Group 10 will provide two-thirds of Western Division’s 18-man squad for the Tier 1 Country Championships after scor- ing a dominant 30-14 win over Group 11 in a selection trial at Apex Oval on Saturday night.

The five-tries-to-three victory came on the back of making better use of their possession, with Group 11 proving par- ticularly wasteful when in possession of the ball.

That failure to hold the ball led to Group 10’s first try as the visitors took advantage of an early error.

A chip on the third tackle found Orange Hawks winger Alofi Mataele on the spot to register the first points of the game in just the second minute.

Group 11 halfback Richard Peckham opened his side’s account seven min- utes later, with Lincoln Taylor’s conver- sion giving the hosts a 6-4 advantage and for the ensuing 20 minutes the match was an arm wrestle as both sides gave their players the chance to shine in front of coach Dennis Moran and selec- tors Ross McDermott, Kip Maranda and Dave Elvy.

Lithgow’s Jono Van Veen gave his side the lead on the half-hour mark and from there they wouldn’t relinquish the advan- tage.

Wade Judd scored five minutes later as the lead blew out to 16-6 at half-time.

A try to Orange CYMS centre Ben McAlpine five minutes into the second half effectively ended the contest but Group 11 bravely fought back through tries to Peckham and his Wellington club- mate Aidan Ryan to get the score back to 22-14 but a try to Scott Rosser and a late penalty goal to McAlpine ended the scoring for the night.

Straight after the match Group 10 coach Graeme Osborne predicted his side would provide 10-12 members of the squad to face Central Coast at Cooma on June 1 and he was proven right shortly after.

“I was really proud of our boys tonight. It wasn’t a pretty game but they did a good job and we should be rewarded at the selection table,” he said.

“We did a lot of things right tonight and took advantage of a few mistakes they made.

“Everyone did their job so I couldn’t single anyone out for praise. The only headache is I’m going to lose a few boys for the Tier 2 championships but it’s a good problem to have.”

Group 11 captain-coach Darren Jackson, one of six players from his side to make the Rams squad, was disap- pointed with the result and admitted it was on the cards from the warm-up.

“We were just flat for some reason, whether it was the cold or that we only had one session I don’t know. There’s no excuses though, we were outplayed,” Jackson said.

“There was a lot of dropped ball tonight and some mistakes from kick-offs and early in tackle counts.

“I said during the week that winning or losing makes a fair difference when it comes to getting guys in the Western Division side and it proved that way.”

GROUP TEN 30 (Alofi Mataele, Jono Van Veen, Wade Judd, Ben McAlpine, Scott Rosser tries; McAlpine 5 goals) def GROUP ELEVEN 14 (Richard Peckham 2, Aidan Ryan tries; Lincoln Taylor goal).

WESTERN RAMS:

1. Ali Beale – Orange CYMS, 2. Alofi Mataele – Orange Hawks, 3. Josh Rainbow – Cowra Magpies, 4. Ben McAlpine – Orange CYMS, 5. Chris Daley – Narromine Jets, 6. Corey Stanley – Dubbo CYMS, 7. Scott Rosser – Orange Hawks, 8. Moses Manu – Dubbo Macquarie, 9. Darren Jackson – Dubbo Macquarie, 10. Ronald Lawrence – Cowra Magpies, 11. Jono Van Veen – Lithgow Workies, 12. Justin Toomey-White – Wellington Cowboys, 13. Todd Barrow – Orange Hawks. Reserves: 14. Zac Merritt – Bathurst St Pat’s, 15. Brendan Van Veen – Lithgow Workies, 16. Wade Judd – Oberon Tigers, 17. Tim Tobin – Cowra Magpies, 18. Jamie Szczerbanik – Parkes Spacemen, Dennis Moran (coach).