The junior side recorded 16 wins, one draw and a single loss during the course of the tournament. Coach Ian Ingle said the hard-working outfit deserved to be crowned champions of their age group. 

“The girls have trained so hard for this,” he said.

“To go down there and pick up wins against towns and cities from across the state, many of which are much bigger than Muswellbrook, is a fantastic achievement.

“They were getting up at a quarter to six in the morning to prepare, and even warmed themselves up most of the time.

“The girls also have a really good support crew with their families; that obviously makes a big difference.

“We’d like to thank our sponsors for their generosity, which includes the Royal Hotel Muswellbrook, Northwest Mining, Finders Keepers, Forever Beauty, OAS Computers, Denman RSL, Muswellbrook Funeral Services, Wicked Inklination, Rob Gordon Massage, Dimmock’s Meats, Farm Fresh Meats, Denman Royal Hotel, and Erwin’s Packaging.” 

The under-13s defeated Wollondilly 21-12 in their first match and then beat Lower Clarence 16-8. Queanbeyan managed to inflict a nail-biting 8-7 defeat, but Muswellbrook came back stronger with wins over Eurobodalla and Westlakes District. 

A 12-all draw against Taree in the side’s seventh match was the last time they failed to win. 

Muswellbrook went on an 11 game streak to end up five points clear of closest rivals Tamworth at the top of the table. In other age groups, the under-12s finished sixth after recording 10 wins from their 15 matches.

The under-14s picked up nine wins and a draw from their division to end the tournament in 11th place. Finally, the under-15s were seven points adrift of winners Coffs Harbour, but claimed eight victories and a draw to go with six losses.