Tenterfield High School’s under 13 rugby league side have won the prestigious NSW Small Schools Country Cup.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The young squad took out the state-wide title after defeating Cootamundra’s Sacred Heart Central School 30-22 in the final in Dubbo last Wednesday.
It was a big feat for the young squad with only one reserve and three of players joining the team from Ashford.
“It is a great result, probably one of the best results for Tenterfield High School in rugby league,” co-coach Phil Jones said.
“They are a credit to themselves, their school and their town, just the way they behaved.
“We only had one reserve and we just knuckled down and did the job.
It was just a really good team win.
- Phil Jones
“The boys just played good footy, they tackled everything in the middle of the field that moved.
“It was just a really good team win.”
RELATED: Cup final beckons for Tentefield
While they were strong across the field, Jones highlighted the efforts of the young forward pack.
“Probably the unsung heroes, we had a couple of forwards in there that are really only little guys,” he said.
“Fletcher Koch, Toby Lieberman and Jackson O'Neill, they are tiny little boys but they tackled everything that moved and really controlled that middle section.
“That enabled our stars to get good ball.”
The group of footballers have played alongside each other since starting out in rugby league and Jones was quick to credit the local coaches who have helped develop the young stars.
“It is such a good reflection on how well they have been coached as young footballers in the junior league because their basic skills are really good,” he said.
“We got them together as a side but at the end of the day it is more a reflection on how they have been coached since they were really little.”
Oberon High School, who knocked out Tenterfield’s under 16 team in the semi-finals, took out their division.