CENTRAL West, Illawarra and Hunter claimed the spoils when the NSW Country 12s, 13s and 14s champions were decided at UNE's Consett Davis Fields yesterday.
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Hundreds of juniors flocked to Armidale for the junior championships, which saw Illawarra triumph in the 12s, Hunter the 13s and Central West the 14s.
The Blue Bulls were too strong for Central Coast in their final, while Hunter beat Illawarra 12-5 and Illawarra accounted for Central West 38-24.
It's the first time New England has hosted a Country Championships in around a decade and was a "great weekend", New England Juniors president John Beynon said.
"We had a great crowd and everyone loved the venue," he said.
The Lions fielded sides in all three divisions.
The 12s found it tough going but the 13s came close in a couple of games to wins while the 14s picked up a win and had Charlie Radford named in the NSW Country squad.
They also had two players acknowledged in the carnival awards, with Leon Kelly receiving the encouragement award for the 14s and Benji Marshall for the 13s.
Radford is joined in the Cockatoos squad by Central North's Conor Edwards (Scone), Sam Buster and Toby Maslen (both Tamworth).
It was a great weekend overall for the Kookaburras, Central North Junior Rugby Union Co-Event Manager Michelle Edwards said, with the 12s and 14s both finishing fourth.
They both came second in their pools but lost their play-off games yesterday.
"The boys played brilliantly all weekend," 12s coach James Arnott said.
"They played some hard, consistent rugby."
Narrabri's Campbell Hancock was named their most improved and Blue Boars team-mate Angus Gourley the most consistent.
14s coaches Sean Tufrey and Chris Sartori were over the moon about how their side performed.
"The boys played so well as a team and a squad," Sartori said.
Buster was consistently among their best and duly awarded the most consistent, with Tamworth's Lachlan Oates picking up the most improved.
The 13s placed seventh overall and tried their hearts out all weekend, manager Brendan Ryan said.
Tamworth's Jhett Butler was adjudged their most improved and Narrabri's Tom Eather their most consistent.
Narrabri's Matt Schwager and Pirates' Jake Douglas meanwhile lined up for the Cockatoos seniors as they kicked off their campaign against NSW Suburban in Drummoyne on Saturday.
The Cockatoos were chasing a third straight victory over their Sydney rivals to retain the Maher Ross Cup but fell just short, going down 24-18.