Dylan Marmion and Liam Henry have been playing footy together for most of their lives.
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So it's no surprise next week the pair will get the chance to play in the biggest game of their young careers together as well.
Henry and Marmion have starred for Western's undefeated Laurie Daley Cup outfit and will again line-up in the Rams' starting 13 when the under 18s country championship semi-finals land at Forster on March 30.
The business end of the Daley Cup is a long way from mini league footy at King George Oval but both Henry and Marmion say they can't wait for the sudden death clash against the Parramatta Eels.
"We came out in the first couple of games and played pretty well and we've just lifted game after game from that point," Marmion said.
... the last five weeks have been the funnest and best footy I've been part of
- Blayney and Western prop Liam Henry.
Western has beaten Penrith, Riverina, Illawarra South Coast Dragons, Monaro and last Saturday the Greater Southern Region Wests Tigers to sit on top of the Daley Cup's southern pool.
"Now we're on top and have to face other better teams it's going to be a big challenge. We're looking forward to it," Henry added.
Henry said while the footy has been tough it's been a great experience as well.
"Most definitely, the last five weeks have been the funnest and best footy I've been part of," he added.
Western started slow out of the blocks against the Tigers on Saturday but that slugglish performance in the final round of the Daley Cup can be attributed to the absence of both Ben Lovett and Rylee Blackhall and the early loss of prop Colby Peckham.
"The other team had nothing to lose though and they came out raring to go and played out of their skin," Henry said boasting a black eye from a head-clash in the 24-4 win at Jack Arrow Oval.
"She's a bit of a shiner, that's all. He got me good, it's alright."
Meanwhile, Peckham is in doubt for Western's semi-final thanks to a knee injury picked up in the 20-point victory over the Tigers.
The Dubbo CYMS enforcer had an MRI on Monday and he'll get the result on Thursday.
"It doesn't look good," Rams under 18s coach Kurt Hancock said.
"He's pretty disappointed. He was good against the Panthers but was using all of his energy in defence. We used him off the bench in the next game and made him concentrate on running the footy and using that energy and he was going really well.
"He is a character, everyone loves being around him and feeds off his energy."
