Rams skipper Jed Holloway will be hoping for more space and a drier deck this evening against
Canberra Vikings – Photo: karenwatsonphotography.com.au

by Paul Cook –

A 31-2 loss to NSW Country Eagles obviously wasn’t the start they had in mind but Greater Sydney Rams coach Brian Melrose was philosophical when he spoke to Rugby News this week ahead of tonight’s round two clash against Canberra Vikings at Pirtek Stadium. “The scoreline from Saturday is what it is. It was a game that was very even up til half-time and we had some chances which we didn’t take and it was always going to break open, maybe based on a mistake,” he said.

“We made those mistakes and fair play to Country because they tactically kicked and chased better and that break came. The couple of sin-binnings just took the game towards them and they did really well to finish it off. We’ll learn what we can from it and take that seriously because there were a couple of good lessons to learn and then we just park it, that’s the way it is.”

A starting side that contained a large percentage of players backing up from the previous weekends club rugby title decider, and had barely trained together as a result, was possibly always likely to struggle in game one. “Maybe that little bit of emotional and physical toll from the Shute Shield Grand Final started to kick in for us,” concedes Melrose. “It’s not an excuse, it’s probably just reality and Country lifted and we didn’t have that little bit of energy in us to stay with them. The result was certainly a reality check but connection and combinations take a little bit of time and sometimes, even one extra night can be helpful.

“We had a bit of a hit-out on Monday night and we were a little bit better than we were in some areas last week so, as we go on, we just try and get a little bit better and I’m confident that we can go on and be competitive with the other sides.”

Danger Man: The Rams will have to keep the gate locked on Vikings’ fullback Jesse Mogg – Photo: AJF Photography

This week then, has been about striking a fine balance between player management given the short turnaround between matches, while loading the squad with as much info and training drills as possible to improve those combinations. Coming up against a Vikings outfit containing Wallabies, Christian Lealiifano and Jesse Mogg, and who are also coming in off the back of an opening loss to Perth Spirit, doesn’t make life any easier. The weather in Sydney hasn’t exactly helped either however, Melrose is certainly not looking for a sob story.

“It’s an incredibly difficult scenario and I think the management of the players along with the management of the information and the uptake that we’ve got to have is a difficult one,” he said. “The rain is becoming a real issue because we’re having to move training sessions but it’s important for us not to get caught up in what’s right and wrong, we’ve just got to react.

“It’s the person in adversity who is able to cope that succeeds and that’s something that we’ve got to get into our squad. If you’ve had a couple of training runs and someone else has had four, that may be helpful but Canberra are on a short turnaround, we’re on a short turnaround and you can’t be looking for reasons why or why not, you’ve just got to aim up and after last week, we’ve got a little bit of catching up to do.”

The game sees the Rams take their bow in front of their home support at Pirtek Stadium and Melrose knows only too well that getting a positive result and doing so in style is paramount towards growing a fledgling support base. Unfortunately, the weather gods don’t appear to be on his side so far.

“Getting a good performance in your first home game is very important to us,” he said. “Last week was a difficult game for both teams and it wasn’t the ultimate supporters day with the weather that’s for sure so hopefully, we have a drier deck and we get to move the ball around a little bit more than we could the other day.”

The Rams receive a significant boost experience wise with Chris Alcock and Hugh Perrett making their debuts as they look to improve their side’s fortunes at the breakdown. They will also try out a new halves combo, Ben Volavola moving up from fullback to join scrumhalf, Vasa Falaelli, who has been promoted from the bench.

Vikings head coach Dan McKellar has fit again Brumby loose forward Jarrad Butler to call on and he has rung the changes in his pack, Les Makin, Lala Lam and Allan Alaalatoa combining to forge an all new front row.

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GREATER SYDNEY RAMS v CANBERRA VIKINGS

Pirtek Stadium, Sydney – Kick-off: 7.30pm (Live on Fox Sports 2HD) – Referee: Angus Gardner

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GREATER SYDNEY RAMS: 1. Benn Robinson (Eastwood); 2. Hugh Roach (Eastwood; 3. Guy Millar (Eastwood); 4. Jared Barry (Eastwood); 5. Steve Mafi (Parramatta; 6. Hugh Perrett (Eastwood); 7. Chris Alcock (Eastwood); 8. Jed Holloway © (Southern Districts); 9. Vasa Falaelli (Newcastle); 10. Ben Volavola (Southern Districts); 11. Taqele Naiyaravaro (Parramatta); 12. Henry Taefu (Sunnybank); 13. Michael McDougall (Eastwood); 14. Atieli Pakalani (Southern Districts) 15. Dane Chisholm (Manly)

Replacements: 16. Maile Ngauamo (Southern Districts); 17. Jed Gillespie (Eastwood); 18. Dave Lolohea (West Harbour); 19. Dylan Sigg (Manly); 20. Pat Sio (Eastwood); 21. Mark Swanepoel (Manly); 22. Jai Ayoub (Eastwood); 23. Henry Seavula (West Harbour)

CANBERRA VIKINGS: 1. Les Makin; 2. Lala Lam; 3. Allan Alaalatoa; 4. Tom Staniforth; 5. Tim Cree; 6. Jordan Smiler; 7. Jarrad Butler (vc); 8. Fotu Auelua ©; 9. Michael Dowsett; 10. Isaac Thompson; 11. Robbie Coleman (vc); 12. Christian Lealiifano; 13. Nigel Ahwong; 14. Brendon Taueki; 15. Jesse Mogg

Replacements: 16. Mitch Wade; 17. JP Smith; 18. Ruan Smith; 19. Tom Cusack; 20. Sean Doyle; 21. Edan Campbell-O’Brien; 22. Jake Rakic; 23. Jerome Niumata