Greater Northern Tigers U16s: In-form side meets Western Rams at Gulgong on Saturday

The Brett Jarrett-coached side have won three of their four games, in what is a five-round competition, and they tackle the Western Rams at Gulgong's Billy Dunn Oval on Saturday.

They must win against the winless Rams to confirm a berth in the semis.

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Jarrett said: "If we lose we've got to rely on other results going our way.

"We've just got to go down there and get the job done. It's always a tough game against Western and they will have a lot to prove, they haven't won a game yet.

"So that will make it even tougher. Every game has been like that so far too. We need to continue to grind away like we have done."

Jarrett has been forced to make one major change to his side after Guyra five-eighth Brodi Campbell suffered concussion in last Saturday's win over the Knights.

He has moved Jackson Smith to the six after Smith has starred off the bench as a dummy-half replacement for the tough and hard-working Archie Dowden.

"Jackson has added a lot of spark when he's come on," Jarrett said. "I'm looking forward to seeing him start."

Smith will form part of a backline that includes talented centre Sam Carr, the Tigers skipper, as well as outstanding fullback Cooper Meldrum.

Lock Jack Foley has been another star, with his high workrate and ability to play above his weight.

"Jack's played every minute of every game so far," Jarrett said, adding that Foley's defence in the middle "has been phenomenal".

Meanwhile, veteran mentor Mick Schmiedel said his Tigers women would faced an uphill battle to claim a semi-final berth.

Schmiedel said the side's opening round 30-4 loss to the Knights last weekend might be too big of a defeat to overcome.

"It doesn't look like we can make the semis," he said.

"So we're going to give all the girls in the squad a run. They all deserve it.

"They have travelled long distances, two and three hours, to train."

He said the match will also help as a building block for future Country Championships.

TIGERS U16s: 1 Cooper Meldrum, 2 Charlie Merrick, 3 Sam Carr, 4 Oscar Atkin, 5 Ryan Jurkans, 6 Jackson Smith, 7 Jordan Hamlin, 8 Campbell Munn, 9 Archie Dowden, 10 Rory Barry, 11 Dylan Keane, 12 Zane Groves, 13 Jack Foley, 14 Nicholas Driscoll, 15 Braydon Allan, 16 Isaac Adamthwaite, 17 Luke Marco. Coach: Brett Jarrett.

TIGERS WOMEN: 1 Lucy Prudden, 2 Patricia Dixon, 3 Tanika Darcy, 4 Jess Baker, 5 Dayna Porter, 6 Amy Barraclough, 7 Haley Joseph, 8 Gaynor Blackadder, 9 Millie Graham, 10 Jess Robins, 11 Brooklyn Kingdom, 12 Alisa Tunamena, 13 Toni Gale, 14 Paige Anderson, 15 Kristy Toomey, 16 Amarlie Ahoy, 17 Bec Smyth. Coach: Mick Schmiedel.

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