Their under-14 team became North Coast champions after a 22-12 victory over St Joseph’s Banora Point on June 28.

They overcame a 12-6 deficit to book their place in the semi-finals at Raymond Terrace on August 16 for the right to progress to the state final the week after.

Sports coordinator Michael Cannon said “I don’t think we have made it this far before.”

“This might be the best we’ve done in this competition; I don’t remember making it to the state semi-finals before and I’ve been there for over 20 years,” he said.

Coached by Ged Toohey and John Sprague, the team were undefeated in the under-13 nine-a-side and 13-a-side formats and will next week play in the Harry Wells Shield.

They have come through the ranks together with players coming from all over the Hastings region.

“We draw from Wauchope, Tele Point, Kendall, Port Macquarie and Kew,” Cannon said.

“They’re a bit all over the place and we do get a lot of kids come here because our rugby league results have been successful.”

Cannon said it was pleasing to see them stand up their more fancied opponents from metropolitan areas.

“It’s a pretty big deal because you know when you’re up against schools from Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle, they’re bigger drawing areas so it’s nice to have successful teams,” he said.

“Success breeds success – that’s the beauty of it.

“If other kids are unsure whether they are going to come here, the success of your rugby league teams mean that you might pick up extra kids because the program is successful.”