Six Thunderbolts teams made the trip to Newcastle last weekend to participate in the competition which features some of the top young talent from around the region.

Three Tamworth teams played in the Under 18s Boys division, with one team in each of the Under 18s Girls, Under 16s Boys, and Under 16s Girls divisions.

The Thunderbolts Blue finished the opening round in second place on the Under 18s Boys ladder with three wins and no losses, while the Dark side finished fifth with two wins and one loss, and the Light team failed to secure a win.

"Realistically, no, they probably couldn't have gotten off to a better start," Ward said.

"We put the three teams in the Under 18s Men division this year because of our longer-term vision of growing our senior men's program.

"So, we got a lot of good players coming through there, and in our Under 16s as well, there's a lot of good depth and we want to give them every opportunity."

The Under 18s Girls, meanwhile, similarly went through unbeaten to sit in first place by the end of the weekend, while the Under 16s Girls placed second with three wins and a lone loss.

Ward, who also coaches the Under 18s Girls, said the association did not the level of success they achieved in round one.

"The biggest challenge for our 18 Men's team probably come in the next round, when they play some of the teams from the North Coast," he said.

"We were hopeful that they would get through the first round without too much trouble, and thankfully they took care of business there.

"With the 18 Women, it's always hard to know where you stand before you play a game. I was hoping to come away with three wins from the weekend if I could, so to get four - I was ecstatic.

"We've positioned ourselves really well for the season."

This weekend, the Thunderbolts hope to continue their barnstorming start to the year this weekend, with the first round of the Under 12s and Under 14s NEJL.

Due to a change in the format of the competition, Ward expects the younger divisions to have "a different look".

"We haven't always played against the Newcastle and Central Coast teams," he said.

"This year the Hunter and Central Coast areas have combined with the North Coast and the Tamworth region, so it's a different look. We're trying to get a bit of a feel for what the different teams are like and where we stand in that regard."

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