With the first representative duties of 2024 on the horizon, the ranks of the Tamworth Junior Oztag are abuzz.
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Over the next several weeks, 14 local sides will set off for their respective Junior State Cup duties, the first of which will be for the under 9s boys, under 10s boys, and under 10s girls this weekend in Sydney.
Their last group training session took place on Sunday morning, and competition manager, Natasha Allan, was impressed by the players' commitment despite the heat.
"It was certainly very hot, even just standing in the shade you were dripping in sweat," Allan said.
"So it was good to see all the teams there ... the younger ones, that was their final session because they head away this weekend."
The older rep sides, from the under 11s to under 17s, will have another couple of opportunities to train before their State Cup takes place on the weekend of February 23-25 in Coffs Harbour.
Tamworth will have boys' and girls' teams in every age group except the under 17s, which could not field a girls' side due to some scheduling conflicts for its players.
The squads that will attend, Allan believes, are strong enough to make a real impact in their divisions.
"We've had a pretty good showing in the past, with the teams making at least the quarter finals," she said.
"With the teams that we've got and the players that we've got, we should be able to give it a good little shake-up and get some teams into finals on the Sunday."
Even with a number of the younger teams set to make their representative debuts in Sydney, Allan is confident they can be competitive.
That is not solely due to the talent contained in the squads, which is formidable, but the experience shared with the players by their coaches and their more senior counterparts which will help prepare them for what to expect.
"There's a lot of give back in our junior competition, even from our referees or our players who are old enough to referee and want to come back and improve their game," Allan said.
"They also help others understand the game by reffing. And even our coaches, some of the younger ones have been through the junior ranks and are now coaching a team, or parents who've got kids that are coming through. So there's good Oztag knowledge through all teams."