Tamworth's best junior oztaggers are suiting up to take on the best in the state.
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The local association has 14 teams looking to tag Junior State Cup success.
The championships will be staged over two weekends with the under-12s-17s championships starting at Coffs Harbour on Friday (weather permitting), and the under-9s-11s being played at Bass Hill on February 21, 22 and 23.
"We had 12 last year, so we have two extra, which is great," Tamworth Junior Oztag Development Officer Katrina Davis said.
In an encouraging sign, the two additional teams have come in the younger age groups.
Eight of the Taipans teams will be in action this weekend with Tamworth fielding sides in the 13s boys and girls, 14s boys and girls, 15s boys and girls and 17s boys and girls.
Davis said the teams have been training consistently pretty well since October and is expecting some good results.
Most of the Taipans teams will be playing in the Division 2 competition which was introduced last year to accommodate for the smaller associations.
"A lot of our teams made the finals in Division 2 last year, they'll be looking to go one better," Davis said.
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The 17s girls will again be up in the top division in what will be their farewell championships after, for the majority of the side, six years together.
They finished runners-up last year but have lost a few of their more experienced players.
The 15s girls will start off as one division and be split after the first round of games. Last year as 14s the Taipans were edged out in the Division 2 final.
Overall the teams will benefit from a bit more depth this year.
"We've got full squads of players in most teams," Davis said.
The players will also be hoping to impress selectors with spots in the Northern Country Knights teams to play at the City v Country Championships on the June long weekend on the line.
Tamworth had a number of players involved in that last year.
With rain forecast before and during the championships Oztag NSW have had to formulate contingency plans.
Friday's games are under some doubt with the organisation posting on social media on Thursday lunch time that Coffs Harbour was experiencing heavy rain.
"If the heavy rain continues like it is now throughout the evening, we will have to postpone Friday's fixtures," the post read.
"The tournament director will meet with the head of groundstaff at 6am tomorrow morning, inspect the fields and the final decision about Friday's play will be made by 7am."
"We have a contingency plan in place where games can take place on 13 fields if need be. Our intention is to still complete the tournament."
The championships come as the local junior competition prepares for kick-off.
The new season starts next Wednesday afternoon.
Davis advised registrations are open until Saturday. Details can be found on the Tamworth Junior Oztag website.
