Over the last three weeks, Tamworth Junior Oztag sent 14 sides to the NSW State Cups in Sydney and Coffs Harbour.
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In the course of their campaigns, TJO competition manager Natasha Allan said the kids "definitely exceeded expectations".
And, more importantly, "they had fun at the same time".
"They're always committed to having a go," Allan said.
"And they know, being from the country, they're behind the city teams and those that have the opportunity to train more regularly. So they're always committed to getting over there and giving it their best shot.
"I think a few of them were quite surprised and impressed with how they went."
A couple of the junior teams in the Sydney competitions qualified for finals, while several of the teams in Coffs Harbour narrowly missed out despite putting together impressive win-loss records as there were often two pools in their divisions, which made reaching finals more difficult.
But almost every Tamworth team picked up at least one win, and several finished with winning records.
And, Allan believes, there is a chance a few local faces will feature in the NSW teams to play in the State of Origin at the end of the year.
"Coaches need to do a player ranking based on performance for each team," she said.
"We'll need to wait a little bit to see if we have any success at that level ... there were selectors that were at the tournament having a look, and we have got a good little talent pool across the ages.
"So hopefully they've done enough to get recognised."
Given the recent resignation of Katrina Davis as competition manager and licensee, a role in which she served for over 20 years, there was significant change within the leadership of the organisation.
But it appears to have gone smoothly, and Allan is confident the strength of their representative juniors portends well for the sport in town.
"We're hoping to only continue to grow," she said.
"We've had a good showing across the age groups and taking so many teams away. But we plan on growing, getting better, building the talent and understanding of the game and increasing our level of competitiveness."
