RUGBY LEAGUE
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ORANGE CYMS and Group 10 front-rower Simon Osborne said he’s gunning to help his side to a win in Saturday’s Western Division Representative Cluster match-up with Group 11 and he’s gunning equally as hard to pick up another Rams jumper for himself.
But, he’s just as interested in seeing how CYMS teammate Ryan Griffin fares in his first representative game after returning from a stint in the Canberra Raiders’ under-age sides.
Griffin returned to CYMS this year and slotted into the green and golds’ centres in their round one loss to Oberon, although to be fair, he didn’t set the world on fire.
“He was a bit lost in the centres, but naturally he’s more of a hooker,” Osborne said, adding a Western jumper wouldn’t be beyond Griffin should he perform.
“He’s got plenty of ability, we all know that and he’s been good at training for CYMS and Group 10 so far. He was actually running at halfback at our last training session. I’m really interested in seeing how he goes this weekend.
“He’s the kind of kid who can cover a lot of different positions so you wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him get a bench spot.
“A Western jumper is definitely on my radar as well, I’ve said it before but I think this will be my last year of representative footy so it would be nice to get one more.”
But, as Osborne said, Group 10 will need to win if they’re going to earn a substantial number of Rams representatives.
“That’s exactly right, winning is the most important thing,” he said.
“You see a lot of guys get picked for Group 10 and then play a bit selfishly to try and stand out, but it never works.
“In these representative games it’s all about the team working together well to get the result, then the higher selections come with that.
“I think we’re pretty confident of playing well and we’re pretty confident of getting a good win up.”
Osborne will slot into the monster Group 10 pack, alongside the likes of Bathurst Panthers’ Brent Seager and Jake Betts, Lithgow Workies’ Chris Rhodes and Cowra’s Ron Lawrence.
If Group 10 are to beat the blockbuster Group 11 side - featuring the likes of Jyie Chapman, Kotoni Staggs, Jake Grace and Jacob Neill - Osborne said winning the battle up-front, in the middle third of the field is pivotal.
Group 10 take on Group 11 from 1pm at Gilgandra's McGrane Oval, the Rams side to contest the 2016 AAMI Regional Championship will be named next Wednesday.
GROUP 10: Nathan Lawrence (Bathurst St Pat's), Ryan Griffin (Orange CYMS), Abel Faifua-Lefaoseu (Oberon Tigers), Rota Setu (Mudgee Dragons), Riccie Arriola (Oberon Tigers), Jack Nobes (Cowra Magpies), Gary Reilly (Bathurst St Pat's), Simon Osborne (Orange CYMS), Warren Williams (Cowra Magpies), Brent Seager (Bathurst Panthers), Hamish Bryant (Mudgee Dragons), Rakai-Manaia Tuheke (Blayney Bears), Todd Munn (Mudgee Dragons), Jake Betts (Bathurst Panthers), Chris Rhodes (Lithgow Workies), Ron Lawrence (Cowra Magpies), Blake Lawson (Bathurst Panthers), Brendan West (Lithgow Workies)
