If the history of clashes between the Western Rams and Illawarra South Coast Dragons have been anything to go by then this Sunday's Laurie Daley Cup opener at Cowra is bound to be another memorable contest.

Kurt Hancock's men have been hard at work over the past few weeks trying to ensure their home fans won't leave Sid Kallas Oval disappointed this weekend.

Illawarra give Rams a challenging matchup right off the bat in the five round competition.

Rams won this same clash 26-14 at Wollongong last season in the grand final rematch, a 2019 decider which the Dragons came away winners, spoiling Western's dream of an unbeaten season in the process.

Hancock said the Rams-Dragons rivalry has quickly become one of the most exciting matchups of the competition.

"We always bring out the best in Illawarra. They always seem to play some of their best games against us. We've met in a couple of finals over the last few years. They're well coached and they've got a great talent pool of players," he said.

"We had a great camp last week at Warren and I'm really happy with where they're at as a group."

COVID-19 stopped the Rams' 2020 campaign in its tracks right as it was gaining momentum, with Western having claimed three victories on the trot before finals - a run that included a win over Illawarra.

Only a handful of players from both teams are back from that last clash as the Rams and Dragons look to put their new look 18s sides to the test.

"I think there's only three players going around again and we have around five players from last year, and they're the guys we'll be looking towards to try and take control of things," Hancock said.

"Because it's only a short season you've got to get off to a good start. I know last year we weren't travelling that well. We were going okay, but that game before the finals against Illawarra was probably our best performance.

"It's refreshing for the guys that they have footy to look forward to again. It's been a pretty long wait for them.

"Braye Porter and Cooper Egan are going to be big players for us. They're together in the halves and they were there last year and know what's in front of them. We'll be looking towards those guys, along with Zac Williams who has come back from Penrith."

In a tribute to the late Orange Hawks player Mason Pollack the Rams will not be using the number four for the game, with centre Lachlan Lawson sporting 18.

"It's going to be a pretty emotional day over there at Cowra with Mason Pollack. We'll be retiring the four jersey with round one. A lot of the boys who are playing in this game played with him last year, and it's had a bit of a ripple effect through our football team and the region in general," Hancock said.

"It will be an emotionally charged day but we want to make sure we honour him the right way by just playing our footy."

The Rams 18s will follow the 16s clash at Sid Kallas Oval from 11.20am.