “great day, we played all right”.

Keeghan Faint plays for Collegians in the local Minor League but was ball boy yesterday.

“I’m not playing rugby league this year,” the 13-year-old Year 7 student said.

Promising young Group 11 rugby league forwards Matt Langby and Jordan Hay, who have been selected in the NSW Country Under-18s side to come up against Queensland Country on July 10.

They will play in a State of Origin-like clash against their Queensland counterparts on July 10.

The budding young players were chosen alongside two of their under-18s Western Rams representative team mates Kirk Roberts and Andrew Mendes from Bathurst.

The Rams recently competed at the NSW under-18s Country Championships.

Having worked a lot with the boys in their club football, CYMS under-18s coach Greg McIntosh and Macquarie’s Greg Edwards were not at all surprised by their selection.

The pair believe the boys have outstanding traits that allow them to be noticed on the football field without being too dominating.

“Jordan is a very complete player. He has the attitude and leads by example,” McIntosh said.

“I think one of his most important qualities is that he controls his emotions, if he gets knocked about he is not phased by it, and just continues to play to his strengths.”

“Matt is not a flashy footballer, he just has a good work ethic and does the little things right,” Edwards said.

No matter how the side goes when they come up against Queensland they are sure to make a great impact, with Langby in the backs and Hay in the front row.

“Matt will be a big asset to the side, as he has matured over the years and stepped up in his footy,” Edwards said.

“Defensively Jordan is very sound, he has the ability to promote the ball and he’s got the judgment on the field,” McIntosh said.

For boys who come from small country towns, Hay from Gilgandra, and Langby from Warren, Edwards said to be included in the side was a massive achievement.

“It is a big thing for kids out this way to get chosen for country,” he said.