Lithgow’s Harry Hopkins and his Western Rams’ under 16s side has completed preparations for its tilt at the 2017 Country Championships with an intensive, day-long camp at Dubbo on Sunday.
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This year’s championships begin when Western travels to Canberra to take on Greater Southern Stingrays next Sunday, and Kurt Hancock’s Rams juniors enjoyed the ideal tune-up ahead of round one at Seiffert Oval.
Along with fitness and ball-work sessions, both the Rams’ under 16s and under 18s squads were presented with welfare seminars from former NRL gun and Dubbo product Andrew Ryan.
The former Canterbury backrower’s path from growing up in Dubbo to playing at the highest of the game is well-documented and is well-known, but the man known as ‘Bobcat’ still takes great pride in sharing his experiences with the next generation.
With both squads being put through their paces at Caltex Park on Sunday, Ryan not only got a first-hand glimpse of the region’s talent, he also got a chance to spread some important messages.
As a welfare officer he works closely with the next wave of talent breaking into representative circles, each player sharing the same dream he had when he was a kid and training and playing at the same ground.
“Every time I come here it brings back memories because I see in these kids what I look back and see in myself at their age,” he said.
“And to be able to work with them, help them prepare for what they will go through as they progress, and see them engage makes it all worthwhile from my end.
“The sessions today were about social responsibility, resilience and living with gratitude. They were about how it takes more than just talent to go down and make it in the big time.
“The kids in these rep sides were being worked hard on the field so I think our sessions really broke things up for them, and you wouldn’t have known how tough they were training because they listened and they engaged.”
Developments in the welfare side of things have been a positive for the NRL and CRL in recent times.
“When I first played first grade for Parramatta there would have been two welfare officers in total,” Ryan said.
“Now every club has a couple, the NRL has them, the CRL has them, and it is an important process for not only the kids but also for the players as they transition into retirement.”
