HE may not have experience on his side, he is younger than most of his rivals, but Rian Percy's skill and determination have been earning him game time as part of Western NSW FC's senior squad.
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The Orange teenager is one of the exciting young prospects in Western's National Premier League 4 ranks and coach Mark Rooke says he is a good example of what can come from a hunger to improve.
"He's a young kid who started off in the under 18s and when the 18s folded, he came into the under 20s squad because he's thirsty," Rooke said.
"He's 16, he's not even turned 17 yet, he's coming off our bench and is showing in the 20s that there is something there.
"What he's done shows where people can go if they really want to and that we are giving young kids a fantastic opportunity to play a good level of football and be recognised."
Percy has made five appearances for Western's senior side, Rooke using him as a striker - he's scored twice for the under 20s - or on the wing.
The talented teenager's next challenge will be a big one with Western playing away to fourth placed Parramatta FC this Saturday.
Parramatta beat Western 7-2 earlier this year - an effort that Rooke, Percy and the rest of the squad are determined to improve on.
"Rian plays in the front third of the pitch, traditionally he's played as a nine or a winger, in 20s he's been playing in the midfield area so he's a bit versatile as well. When he comes on for us, he generally plays as a winger of a number nine and does a good job for us," Rooke said.
"Parramatta are certainly going to be tough, they were when they came up here, and to go down there and play them on their home turf is going to be extremely difficult.
"But we've got a point to prove too, ultimately we were poor against them in the first round and we were beaten accordingly."
Saturday's match at Melita Stadium kicks off at 5pm.
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