“WHEN these boys do click, they’ll be a force”.

Injured Orange Hawks captain-coach Jason Gangaram said he’s confident his side young, winless side will come together and hit its straps in the coming weeks, a process which he’s hoping will get kick-started against Blayney on Sunday.

Hawks have copped two wallopings to open the Group 10 premier league season, going down to Bathurst Panthers (53-12) and Mudgee Dragons (60-14), and their start to the winter doesn’t get any easier against Blayney.

They will at least have the benefit of hosting the fifth-placed Bears.

“I think for the most part it’s inexperience for us, the ability is there,” Gangaram said.

“A lot of these guys are coming from an under-18 competition which they walked through and the step up might have been bigger than they thought.

“But most of the guys haven’t played together much, so it’s a matter of coming together, learning each other’s games and the way each other defends, getting some chemistry and putting what we’re working on into practice.

“When these boys do click, they’ll be a force. I’m confident of that starting against Blayney, but it will be a tough game, they’ve got some big boys.”

Because of Blayney’s sheer size - although they’ll be without man-mountain Terawhiti Cooper - Gangaram said his side has focused, hard, on slowing down the ruck area and winning the wrestle.

“Hopefully us winning that area will eventually tire their big boys out, our quick guys can hopefully take a bit of control then,” Gangaram said.

“There’s always the chance of a boilover, these guys go into every game believing they can win so for me, now I’m hurt, it’s just about helping them continue to develop.

“They want to do that too, they’re all keen and still committed. They want to learn and get better, which we will. It’s just a matter of time.”

Gangaram is replaced at five-eighth by Jake Blimka, while Luke Coyte comes in for the suspended Sam Sotogi. Jedd Kennedy has also moved back into his preferred fullback role.

For Blayney Cooper will sit out Sunday’s clash in the lead up to facing the Group 10 judiciary next week. He was sent off last week for striking.

Hawks and Blayney kick-off at 1.45pm, at Wade Park.

ORANGE HAWKS: 1 Jedd Kennedy, 2 Jordan Baker, 3 Jack Aumuller, 4 Viane Falaniko, 5 Nick Wilson, 6 Jake Blimka, 7 Brodie Christopherson, 8 Luke Coyte, 9 Liam Brodrick, 10 Nic Coombes, 11 Max Wolfson, 12 Jack Middleton, 13 Nathan Potts