RUGBY LEAGUE
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NICK GUTHRIE
Group 11 secretary Ross McDermott believes the 2016 Group 11 squad will be one of the strongest seen in some time.
An extended squad of 21 players was named on Sunday night in the lead-up to the clash with Group 10 at Gilgandra’s McGrane Oval on April 23.
The Group 11 squad will gather this weekend for a training session at Parkes before the coaching staff and committee meet to choose a final squad, something McDermott believes will be a difficult task.
“That’s one of the hard parts and there’s really no right or wrong it just comes down to who’s in the best form and who suits the team best,” he said.
“Whoever doesn’t make the squad will be really unlucky because this is probably one of the strongest Group 11 teams I’ve seen.
“It will be a difficult task but a good task because it shows the depth of talent in Group 11.”
Defending premiers Dubbo CYMS is the most well represented team, possessing one third of the Group 11 squad, while every other club in the competition has at least one player on show.
Forbes and Parkes each have four players selected while Nyngan have two and Macquarie, Westside, Wellington and Narromine each have one.
CYMS boom off-season recruit and former NRL speedster Isaac Gordon headlines the squad while another to watch will be Nyngan’s new star Reece Goldsmith, who played hooker in the NSW Cup as recently as last season.
McDermott said he and the committee were in consultation with Western Rams coach Darren Jackson when selecting the squad and said there was a good mix of experience and skill.
“There’s a good balance,” he said.
“Ben McGuire was good for the Rams under-21s this year and Ethan McKellar from Parkes has impressed us and Billy Sing gives us some real flexibility because he played centre and second row for CYMS on Friday night.
“But we’ve also been loyal to guys like (Kieran) Cubby-Shipp, (Colby) Pellow and Jacob Neill, who guided around the Rams well last season.
“I think Group 10 will name a big pack but we’ve got a good mix with pace and mobility with a guy like Jarryn Powyer.”
While not the biggest forward pack ever named, there is plenty of power in players such as Luke Thompson, Ilisoni Vonomateiratu, Zac Merritt and Brendan Tago.
Kotoni Staggs, Jyie Chapman and Cubby-Shipp provide real speed and skill while Gordon, who impressed for CYMS on the wing during their trial win over Westside on Friday night, may find himself in the position again after McDermott said his certainty under the high ball was something the side needed
“Group 10 and Group 11 always have that bit of a rivalry,” McDermott added.
“There’s been a bit of a change of structure this year with Darren Jackson as Western coach and he wants things done earlier, the Rams don’t actually play until mid-May.
“A (Western) squad will be picked during the week after the game and then we might even try and get a trial match in before the Country Championships.”
GROUP 11: Haydon Bolam (Forbes), Jyie Chapman (CYMS), Keiran Cubby-Shipp (CYMS), Chris Daley (Macquarie), Sam Dwyer (Parkes), Reece Goldsmith (Nyngan), Isaac Gordon (CYMS), Jake Grace (Forbes), Ben McGuire (Forbes), Ethan McKellar (Parkes), Zac Merritt (Forbes), Jacob Neill (Nyngan), Colby Pellow (CYMS), Brad Pickering (Nyngan), Jordan Pope (Parkes), Jarryn Powyer (CYMS), Kotoni Staggs (Wellington), Billy Sing (CYMS), Brendon Tago (Parkes), Luke Thompson (Narromine), Colt Tairua (Westside), Ilisoni Vonomateiratu (CYMS)