Wellington Cowboys at full strength for under-18s grand final against Nyngan

The Cowboys will start as favourites after dominating the season and coach Aidan Ryan said he was confident there would be no complacency from his team.

However he is also expecting the Tigers to come out and throw everything at them.

“It’s a grand final and there are no second chances. It just comes down to who plays better on the day,” Ryan said.

“I think the boys will fire from the get-go, they have the belief in themselves.”

That confidence was boosted by a 41-18 win in the major semi-final against the Tigers, that earned Wellington last weekend off.

Ryan revealed that the team had some nerves heading into their previous game after falling in semi-finals in some of the younger grades.

“When this side was coming through the 15s and 16s they went undefeated only to get knocked out in the semis and last year we were knocked out in the semi-finals too.

“The boys were pretty uncertain heading into that game but they took a lot of confidence out of it and will be right to go.”

This will be the last game of under 18s for several players, including halfback Kotoni Staggs and hooker Brogan Black.

Staggs has signed a contract with the Brisbane Broncos, while Black will move into first grade.

He said while Staggs and Black had attracted a lot of the attention this season, the playmakers were only able to have the impact because of the hard work of the forwards.

“I think our forwards have been a bit overlooked. In the last game against Nyngan, they did the hard work that allowed Kotoni and Brogan to go on the attack,” the coach said.

Ryan said he was disappointed by the lack of support from the Cowboys’ first and reserve grade teams, who hadn’t helped the under-18s train during the finals or provided advice.

The under-18s grand final between Wellington and Nyngan at Caltex Park in Dubbo kicks-off at 11am.