Northern Inland Academy of Sport's Tamworth Services Club Rugby League Program passed another point at North Tamworth's Jack Woolaston Oval on Sunday.
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Almost 50 young teenagers from all across the Greater Northern Region - representing Groups 4, 19 and 21 - turned out for the first joint session in the program.
The young hopefuls had trained in satellite sessions at Aberdeen, Tamworth, Boggabri and Inverell in recent weeks and came together for the first combined session on Sunday.
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It was a testing session too, lasting around three and half hours.
They received coaching from a coaching staff headed by NIAS Head Coach Peter Stevens. He had support from Richard Ingram, Luke Taylor, Scott Bone, NIAS CEO James Cooper, Canterbury Bulldogs Pathways Development Manager Craig Wilson and former NRL star Tom Learoyd-Lahrs.
Learoyd-Lahrs and Stevens ran one of three stations, concentrating on tackling and defensive techniques.
The NRL-like drills were intense and the attention to detail by Learoyd-Lahrs and Stevens a huge eye-opener for the under-15 footballers.
And Wilson, himself a former Cronulla first grade back headed another station concentrating on attacking forays through traffic with the young triallists bursting through pads or completing attacking raids.
The third and final station was run by Taylor, a former West Lions and North Tamworth premiership player and Group 4 premiership winning coach with the help of Ingram before lawn bowls commitments took him away for NIAS CEO James Cooper to step in.
They also ran attacking drills featuring cut out plays.
"They all went good," Stevens said at the end of the long combined session.
"I'm real happy with that."
He's looking forward to another combined session in two weeks time (Saturday, October 10) at Jack Woolaston Oval.
"All these sessions help the boys springboard into the Tigers under-16 team," he said of the Greater Northern Tigers under-16 side.
"This is a great platform for them and all are eligible."
He said the Greater Northern Tiger under-16 trials will involve "actual games" providing they meet with Covid-19 protocols and "will be held late next month".
