![HARD YARDS: Group 10 and Western Division skipper Kip Maranda, a key man in Western’s country championship campaign. HARD YARDS: Group 10 and Western Division skipper Kip Maranda, a key man in Western’s country championship campaign.](/images/transform/v1/resize/frm/silverstone-feed-data/a6bfcc01-b8ed-48df-8622-68689fca3d27.jpg/w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
RUGBY LEAGUE
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WESTERN Division coach Dave Scott will call on the experience of skipper Kip Maranda and five-eighth Dave Elvy when his side meets Illawarra at WIN Stadium on May 14.
Western will field only five players from last year's 17-man squad that won the AAMI Country Championship.
Maranda and hooker Darren Jackson are the only survivors from the forward pack that played such a vital role in Western's 36-22 win over Monaro in last year's final.
While Bathurst Panthers captain-coach Elvy wasn't in that side, his NRL experience is a massive boost to Western who have lost its main organiser of the last few seasons, former Mudgee half Warick Colley.
Macquarie's Peter Boon, who was fullback last season, will play half.
Scott said Elvy's organisation in the backline and Maranda's go-forward in the front row were vital to Western's chances.
"The inclusion of Dave Elvy is a massive thing and Kip's been sensational, he's always putting his hand up for the rep stuff," Scott said.
"Hopefully we can bring the boys together a lot like we did last year.
"It's going to be a tough ask because Illawarra's like a semi-final straight up front.
"They've been going for a few weeks, they're going to have the best of the best players and it's going to be a hard task but we'll do our best."
Assessing his side, Scott said: "I like that we've got a lot of speed in the backs and a lot of impact off the bench, which is really good. We've got some good impact players there and some blokes that can cover all positions."
Western may only have two training runs together before the match, with Scott hoping to do the bulk of the work this Saturday.