The junior and senior teams will take on the best in New South Wales with more than 300 clubs expected to hit the water.

Senior coach Michael Mullens said a top 10 finish for Port Macquarie at the aquatic centre would be a remarkable result.

“I would be absolutely rapt [with a top 10 finish]; that’s our goal,” he said.

“There’s about 300 clubs that head down there, but I look at it from a country or regional perspective and how we compare to other country regions.”

Mullens said the Port Macquarie team would include a “lot of new blood that haven’t been there before” along with regular state-team swimmers Tom Berryman, Bianca Jamison and Grace Bannon.

Last year the locals weren’t at their best and Mullens was looking at a stronger performance this week.

“They’ve always done well in the past, but last season was a little bit quieter and this season we’re rebuilding again,” he said.

“Where they’ve come from last year to this year I’m really rapt.

“Last season was probably one of the weaker seasons we’ve had in the last 15 years but this season we’re coming back.”

Mullens was focused on achieving personal best times and finals rather than medals.

“We all love medals, but PBs are what I’m chasing; we might jag the odd medal or two but it’s all about PB’s this time around,” he said.

“I want to see how they all react on the big stage which is the key to a strong performance, especially for the new ones.

The coach admitted Port Macquarie’s swimmers were “behind the eight-ball” before they started.

“These big clubs are hanging around 70 million dollar pools and we’ve got a six-lane pool from the 1960s,” he said.

“We’re a bit behind when it comes to facilities, but if we can spit out a top 10 finish in amongst those Sydney clubs it will be fantastic.”