IT has been said that good things come in small packages and on Sunday in the case of St Pat's, it was a package called Ryan Small.
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The young back rower was a late inclusion into the Peter McDonald Premiership starting side which upset the Mudgee Dragons 42-10.
Given he'd only made his PMP debut the previous weekend off the interchange bench for the Saints' clash against Orange CYMS, it was a challenge for Small.
But as he muscled up in defence and made yards in attack, Small impressed. Impressed big time.
"Ryan Small got promoted to the starting side at late notice and he's the rave of the team at the moment," Saints captain-coach Zac Merritt said.
"He really stepped up and had a really good game."
Small is a graduate of the under 18s side which last season made it all the way to the inaugural Tom Nelson Premiership grand final.
After working with the under 18 Western Rams squad at the start of the year, Small got better as the season went on. He was amongst the try scorers in the semi-final.
![Ryan Small, pictured on his way to scoring in this year's under 21s final, made his Peter McDonald Premiership starting debut against Mudgee on Sunday. Picture by Renee Powell Ryan Small, pictured on his way to scoring in this year's under 21s final, made his Peter McDonald Premiership starting debut against Mudgee on Sunday. Picture by Renee Powell](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/9ujtS27vHx5Qgdp9jJ35WB/76e349b7-de0f-409d-b202-74a45c12d1e6.jpg/r844_659_3238_2404_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Small also scored in the Western under 21s grand final the Saints won against the Orange Orangutans during the pre-season.
Matt Dunn, who coached him in under 18s last year, was delighted that Small embraced his chance in the top grade.
"He had a quiet start to the season last year, but mid-season he really kicked on, he got his confidence back because he got knocked out at [Western] Rams in the first game," Dunn said.
"He built into the season and was one of our best. Defensively he got better throughout the year and he was running really great lines in attack off Trae.
"He's a big body and he can be hard to handle and he runs a great line."
While Small showed that he is capable of holding his own in the PMP against the previously undefeated Dragons, he is not the only graduate of last year's under 18s who earned praise after Sunday's upset.
Playmaker Trae Fitzpatrick again did a job off the bench, as did replacement forward Cooper Earsman.
"We had a couple of blokes pull out on Saturday and on Friday, so I had to rip some young kids in who hadn't played much first grade," Merritt said.
"Trae was very late notice coming in and he did a good job and Cooper Earsman, that was probably his best game for us as well. I had a little bit of a chat to him during the week, he really took that on board and stepped it up.
"There's no excuses from this club any more, we're moving forward. Whoever gets put in is there to do a job."
Just as Dunn was happy to see Small make his starting debut against Mudgee, he is delighted that both Fitzpatrick and Earsman are continuing to get experience in the PMP.
He knows all three have worked hard to earn their chance.
"Trae is a competitor, he wants to win, he wants to play first grade. He's like a bull terrier I guess," Dunn said.
"It's like that old saying, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. He loves a scrap and he loves playing footy.
"For him to get the call up for first grade and from what I heard, really perform, that was great.
"It's taken Coop a little while to get used to that difference in speed and physicality.
"For all three boys its is a step up from first grade, particularly the speed and physicality. It's not younger boys running at you and tackling you, they're all men."
Though he didn't play against Mudgee, Will Poole is another member of last season's 18s who has seen time in the PMP over the opening six rounds of 2023.
Dunn hopes there will be more of it and says the Saints' young guns will only get better as the season unfolds.
"The more they play the better they'll get," Dunn said.
"It's great those juniors have kicked on, they had a tough season [in 2021], so it was great for them last year to blossom and show people that they do have the skills and talent to cut it.
"They'll be better for the experience whether they spend all year in first grade or not."
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